Main cast: John Cena (Christopher Smith/Peacemaker), Danielle Brooks (Leota Adebayo), Freddie Stroma (Adrian Chase/Vigilante), Chukwudi Iwuji (Clemson Murn), Jennifer Holland (Agent Emilia Harcourt), Steve Agee (John Economos), Annie Chang (Detective Sophie Song), Lochlyn Munro (Detective Larry Fitzgibbon), Elizabeth Faith Ludlow (Keeya Adebayo), Rizwan Manji (Jamil), and Robert Patrick (Auggie Smith)
Director: James Gunn
Wait, why on earth will anyone give Peacemaker a show of his own, of all the members of the latest The Suicide Squad? Did China bankroll this show on behalf of their favorite wrestler? While I commend John Cena both for his ability to apologize in Mandarin, bare his butt, and strut around in stuffed tighty-whities, I personally will prefer a show about King Shark.
Still, it could be worse, I suppose. James Gunn could have used this show to give his brother another means for the latter to pay his rent.
So yes, A Whole New Whirled takes place after The Suicide Squad, when he is pressed back into service with a new team and a new mission. However, first, our poor hero has to survive a one-night stand from hell.
Okay, as much as I sometimes pile on John Cena, he’s great here. I like his willingness to go all out and make himself look foolish even, unlike a certain drooping man-titty’ed ex-wrestler that needs to be the center of attention all the time, and he fits the eccentric tableau of this show perfectly well.
He can also exude vulnerability well, as Peacemaker is this episode is beaten down by his daddy issues as well as his constant being pressed into doing all kinds of missions against his well, and he just wants the chance to live a quiet life for a bit. This role allows Mr Cena to show some depths in his acting, which is ironic, what with this show being what it is, heh.
While this is definitely James Gunn’s pet project, I’m not sure whether I agree with people calling this show woke. Yes, Mr Gunn is the perfect epitome of a raging champagne progressive on his social media, but this show actually skewers the talking points of these champagne progressives on social media.
In many ways, Peacemaker is the every day man in the middle facing accusations of racism and what not that he doesn’t fully get. Sure, he wants peace, and he’s willing to kill as many people as he can to help achieve that, so what’s the problem with that? Yes, it’s absurd, but it is also a great parody of a common talking point in the progressive side of social media, when the end justifies their ends, but no, it’s different when the other side does the same thing: then it would be a sin.
In fact, in this episode, what is revealed of his background suggests that Christopher Smith has more in common with someone living in the more backward areas of America that is bewildered by why, all of a sudden, the way of life and the culture that he has been raised in all his wife are called all kinds of bad things by the gentrified folks around him.
Mr Gunn’s show also isn’t subtle in showing that Peacemaker is a product of his upbringing: his father is very racist and anti-communist, and Peacemaker never measures up to Auggie’s ridiculous ideals of what peak masculinity should be.
Hence, while I have seen some people call this show a progressive propaganda, I’m not sure. The fact that this episode is sympathetic toward Peacemaker is a big argument against the episode being woke. The supposed more progressive types that judge him come off as snotty twats in a way that is too hammy and in your face to be unintentional.
If anything, this episode peels away Peacemaker’s overt façade to suggest that, perhaps, there is something more to him. New girl in the crew, Leota, even says this out loud to Amanda Waller: despite the fact that Peacemaker is sexist and possibly racist (you know, because he’s a muscular white man from clearly a red neighborhood), there is something about him that makes her feel some degree of empathy for.
Oh, and John Cena shows a lot of skin in this episode, and for a white man, he has some fine cake indeed. He should probably chill it with whatever he takes to get that beautiful body. I mean, I appreciate the sight, but all those veins standing out may not be a good thing.
A Whole New Whirled is definitely a James Gunn show, as it combines eccentric colors, wacky and sometimes vulgar humor, and zany violence without any care for what people may think. It is very similar in tone and style to The Suicide Squad, so folks that like that movie may like this one too.
Me, I find myself very intrigued by the new layers of Peacemaker’s character here. Considering how unlikely that Mr Gunn will conform to the Disney-esque formula of providing cheap hugs as answers for difficult conflicts, I’m definitely interested in watching the rest of the show!
