LOS ANGELES, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Peacemaker Season 1 proved John Cena's character could lead a whole series after his appearance in the 2021 film The Suicide Squad. Season 2, premiering Aug. 21 on HBO Max, shows there's room for this graphic, raunchy corner of the DC world after creator James Gunn's Superman.
The new season opens months after Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker (Cena), killed his own father, the villainous Auggie (Robert Patrick), Chris and his allies have recovered from their recent battle, but things aren't back to normal.
Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) regrets hooking up with Chris, an understandable dynamic for co-workers and the will-they-won't-they dynamic of a TV show. This hurts Chris and Cena lets it show.
Supporting characters introduced in Gunn's recent Superman appear, triggering Chris' longing to belong and emphasizing how he's still a little too violent and brash for the official superhero teams. Aside from cameos, Gunn refers to Metropolis overtly, but sparingly, so it's not required homework.
As the Season 2 trailers showed, Chris also discovers a portal to another dimension where things appear to be better for him. This gives the season an It's A Wonderful Life subplot, but events are still unfolding in the prime dimension.
