The simple reason that James Gunn picked Peacemaker for The Suicide Squad is due to his helmet. That might sound kind of funny and out there in a way that needs further explanation, but it’s actually the truth apparently. The reason that Cena managed to get a spinoff is that when Gunn was asked who he would base a spinoff on, Peacemaker came to mind thanks to his backward views. Seriously, this character’s viewpoint is so warped that he’ll gladly kill, maim, and otherwise annihilate anyone in his path to ensure that peace will be the result, and he won’t look back after doing it. The kind of mind it takes to say that they’ll gladly do anything no matter how vile it is presents a problem since it invites a very zealous viewpoint that doesn’t offer up any argument other than the idea that whether one is doing the right or wrong thing doesn’t matter so long as it’s in the name of peace. How that translates to someone like Peacemaker is a little confusing but it definitely makes him one of the most unbalanced characters in the movie.
Another reason that James Gunn decided on the Peacemaker spinoff is kind of funny to think about since it’s true. While the rest of the characters evolved in a way throughout the movie, Peacemaker stayed the same. If you think that statement is in error then you might need to watch The Suicide Squad again since the truth is that the character did stay the same. There wasn’t any noted character development for Peacemaker since he was a plant from the start and given that he’s such an over-zealous character he wasn’t bound to change since it’s not something that was in the cards. But he was a part of the team as long as the mission was moving forward, and so long as he had his mission in mind.
When one thinks about it, what Peacemaker did in The Suicide Squad made at least a little bit of sense given that the general public wanting to know as much as possible about what the government is doing isn’t always a good thing. People hear the truth and then tend to make the decision that it’s not the truth or they panic, or they start cooking up one conspiracy theory after another, and things become even more chaotic than they usually are. That’s why keeping the details of Project Starfish was likely a good idea, in theory, since it meant that a very bad decision by the government could be eliminated and possibly buried before it could become any worse. It’s shady, immoral, and wrong without a doubt, but it was also the best chance at peace, which meant that Peacemaker was bound to go along with it. For the government, it was the best way to make it appear as though things were on the up and up and that the people thought that they were doing the right thing. It’s kind of unnerving really to think that our own government might be doing the same thing, but it’s easy to think that there’s nothing quite as bad going on in the real world. At least, we hope there isn’t.
But it is easy to think that Gunn would take the guy that’s not going to change in any way, shape, or form and create a spinoff based on that since the rest of them appeared ready to just hang it up for the moment and find someplace to sit and reflect for a while. By the end of the movie, it was easy to see that they’d been through it and were pretty beaten up, meaning they needed to sit back and relax for a while and hope that Waller didn’t decide to detonate their implants for the hell of it after she’d been struck in the side of the head. The fact that Peacemaker survived was something that people were debating since some folks were wondering if the spinoff would be a prequel given that a bullet in the neck looked like it might be fatal. But lo and behold, Peacemaker is tougher than people gave him credit for, and the spinoff is on the way to happening.
It’s still funny to think of how the creator of this character thought to put such an ungainly helmet on him and try to make it work, but apparently, it has worked well enough to keep this character around. Now all that has to happen is that the spinoff has to make enough sense to appease the fans, but that doesn’t sound like it’s a big worry since John Cena has proven to be adept at comedy and at acting. Much like a few other wrestlers, it took time for him to find his groove, but he is worth watching at this point.
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