This story is all about the cameo that happens in the Peacemaker finale, so STOP reading right now if you haven’t yet seen it, and give a damn about spoilers. For real… back out now.
James Gunn’s terrific limited series Peacemaker has been building towards a confrontation with the aliens that have assimilated themselves into our society, taking over bodies and feeding off of a syrupy goo that’s provided by a sacred “cow” creature. That has to be one of the weirdest sentences I’ve ever typed, so I can’t imagine how the idea even surfaced in Gunn’s mind. We have an excellent breakdown of the Peacemaker season finale (which James Gunn said was his favorite episode of the series) on the site, and what it means for DC moving forward, but I want to focus on the very surprising cameo… and the reason it has some Justice League fans complaining.
So, since you have seen the episode already, you know that SOME members of the Justice League arrive on the scene of the “cow” confrontation, but they get there long after the action has subsided. Peacemaker (John Cena) criticizes them for being late, then tells Aquaman (Jason Momoa) to, “Go fuck another fish, asshole!” Momoa’s Atlantean king turns to The Flash (Ezra Miller) and complains about hating that rumor, to which Barry replies, “It’s… not a rumor.”
The scene is funny, and it allows the normally PG-13 Justice League crew to go hard R, dropping F-bombs and making sex jokes. Jason Momoa (in his signature Aquaman suit) and Ezra Miller actually filmed their parts, even though – through the magic of movie-making – Miller shot his scenes on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 so he could be inserted later. The other two Justice League members, Superman and Wonder Woman, were silhouettes that likely were filmed by body doubles standing in for Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot, respectively.
And every DC fans thought it was awesome that James Gunn included the Justice League in his Peacemaker show, right? Sigh… no. Immediately, certain viewers started asking on social media where Batman and Cyborg were, and questioning why they weren’t included in the superhero lineup.
I'm glad my timeline is just as angry as I am about the Justice League disrespect and the continued Cyborg and Ray Fisher erasure because I am seething at this point. I hope WB crashes and burns in every way possible. This is the biggest downgrade I've ever seen. #BoycottWB pic.twitter.com/7WKiZeQODEFebruary 17, 2022
Fans who support Justice League co-star Ray Fisher assume that Cyborg was left out of the lineup because of the actor’s differences with Warner Bros. That doesn’t really explain why Batman would be omitted, as Ben Affleck still has a solid relationship with the studio and will appear in DC’s The Flash in November. But it is strange that you’d have Superman and Wonder Woman in silhouette but not include the remaining members of the established Justice League.
In the process of complaining, some fans are concluding that because Superman was shown, this is hope for Henry Cavill to continue on as the Man of Steel (and not get replaced by Supergirl when she debuts in The Flash). Then again, Superman might just be there because Peacemaker made a joke at his expense earlier in the season. Then again, he poked fun at Batman, too. Only Gunn will be able to tell us his reasoning. Maybe he’ll explain more in the recently announced Peacemaker season two, whenever that drops?
