Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 4 Gives Its Title Character A Dramatic Power Upgrade

This article contains spoilers for "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 4, "Need I Say Door." 

Peacemaker (John Cena), at his core, is a bit of a loser. He might be a trained killer with the body of a Greek god on steroids, but between his hair metal fixation and dated views, he has a lot more in common with William Zabka's "Cobra Kai" character Johnny Lawrence than Batman. When viewers learn his tragic backstory, he becomes a touch more sympathetic, but it's increasingly obvious that he's a mess who's barely started the long road to becoming a grounded human being. In other words (and as "Peacemaker" is fond of reminding those watching at home), he's a guy who gets called "a joke" by the very man he's killing in single combat.

That is, until "Need I Say Door" comes knocking. "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 4 reveals surprising truths about Peacemaker and his dad, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick) — and in the process, ends up giving Peacemaker a massive power-up. The episode reveals that Peacemaker (and not his father, as previously implied) is the only known person on Earth who can control and manipulate the entrance to Auggie's extra-dimensional quantum unfolding chamber. While it's not stated out loud, he may also have had a hand in scavenging and/or creating the technology the Smiths use from the chamber's resources, given how he specifically states that his supposed gadgeteer genius dad is actually pretty useless with technology and didn't create the assorted Peacemaker helmets.

All in all, Peacemaker is now one of the very few folks in the DC Universe with hands-on knowledge about accessing and manipulating dimensional travel. The others? Only noted geniuses Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), as seen in "Superman." Congratulations on the upgrade, Peacemaker!

It's fun to see "Peacemaker" season 2 very deservedly take the horrible Auggie Smith down yet another peg by revealing that instead of a criminal supergenius, he was just a schmuck who stumbled onto a good thing. However, it's also mildly concerning to see the show forcibly hoist his son up to the DCU's "Gods and Monsters" level. 

Though Peacemaker doesn't seem to fully realize it, the revelation that he effectively guards the entrance to the DCU version of the multiverse is a massive upgrade for a non-powered costumed vigilante who's mostly known for his muscles, proficiency with weapons, and subpar trauma management. These traits might have kept Peacemaker extremely low in the superhero pecking order, but they're also precisely what endeared the viewers to him and his equally flawed 11th Street Kids. They're characters who specifically aren't supposed to be powerful, and the charm of "Peacemaker" season 1 is that despite having very little in the way of superheroics as they're commonly understood, Peacemaker and his friends somehow find a way to save the day and thumb their nose at the Justice League (or the Justice Gang, courtesy of the giant "Peacemaker" season 2 retcon). 

The Peacemaker in the show's main universe is still very much a sad sack, and even A.R.G.U.S. doesn't think too highly of the guy's prowess despite his penchant for dimensional disturbances. Also, yes, one of the main themes of "Peacemaker" has always been personal growth, no matter how minuscule. Still, turning the character into the de facto custodian of the DCU multiverse does seem like an ambitious direction to take him in. It will be intriguing to see where the series plans to do with this new development and how it affects Chris Smith in the long run.

"Peacemaker" is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes dropping on Thursdays.