After the box office success of this summer’s Superman, the next chapter in the DC Universe is arriving shortly with Peacemaker Season 2, which premieres on HBO Max on August 21st. Fortunately, it looks like James Gunn and Co. have another winner on their hands. The first reviews for Peacemaker Season 2 have been published, and critics are loving what they’ve seen. As of this writing, Peacemaker‘s second season boasts an impressive 100% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes with 30 reviews submitted. This makes it the third consecutive Certified Fresh project in the DCU since the new continuity kicked off late last year with Creature Commandos.
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The animated series sports a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%. Superman actually has the DCU’s lowest critics score to date with 83%. When compared to entries in the old DC Extended Universe, Peacemaker Season 1 had a score of 93% and The Suicide Squad came in at 90%. A critics consensus for Peacemaker Season 2 hasn’t been published yet, but skimming over the reviews shows it’s being praised for the performances of the cast, the over-the-top, R-rated humor and violence, and a surprisingly strong emotional core.
Gunn has described Peacemaker Season 2 as the “direct follow-up” to Superman. Though the two projects are very different in terms of style and tone, there are plenty of connections between them. Multiple characters from Superman return in Peacemaker. In fact, these connections were why Superman was released on home media so quickly after its theatrical premiere. Gunn wanted to give people an opportunity to watch the movie before Peacemaker returns.
HBO Max has been busy putting together a notable promotional campaign for Peacemaker Season 2. The show received a Hall H panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, where a trailer was revealed. That preview set up the basic premise of the upcoming season, showing Christopher Smith discovering the existence of a different reality where his life is seemingly perfect. The multiverse angle brings a show that started life in the DCEU into the DCU. Ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Gunn has been co-hosting a Season 1 rewatch on the official Peacemaker podcast, sharing what is and isn’t canon in the DCU.
Peacemaker Season 1 was one of the few DCEU projects to earn widespread praise, and it’s great to see Season 2 follow suit. The DCU now has another notch on its belt as things really rev up, winning over critics and audiences with stories that are entertaining and heartfelt. After experiencing its fair share of ups and downs in the 2010s, it was vital for DC Studios to get the DCU off to a strong start, and they’ve achieved that. The reception to Peacemaker Season 2 will only continue to build forward momentum for the franchise, generating excitement for what’s to come.
One of the more notable takeaways from the Peacemaker Season 2 reviews is that multiple critics have called out the show’s genuinely affecting story. Throughout his career, Gunn has mastered the art of balancing comedy with heart. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies make people laugh hysterically in one moment and uncontrollably sob the next. With that in mind, it isn’t a shock that Peacemaker Season 2 makes viewers care about the characters with an emotionally charged narrative about finding a sense of belonging. But it’s great to see there’s much more to the show than just R-rated shenanigans. It sounds like Peacemaker Season 2 might be even better than its predecessor.
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Image Courtesy of DC Comics
