Peacemaker Season 2 Parents Guide

Back in 2021, James Gunn strutted into DC territory with The Suicide Squad and, against all odds, managed to turn John Cena into the world’s most lovable idiot in spandex: Peacemaker. It was crass, it was chaotic, and it was shockingly a high point for comic book movies of the era. Cena’s mix of chest-thumping bravado and pathetic vulnerability stood out in a film already stuffed with too many lunatics. Naturally, audiences demanded more, and HBO Max delivered with Peacemaker Season 1 a hair-metal-soaked fever dream that somehow became DC’s most unexpected success story.

Of course, that was then. Now we’re in the brave new world of Gunn and Safran’s DCU, which means Season 2 has to thread the needle between being a worthy follow-up and a brand-friendly cog in a freshly rebooted machine. Oh, and canonically, it all happens one month after Superman (2025)—because DC continuity can never resist complicating itself.

Goodbye DCEU, Hello DCU

Season 2 wastes no time telling us where Peacemaker fits in this shiny new continuity, while quietly rewriting the ending of Season 1. Gunn, to his credit, doesn’t smash the reset button; instead, he massages the story just enough to make sure no one gets stuck asking awkward continuity questions. The streamlining works it clears the table for the season’s real focus: Peacemaker humiliating himself in front of the Justice Gang (Green Lantern’s Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Maxwell Lord, all played with tongue firmly in cheek). The energy is big, dumb, and fun exactly what you’d expect when your lead character wears a chrome toilet seat on his head.

Cena’s Chris Smith remains as tragically ridiculous as ever. He wants to be a hero, but his narcissism and daddy issues keep torpedoing any chance of redemption. Rejected by the Justice Gang, he’s tempted by a gadget from his dead racist dad that opens a doorway to an alternate timeline where surprise! everyone adores him and Harcourt is finally into him. It’s fanfiction wish fulfillment with a Gunn twist: all sweetness up front, with a gut punch waiting underneath.

Multiverse, But Make It Crass

Yes, we’ve hit the multiverse trend, but Gunn actually makes it bearable. Instead of burying the show under fifty versions of Batman, he keeps the stakes refreshingly low-key. Alternate worlds here aren’t about “saving reality” they’re about Peacemaker figuring out whether he can stop being a selfish jackass for five minutes. Spoiler: not really.

Along the way, Gunn keeps the vulgarity dialed up to eleven. The new characters Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows), and Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodríguez) slide neatly into the chaos, while Cena, Holland, Brooks, Stroma, and Agee remind us why this mismatched crew still clicks like few ensembles in the superhero space. The A.R.G.U.S. antics are absurd, the jokes hit harder than they should, and yes, someone will probably be decapitated mid-punchline.

Gore, Romance, and Toxic Masculinity—Oh My

Where Season 1 poked fun at toxic masculinity, Season 2 turns it into a main course. Jennifer Holland gets the meatiest material, doubling as both the hard-edged Harcourt we know and a sunnier alternate version straight out of Peacemaker’s wet dreams. The result is both clever and surprisingly poignant though the pacing of this “romantic” subplot drags like a drunk uncle giving a wedding toast.

Meanwhile, Gunn doesn’t let you forget Peacemaker is a violent lunatic. The action scenes are grotesque in that you’ll laugh while wincing sort of way, and Chris’s infamous mantra “I cherish peace, I’ll kill anyone to get it” still lands with the uncomfortable truth that you’re watching a hypocritical psychopath masquerading as a hero. Rick Flag Sr.’s quest for revenge adds another layer of moral rot, reminding everyone of that little detail where Peacemaker murdered his son back in The Suicide Squad.

When the Joke Goes On Too Long

Here’s the rub: the season’s high point comes early, and the show never quite recaptures it. Midway through, Gunn inexplicably hands the reins to Eagley, Peacemaker’s CGI pet eagle, for a subplot that feels like an overextended Family Guy cutaway gag. It’s the kind of thing that sounds hilarious in the writers’ room but dies a slow, painful death on screen. Even worse, Gunn’s usually sharp handling of grief and guilt feels weirdly flat this time around as if he was too busy juggling DCU politics to find the heart beneath the gore.

Still, Cena keeps the whole ridiculous enterprise afloat. Whenever the writing wobbles, his ability to sell Peacemaker as both pathetic and oddly endearing saves the day. The season thrives when it leans into its surreal pocket-universe playground, even if some revelations feel like they should hit harder than they do.

By the end, you can feel Gunn setting up the “big twist” that’s bound to keep Reddit buzzing, but the ride itself is the point: an unholy cocktail of blood, vulgarity, and misplaced sincerity. Does it surpass Season 1? No. But it doesn’t need to. Peacemaker Season 2 remains what it’s always been: an obnoxious, foul-mouthed, gorily entertaining mess and somehow, that’s still better than most of what DC churns out.

Peacemaker Season 2 Parents Guide

Violence & Gore: This show is a full-blown gore buffet. I’m talking limbs flung across the screen, eagles™ doing some kind of violent midair Rube Goldberg, and Peacemaker himself delivering kill lines with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It’s rated TV-MA for a reason if your idea of “heroes” includes questionable moral fiber and a penchant for dismemberment, have I got a show for you. There’s a visceral brutality here that’ll make you squirm, chuckle, then maybe clutch your pearls. In short, not for the faint of heart or the faint-hearted parent.

Language: If profanity were an Olympic sport, this show would win gold, silver, and bronze. It’s like every word filter imploded, and the writers just said, “Screw it, drop every curse in the book.” I saw IMDb parents guide tag Language as “Severe”. That’s generous they’re being nice. If your kid’s vocabulary is already peppered with four-letter words on the “F” register, this won’t raise an eyebrow; otherwise, it’s a bulldozer of vulgarity.

Sexual Content & Nudity: Season 2 apparently doubles down on Peacemaker’s hyper-sexualized, bisexual, “let’s fuck the patriarchy” energy opening scenes include naked parties and yes, they actually show you Them. That’s Cannon Bravo territory. IMDb says “Sex & Nudity: Severe” again, understatement. It’s not titillating, it’s unapologetic.

Substance Use / Drugs: Honestly, in the middle of all the gore, sex, and swearing, drug and alcohol use barely registers. IMDb notes the category as “Mild”. So yes, there’s some drinking and maybe a joint here or there enough to know they’re down for a drink but not enough to start a PTA uprising. It’s the one area where the show pulls back the throttle just slightly but don’t mistake it for innocence.

Premiere Date: August 21, 2025.
Created by James Gunn.
Based on characters from DC Comics.
Showrunner: James Gunn.
Season 2 Directors: James Gunn, Greg Mottola, Alethea Jones, & Peter Sollett.
Executive Producers: James Gunn, Peter Safran, & Matt Miller.
Main Cast: John Cena, Jennifer Holland, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, Frank Grillo, Robert Patrick, Sol Rodríguez, Tim Meadows, Michael Rooker, Nhut Le, Isabela Merced, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, David Denman, Anissa Matlock, Taylor St. Clair, Dorian Kingi, & Brandon Stanley.