The summary “previously” of Peacemaker Season 2 rewrites the own history of the series (and it works)

Spoilers follow.

Continuity in a serialized story can be a double -edged sword. On the one hand, there is no longer a rewarding feeling of watching a film or a television series and to see a character or a point of the intrigue referenced (or, better still, paid) from several films or seasons before. This is the confirmation that the filmmakers care enough about the series to have paid special attention to it, and its validation for the fan who has the impression that their time to diligence over the years has been well spent. On the other hand, a series with tight continuity can be intimidating, even alienated, for the public which is not already inducted or informed. And on the cinematic side of the equation, having to respect an increasingly long list of layout points, characters and other staging rules can be restricted in a creative way.

This is why the medium of comics – which undoubtedly present the oldest stories of all mediums – have proposed the concept of “jump on the points”. Yes, the continuity of comics in the superhero titles of the two large publishers has undergone several times restarts on the scale of the company. For DC Comics, these quarters of work have arrived in the form of several stories of crossing “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, which use a cataclysmic event to reform and reset the universe in the future. For Marvel Comics, there have been several “Secret Wars” events that operate in the same way. The Marvel cinematographic universe, under the guided hand of Kevin Feige, told their stories on the screen in a way that looks closely to the continuity of comics, and now they seem to face their own imminent crisis, because “Avengers: Secret Wars” is due to the release in 2027, and it is very rumor to be the film that puts the MCU.

Although James Gunn and the DC studios of Peter Safran are new, their first couple projects have demonstrated an interest in getting away from trying to keep a leash of continuity on the universe. The last example of this appears in the first season of “Peacemaker”. Where most television programs returning for a new season have a “previously” segment which catches up with new and old viewers, this first present which could be a television first: a moment of the first season which was almost completely rewritten. It is a skillful and daring choice on the part of Gunn, and moreover, it works exceptionally well.

Towards the end of the eighth and last episode of the first season of “Peacemaker” entitled “It’s Cow or Never”, Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker (John Cena) took his secret OPS team known as Task Force X to attack Coverdale Ranch, that the invasive extraterrestrial species known as Butterflies. Stopping the invasion of butterflies, each member of the group is injured or injured, Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) being the worst. As a peacemaker carries Harcourt safe at the end of the conflict, justice League arrives, and not just any justice League, but that of the eponymous films which takes place in the extended world of DC. In addition to the shaded figures of Superman and Wonder Woman, we see Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and the Flash (Ezra Miller) as a peacemaker said to the league that they arrived too late.

However, in the version of this moment presented during the summary of season 1 before season 2, justice League is not found. Instead, the superheroes who arrive at Coverdale Ranch too late are the gang of justice, as created in “Superman” by Gunn last July. Instead of Aquaman and Flash sharing a little jokes, it’s Green Lantern / Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl / Kendra Saunders (Isabela Merced). Although there are some small notable changes in the summary, it is this Retcon which firmly transplaims “peaceful” from the DCEU to the DCU. From there, the series continues in a way that the summary promises, as if the show had always taken place in the DCU. For example, one of the first scenes sees Christ to hear to join the gang of justice, and Gardner and Saunders are there with their benefactor, Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn). Frank Grillo portrays Rick Flag Sr. as the director of Argus, as he does in “Superman” and the “Creature Commandos”. No foray that changes reality, super-villain, time travel plot or another type of Shenanigan or Doohickey is necessary to make this massive change between universes. Instead, Gunn goes ahead and the fact, which looks like a breath of fresh air.

During the performance of the release of “Superman” and the beginning of the DCU proper, there have been many speculating pieces on what is and which is canon, how some characters could move from DCEU to DCU, etc. There was also speculation about how “Superman” himself could manage the introduction of a new Kal-El / Clark Kent (David Corenswet) as well as a new casting of heroes and bad support. It turned out that Gunn took a page of many “jumping” comics that have come before, that is to say to provide some background pieces via a few opening title cards, then jump directly in history. “Superman” is not aggressively an original story, because his opening titles stipulate that Superman has been an active hero for three years, and therefore each major character in the film has already met or already has a relationship with each other. Indeed, the film looks like a step beyond the Gunn team films as “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad” and even the first season of “Peacemaker”. While these films actually felt like original stories thanks to a bunch of characters who meet and join for the first time, “Superman” removes pretension.

It is a narration shorthand that feels as faithful to the comics as attempts at heavy retorts, but unlike the latter, the first approach is only cool for large and small screens. Instead of feeling forced to make a “Star Trek” or “X-Men: Days of Future Past” thing “,” Superman “and” Peacemaker “quickly and succinctly say both viewers and new viewers of what they have to know and continue from there. This approach seems to be in direct opposition to the place where the MCU ended up, with this franchise stuck in a place The tone of more than 20 long films and several coherent television series.

While season 2 of “Peacemaker” continues, it remains to be seen if Gunn will tackle all the questions that his Retcon raises. Are all DCEU’s characters present in the DCU, or simply a selected group? What characters are played by the same actors, if necessary? And what’s going on with the story of the season of discovery of another dimension of the season-is this an interesting way to make a meta commentary on the DCU / DCEU situation, or something more? Whatever, it seems that we are in safe and robust hands with Gunn’s approach to the continuity of the universe, simply because it indicates that we should not be too concerned about this.