“Be like a douchey Captain America.”
These are the now-iconic motivating words that James Gunn supposedly gave as direction to John Cena for his portrayal as Peacemaker. Cena revealed this choice piece of advice in the behind-the-scenes trailer released for The Suicide Squad back in August of 2020. Gunn’s direction applied mostly to Peacemaker’s jingoistic, overly patriotic palette, his indomitable will, and twisted code of ethics. But with the bloody conclusion of Peacemaker’s first season on HBO Max, we also see these words in a new, literal light.
Because Peacemaker now has a shield.
Much like his clean-cut Marvel parallel, Peacemaker whipped around a shiny new shield in an epic fight with the Butterflies, but he didn’t only use it to deflect bullets and knock people unconscious. Peacemaker wielded his shield more like US Agent, using it to slice, dice, and decapitate. But where did his new shield come from? Fans have been debating its origins, with some saying it must be from Harcourt and Murn, and some saying his dad, but we have the answer!Â
Did Harcourt or Murn commission the shield?
This option seems less likely considering the time frame, but it’s possible that Harcourt or Murn had the shield made for Peacemaker. It’s possible that they wanted to use it as a motivating tool, knowing that having a dove of peace engraved on his weapons was the placebo that helped Peacemaker be such a brutally efficient killer. It doesn’t seem like there would be enough time, given what was shown, for this to have taken place, and in fact there was not because ….
Auggie Smith built the Peacemaker Shield
Peacemaker’s crew snagged it when they went back to gather more supplies at Smith’s house after defeating him. We know that they recouped several helmets (including the Scabies helmet), presumably from Smith’s quantum unfolding storage chamber. Knowing Smith’s attitude and awful ideology, especially regarding his son, it might seem unlikely that he would make a defensive weapon. But seeing how Peacemaker wielded it, it definitely can be used as a pretty brutal attack weapon. Those edges were very sharp! Most importantly though, if you look in the background in the scene where Peacemaker steals all the helmets you can see the shield poking out behind him.
Bing bang boom, that’s a Peacemaker shield baby!
(Images: HBO Max)
