Note: This review is based on the first seven episodes (of eight)

Following on hot off the heels of 2021’s The Suicide Squad James Gunn strikes again with more hilariously entertaining superhero shenanigans. Originally Peacemaker would seem like an interesting choice of the squad to be getting his own series, especially after the final act of The Suicide Squad revealing him to be a complete asshole, but very quickly the show establishes itself and manages to make Peacemaker, AKA Christopher Smith, just a little bit more likeable.

The show opens with John Cena’s Peacemaker busting out of prison and he unites with some new teammates to defeat a bunch of alien creatures known as butterflies. On the team are leader Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), John Economos (Steve Agee) and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) two characters that we briefly met working for Amanda Waller in The Suicide Squad, rookie Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) who’s by far the most interesting of the team behind the Peacemaker, as well as Peacemaker’s wisecracking friend Vigilante (Freddie Stroma). It’s a completely different sort of team to who we last saw Peacemaker with in The Suicide Squad but it allows for a much greater exploration of the eponymous Peacemaker.

John Cena is absolutely perfect for the character and James Gunn’s sharp writing and direction makes the show stand out. Right from Peacemaker’s ridiculous pitch-perfect opening titles up until the end of each episode it’s filled to the brim with stupidity and the sort of gags we come to expect from Gunn. It’s remarkable that the cast can perform it all with a straight face. Everything about the show has this air of stupidity to it, whether that’s in the dialogue, Peacemaker’s bald eagle pet named Eagly, or even just Peacemaker’s costume. But the show somehow perfectly balances this stupidity with seriousness as it provides a great look at Peacemaker’s character and actually gives a reason as to why he’s getting this show.

There’s far more to Cena’s character beneath the surface and beneath what we’ve seen of him previously and there’s something that deserves exploration and that’s what the series does. He’s willing to get peace at all costs no matter how many men, women, and children he has to kill to get it. The main plot line of the show about tackling the alien species of butterflies that take over a host body seems a little similar to Project Starfish from The Suicide Squad -and in fact the show even jokes about this similarity- but the show also delves into deeper issues as we experience the relationship between Peacemaker and his white supremacist dad Auggie played by Terminator 2’s Robert Patrick. There’s so much more to Peacemaker as a person and what he’s been through that The Suicide Squad just doesn’t touch on at all so this show is a good chance to really connect with him on a deeper level and it provides us with reasons to actually sympathise with this character.

We’re inundated with superhero content at the minute and Peacemaker feels distinct enough from much of what Marvel are doing, even Gunn’s own Marvel projects, however there is an easy comparison to be made between this and Amazon’s The Boys. Peacemaker isn’t quite as sharp or as smart as The Boys is, nor are any of the other characters in Peacemaker anywhere near the high quality of Amazon’s show but nonetheless it’s a delight to watch and a break from the many Marvel series we had in 2021.

As the show runs on a lot of the humour starts to drip away with Gunn’s juvenile style of comedy getting a bit repetitive. In particular the novelty of Stroma’s quippy Vigilante, who initially seems like DC’s version of Deadpool starts to wear off. Very quickly his stupidity and lack of awareness gets boring.

Peacemaker delivers with its heavy and brutal violence along with being incredibly funny and goofy at the same time. James Gunn shows us once again that he can make something fun and vibrant that feels like it’s been ripped straight out the pages of a comic book. It’s entertaining as hell and a great start to the year for DC.

The first three episodes of Peacemaker premiere on HBO MAX on January 13^th with new episodes releasing each week.

The latest issue of Empire Magazine will feature new images and stories from the upcoming  DC film directed by Matt Reeves, ‘The Batman.’ In the latest issue, Reeves talks about his inspiration for this latest iteration of Gotham’s dark knight.

“When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way’. That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse. So I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalised version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor.”

Robert Pattinson – Batman [credit: Empire Magazine | Warner Bros. Pictures]

“In that movie you could really feel his vulnerability and desperation, but you could also feel his power,” Reeves explains. “I thought that was a great mix. He’s also got that Kurt Cobain thing, where he looks like a rock star, but you also feel like he could be a recluse.”

Robert Pattinson also shed some light as to what we can expect from his version of the dark knight. We get the picture, that this Bruce Wayne will be a dark, tormented soul, finding purpose through his nightly struggles in the streets of Gotham.

“Bruce has been hiding away,” says Pattinson. “He’s not really a socialite at all. He’s building all these little contraptions and things, just with Alfred. And even Alfred thinks he’s gone insane!”

Robert Pattinson – Bruce Wayne [credit: Empire Magazine | Warner Bros. Pictures]

“He’s been out every single night for two years, getting beaten up and shot and stabbed and burnt, and it shows,” the actor explains. “There’s a bullet graze on the cowl, right at the beginning. I don’t think that’s been done before.”

The Empire Magazine “Batman Edition” hits shelves this Thursday 23 December.

The Batman hits theaters March 4, 2022

New Open-World Action-Adventure Videogame from Monolith Productions 
Features the Iconic DC Super Hero ​​​​​​​

Warner Bros. Games and DC during the Game Awards announced a new third person, open-world action-adventure video game featuring the beloved, iconic DC Super Hero, Wonder Woman. In development by Monolith Productions, creators of the critically acclaimed Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor™ and sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War™, the single player open-world action game will introduce an original story set in the DC Universe and allow players to become Diana of Themyscira in the fight to unite her Amazon family and the humans from the modern world. Powered by the Nemesis System, gamers will forge deep connections with both enemies and allies as they progress from a heroic fighter into a proven leader.

Watch the official game announcement trailer below:

“Wonder Woman is one of the most iconic DC Super Heroes of all time, standing for truth, justice and equality for over 80 years, and we’re proud to be creating an exciting new gaming chapter in this legendary character’s legacy,” said David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Games. “The talented team at Monolith Productions is building upon their strengths to bring players a Wonder Woman game that is unlike anything they have ever experienced.”

“The Nemesis System raised the bar for player-driven storytelling and we’re excited to push the open-world genre forward, combining cutting-edge action with inventive narratives to create a Wonder Woman game everyone will want to play.”

No release date has been announced.