The season 2 finale of Peacemaker is now streaming on HBO Max, and while "Full Nelson" has proven to be somewhat divisive, the mostly character-focused episode did set up a couple of major DCU storylines.
James Gunn has previously revealed that the events of the finale will directly tie-in to Man of Tomorrow, but will we actually find out what becomes of the titular vigilante himself?
Major spoilers follow.
Peacemaker season 2 concludes with Chris Smith and the rest of the 11th Street Kids, along with Judomaster and A.R.G.U.S. Agents Sasha Bordeaux and Langston Fleury, founding Checkmate, and a vengeance-fuelled Rick Flag Sr. establishing his villainous turn by kidnapping Chris and stranding him in Salvation, the Earth-like dimension Flag intends to use as a prison for the planet's metahumans.
Gunn was asked if his Superman follow-up will directly address Peacemaker's fate during an interview with Rolling Stone.
"No, no, no. But people should expect that the way that the military and Rick Flagg and everybody are working together and they’ve created a probably illegal prison for metahumans on another dimension is gonna be a part of DCU stories going forward. And not just a tertiary, ‘Oh, this is Arkham’ — it’s a part of the stories. There’s an escalating war, obviously, that’s going on between the government and metahumans. And this is a part of it."
Gunn has confirmed that the events of the finale are building towards his own take on DC Comics' Salvation Run, a six-issue miniseries that saw the government exile some of Earth's most dangerous metahuman criminals to the planet Cygnus 4019 (Salvation). Separate factions are formed as the villains struggle to survive and attempt to discover a means of escape.
If we will be revisiting Salvation in MOT, surely it would be odd if we didn't at least get a hint about what happened to Smith during his time on the prison planet? Rumors persist that John Cena will appear in the movie, so there's a chance Gunn is simply trying to throw fans off track here.
Gunn was also asked if the Salvation thread will continue in Supergirl and Lanterns.
"Both those things are worked in. We knew both of those stories were a part of what we originally put together, so they’re part of the overall tapestry, but they’re also their own thing. Supergirl especially is a space adventure. It’s like Guardians. Lanterns is its own thing. There’s just a longer, sort of a bigger world we’re building with all these different pieces and they do all come together and intersect sometimes in a story fashion and sometimes just in a, you know, “here’s another piece of the world” fashion."
Peacemaker season 2 follows Chris Smith, the vigilante superhero, as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evildoer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost. He discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be. But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.
"The new season follows Christopher 'Chris' Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante Super Hero as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost.
In season 2, Peacemaker discovers an alternate world where life is everything he wishes it could be. But this discovery also forces him to face his traumatic past and take the future into his own hands.”