Peacemaker Season 2 Makes The Two Suicide Squad Movies Even More Confusing

Hoist that Flag: This article contains spoilers for "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 3, "Another Rick Up My Sleeve."

Peacemaker (John Cena) has a serious Flag problem. Not only does he feel guilty about killing Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) in 2021's "The Suicide Squad" (2021), but Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) knows all about this, and as the new head of A.R.G.U.S., he's in prime position to do whatever he can to get on Peacemaker's case. If all of that wasn't enough, the opening of "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 3 ("Another Rick Up My Sleeve") adds yet another twist to the show's ever-expanding Flag game by bringing back Rick Jr. 

In a flashback scene, we discover that Junior had an affair with Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) while dating June Moone, the host of the Enchantress (Cara Delevingne). The scene specifically takes place just before the events of Gunn's 2021 "The Suicide Squad," but there's one problem: June Moone is a character from David Ayer's "Suicide Squad" (2016). By the time Gunn's soft-rebooted "The Suicide Squad" (2021) rolls out, the Enchantress entity (who is the 2016 movie's main villain) has been dead for years, and June should be depowered. So, why does Flag say that he can't break up with June because he's afraid she might blast a hole through the planet? 

Sure, this might be Flag indulging in a particularly egregious example of the "I can't leave her for you because ..." excuse by insinuating that June still somehow has powers. But Harcourt doesn't bat an eyelid to this despite being a ranking A.R.G.U.S. agent who should be perfectly aware of June's situation. The relationship between "Suicide Squad" and "The Suicide Squad" is peculiar at best, and this scene creates a big plot hole that only serves to further muddy the waters.

This June Moone-sized plot hole between the two "Suicide Squad" movies might seem pretty awful in almost any other situation, but it's worth noting that James Gunn has done the legwork to make sure that this show is a special case. After all, the "previously on" recap of "Peacemaker" season 2 rewrites the show's own history by replacing the season 1 finale's DCEU-era Justice League with a Justice Gang cameo. Almost immediately afterwards, "Peacemaker" season 2 introduces its "Star Trek"-influenced multiverse game with a Mirror Universe-style dimension where Peacemaker is a successful hero whose family is alive and loves him. 

In this context, Flag Jr.'s comment about June's potentially planet-wrecking powers isn't quite as outlandish as it otherwise might be. In all likelihood, this is just Gunn's attempt to mesh the best of both "(The) Suicide Squad" worlds into the DC Universe fold. Perhaps later episodes of "Peacemaker" season 2 will wholeheartedly confirm that "Suicide Squad," "The Suicide Squad," and "Peacemaker" season 2 all take place in different alternate universes that ever so slightly remix the same events, but for now, superhero show fans wouldn't be superhero show fans if they didn't arch an eyebrow at this currently unanswered mystery. 

New episodes of "Peacemaker" season 2 begin streaming on HBO Max every Thursday.