Peacemaker Season 2 does the Justice League dirty with big DCEU retcon in Episode 1

Peacemaker Season 2 kicks off with a recap that changes the events of Season 1 in a way that will upset Justice League fans.

Season 2 of Peacemaker just commenced with an action-packed episode that finds Christopher Smith traveling to another dimension, as part of what James Gunn claims isn’t a multiverse story.

We’ve seen Episodes 1-5, and wrote in our Peacemaker Season 2 review that it “tells a touching tale which lacks the potentially world-ending stakes of its predecessor, but makes up for that with an emotionally charged story that acts as the DCU’s answer to Sliding Doors.”

But the new series also makes change to past events that does the DCEU dirty. SPOILERS ahead…

Justice League replaced by Justice Gang in Peacemaker Season 2

Warner Bros.

There’s a great gag at the end of Peacemaker Season 1, when the climactic battle is over, and Christopher Smith is carrying the injured Emilia Harcourt to safety.

The Justice League appear in front of him: Superman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman. “You’re late, ya f**king d*ck-heads” exclaims Smith, before telling Arthur Curry to “go f*ck another fish.”

Peacemaker showrunner James Gunn is now the co-chief of DC Studios, and has officially ended the DCEU, and replaced it with his own DCU.

He also introduced the Justice Gang in Superman, while Hawkgirl and Green Lantern cameo in Episode 1 of Peacemaker Season 2.

So for the sake of consistency, during the Season 1 recap at the start of the new series, Gunn has replaced the Justice League with the Justice Gang in that scene.

In a change to the dialogue, Leota Adebayo says, “The whole team is injured, so I was thinking like, maybe you could call in the Justice Gang.” While Smith also says that he once puked over Green Lantern, and Guy Gardner liked it.

Then, instead of meeting the Justice League while carrying Harcourt, he sees Mr. Terrific, Superman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Supergirl.

Smith again tells them they are late, to which Hawkgirl responds with “What a meat-head!” and Guy Gardner says, “Screw that guy – you know he tells people I’m a puke-freak!”

Hawkgirl laughs at his statement, and with that history is changed, and the DCEU version of the Justice League no longer exists in the DCU.

Peacemaker Season 2 is airing on HBO Max in the US and Sky Max in the UK, while there’s a sneaky way to watch it for free.

For more comic book action, here’s Dexerto’s ranking of the best superhero movies ever, plus our picks for the best superhero shows of all time. You can also check out our list of every upcoming DCU project.