La Ron S. Readus
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The Secret Ingredient to Peacemaker's Success (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2022-03-02 21:01:01 +0000 UTCI’ll be honest with you, Readers. After seeing how the character was utilized in The Suicide Squad, my anticipation for Peacemaker kinda lowered itself a bit
/Yes, I loved the rivalry between him and Bloodsport. And it made sense for there to be a final showdown between the two of them considering said rivalry. But acting as a stooge for Amanda Waller and then killing Rick Flagg made me think that whatever James Gunn was planning for Peacemaker in his HBO Max show was gonna try to make me feel like his actions were justified or that I should show sympathy for him. And after a long history of being exposed to characters of Christopher Smith’s combination of privilege and complexion with those purposes in mind, I was no longer in the mood to do either./
...What are you talking about Spoilers for The Suicide Squad? It’s been out for almost a year.
You have to have seen these pivotal parts of the movie in order to understand what’s going on with Peacemaker, what are you talking about?
Did you LITERALLY decide to watch ALL OF PEACEMAKER without thinking it would be wise to watch the movie that chronologically came BEFORE PEACEMAKER? Why are you LIKE THIS???
But then, as if anticipating ALL my reasonings for not wanting to watch it, James Gunn went:
Hey, look La’Ron. Trust me, I get it. I GET IT. But what if I did these two things?
- A black lesbian couple that’s allowed to be fleshed out, developed characters that are their full authentic selves without pandering to traditional queer stereotypes and DON’T utilize the Bury Your Gays trope
- Yes, complexity in Peacemaker’s character. But its rooted in both toxic and fragile masculinity and how both nationalist and supremist ideals can be allowed to grow from trauma and the need of acceptance. (Eh? EH??)
The kicker here is that while these are definitely aspects that have piqued my interest on a personal and analytical level that I expected to be addressed as the season played out its 8 episode run...
/The seeds of both A and B were planted in Peacemaker in the very first episode./
And while seeing the queerness of Danielle Brooks’ Leota Adebayo be both present and acknowledged as much as her straight ARGUS counterparts helped me initially get into the show...
/I can’t help but admit that seeing how James Gunn decided to explore this aspect of Peacemaker’s character -- especially with how certain aspects of his beliefs were influenced thanks to the want of his father’s approval and respect -- was both very interesting and comes from a very real place./
That’s why for today’s lesson, I want to explore how Peacemaker season 1 uses Chris Smith’s backstory and development to explore these themes and how they parallel real life supremacist indoctrination via trauma and acceptance. Both how it succeeds in getting its point across, and how it avoided racist tropes that originated in white liberal guilt. Let’s begin.
________
Hey, Readers. La’Ron here. Offering you analysis and perspective on your favorite bits of geek and pop culture media
If it wasn’t obvious from the intro, this video will in fact contain spoilers for season one of DC’s Peacemaker. It’s currently available to stream on HBO Max, so give it a watch before continuing here if you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want me to spoil pivotal points of it for you in this video.
Other than that, if you end up liking what I’m putting down after this video is done, there’s multiple ways you can show some love
If you want to help financially support the channel, you can join my Patreon.
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That’s the syllabus. Now onto the lesson.
So Why Peacemaker?
Now there’s a long answer and a short answer for this question; both being pretty fair and understandable explanations as to why only THIS character out of all the ones from The Suicide Squad could get away with the narrative that this show aimed to deliver.
But, for the sake of my video watchtime, I’ll go with the long one
So the version of Peacemaker that we received in The Suicide Squad and the titular show is based on the first verison of the character, Christopher Smith.
In the comics, he’s a tad bit different than what we’ve seen portrayed by John Cena, but eventually gets to something closer to it after DC Comics’ first big status-quo changing comic event, Crisis on Infinite Earths
Pre-Crisis, the Christopher Smith Peacemaker was a pacifist that used non-violent weapons to fight dictators and warlords. Post Crisis, Chris Smith Peacemaker discovered that he got his violent approach to peace from his dad who was a commandant at a Nazi death camp (long pause) You can already see the resemblance to the version of Peacemaker we eventually got, can’t you?
And it kinda makes sense to choose Peacemaker considering this version of the character is what James Gunn chose as his blueprint.
/When you compare Peacemaker to all of the surviving members of Task Force X from the Corto Maltese mission -- Bloodsport, Ratcatcher, Harley -- everyone else had their development happen before or during The Suicide Squad and didn’t really need that much exploring.
King Shark and Weasel obviously being the exceptions here./
/So considering everyone that survived already pretty much had their moment in or before The Suicide Squad, James Gunn choosing to save Peacemaker and explore this problematic dynamic that is this take on the Golden Age version of the character makes the most sense out of all of them./
However, thanks to Peacemaker being a secondary villain in The Suicide Squad considering him killing off the poster boy of both the franchise and the series Rick Flagg, along with what he was instructed by Amanda Waller to do regarding Operation Starfish...
The problem is getting people to care enough about him to watch an 8-episode season dedicated to the exploration of this type of character.
/Thankfully this is James Gunn we’re talking about. Who, thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy and ESPECIALLY Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, has succeeded in getting audiences interested enough in watching the development of lesser known, morally questionable, and overall douchebaggy characters./
/And according to James Gunn, Peacemaker is, in fact, one of the most douchebaggy characters in mainstream comics he’s ever experienced./ Deadline quote
But leaving the version of Peacemaker he chose for both The Suicide Squad AND the Peacemaker show as is, couldn’t really work according to the timeline both stories take place in inside the DCEU. So in order to explore the elements about Peacemaker’s character that Gunn wanted to focus on, things had to be updated.
More specifically, who in the DCEU his father is, in order to give this version of Chris Smith the same conflict of moral and ethic interest his golden-to-silver age comic counterpart had.
And according to James Gunn, despite being just as bad and representative of what he was going for, one of the best ways to do that was switch out the Nazi death camp commandant for something more reflective of modern day hatred and supremacy that’s just as prominent of a figure in DC Comics.
/And that was making Chris Smith’s dad in the DCEU the white supremacist supervillain White Dragon, played by the Porsche of Terminators himself Robert Patrick./
And here’s why it works
The multiple versions of White Dragon were never the identity of Peacemaker’s father in the comics. But one thing about every iteration of White Dragon in DC Comics that’s true, is that he’s a racist piece of shit.
And due to it always being part of James Gunn’s plan to replace Chris’s Nazi overseer father from the comics with the supervillain in question...
Not only does it make sense to do so considering when Peacemaker takes place in the DCEU’s timeline, but it adds the finishing touch his character needed in order to give us a legit reason why we SHOULD care about him.
By giving Auggie Smith the identity of White Dragon -- along with the racism and xenophobia usually associated with the character that James Gunn thankfully made sure to not make subtle at all -- It gives Christopher a connection to the struggle and inner frustration of his morality and ethics that the comics initially alluded to in a way that better impacts him and his familiar surroundings.
/Peacemaker is, after all, a jingoistic white dude in his mid 40’s possibly suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder that’s being tasked with stopping an alien invasion that’s taking place in his hometown of Evergreen, Georgia. So growing up with ideals and abuse centered around white supremacy and Neo Nazism under the disguise of patriotism and nationalism allows for a better connection to modern-day hate and white libertarianism than what Peacemaker would’ve been allowed to experience if they kept true to his comic book upbringing as the source of his trauma./
But what made me appreciate Gunn’s change to making White Dragon Peacemaker’s father all the more, was because thanks to the lack of subtlety throughout the show, it allowed the conflict to be better visualized by those who watched the show, that grew naturally uncomfortable with how Peacemaker’s upbringing and moral conflict with his father relates to their own.
/It was obvious that this was what they were building up to, even in episode one, when we see Chris struggle with his dad’s racism upon meeting up with him after leaving the hospital, yet still desire to connect with him in a way a son traditionally wants to with his father despite receiving insult after insult and a clear indication that Auggie sees him as weak and lesser. But what showed me how powerful this could be was Episode 4 “The Choad Less Traveled,” when Adebayo lays down the damage Auggie’s done to both society and Peacemaker himself./ (Your dad is a white supremacist supervillain that thinks people like me are second-rate citizens. Okay, that’s fucked up. But he’s family)
/And ever since then, the result of that reality check -- even if it was given to unsuccessfully stop him from visiting his father -- has stuck with Peacemaker, causing him to actually reflect on a lot of things in his past that he didn’t want to admit or reveal about himself./
And all I could think about when I saw that struggle initially stirred by Adebayo’s words was “Damn. If this character started feeling this way from that one interaction, I can only imagine how REAL people in the same boat would react to seeing this play out.”
The combination of making this amalgamation of White Dragon -- that’s so blatant in his racism, xenophobia, supremacy and nationalism to the point where it’s incredibly hard to ignore -- be the father of an individual who fails to see and focus on the damage that such an upbringing has done to him and his current mindset thanks to a need of his acceptance, respect and love...
Is the perfect storm that a lot of people who would naturally be attracted to a character like this NEED to experience and see themselves in, because they otherwise wouldn’t accept such a reality check any other way.
/Because representation is important. Especially representation that forces you to reflect on harsh truths about yourself that you don’t really want to dwell on; that you wanna ignore, put to the side, pretend doesn’t exist and not think about how it’s impacted you in toxic negative ways/
And in seeing Chris go through these notions, the demographic who watch Peacemaker that ARE affected by this, are going to think that they’re just watching the antics of a douchebag character that’s gonna grow a conscience like James Gunn’s other superhero-related works. But instead of experiencing that, they’re gonna see a mirror held up to their faces...Or, y'know, themselves reflected off one of Peacemaker’s many helmets.
They’re gonna see the messed up beliefs and stereotypes that they had about their fellow men all this time and thought that just because they never acted on them or said the assumptions out loud that they’re not like those who are constantly on the news acting on them.
They’re gonna be presented with the racism and bigotry that was regularly displayed in their still alive parents and grandparents during their time as young people in the 50’s and 60’s -- some that still contribute said thoughts and beliefs but in a way that doesn’t get them criticized -- yet continue to write it off and ignore their past actions and lack of change over the course of the decades that followed because “they were brought up in a different time.”
/And if they’re not careful, they’re gonna be presented with what may happen to them if certain things are done to immediately and violently address the source of the problematic behavior for instant gratification, without proper reflection, acceptance, or work to be at peace with and forgive yourself in order to step away from the trauma and mindset to become better/
James Gunn said it himself in his interview with Polygon regarding the change. He says, and I quote...
/“It’s incredibly important for who Christopher Smith is, in that he knows his father is immoral, and yet also seeks his father’s approval, because he is his father and he’s imprinted on him like a duckling. The fact that he’s in the shadow of this really terrible supervillain -- who is also a supervillain who sees himself as a superhero...It just seemed to be what was most honest and it reflects a part of our world and a part of our country that’s affecting all of us, and how do you deal with that?” End Quote/
Like I said before, this point in the development of Peacemaker in order for people like him to understand what’s going on with them, along with how hard it’s driven over the course of the season -- both the healthy and toxic ways its displayed in how he copes with it -- is a hard truth that’s extremely necessary for some folks to hear.
And considering the background of the other members of Task Force X that were in The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker was already the blueprint to adjust and fit for modern day that could bring that conflict to the screen.
But while I’m glad that reality check was given to Chris in episode 4 that caused him to dwell and reflect on things over the course of the rest of the season -- even if the end result jumpstarted a whole mess of new problems he has to hurtle through...
There’s also a part of me that felt the need to ask a question a lot of us were asking since watching the continuation of the story from that point forward.
And that question is, out of all the ARGUS members that could’ve had that conversation with Chris in episode 4...
Why Leota Adebayo?
Leota Adebayo is an original character created by James Gunn for Peacemaker and the DCEU as a result.
Not only is she Amanda Waller’s daughter -- not to be confused with her comic universe daughters Damita, Coretta, Claudia and Celine; God, she got a lot of kids...
/But she’s also one of the best recent examples of black queer representation in mainstream media I’ve seen since Phastos in Eternals./
Yes, I know about Lightning in CW’s Black Lightning, but I’m so behind on that show; like the first four or five episodes of season 1. I’ll watch it though, I promise!
The point I’m trying to make in this regard, however -- because I definitely admit to have fallen victim to this in my first watch as well...
Both her actions in episode 4 as well as her friendship established with Chris over the course of the season can EASILY be interpreted by individuals tired of the trope as giving her the makings of a magical negro archetype
And before I get into my explanation, I want to assure some of you who are still on the fence that this thankfully is not the case.
For those unaware of the trope, the Magical Negro is a black stock character in fiction, whose main purpose in fiction is to come to the aid of the white protagonist or a group of white characters.
Because of this, they have no agency as characters with wants, desires or motives of their own, other than making sure the white lead or leads get the help or agency THEY need in order to develop and advance throughout the story. Whether that aid be magical, spiritual, moral or ethical.
/One of the biggest perpetrators of this trope is Stephen King, in which my fellow YouTuber Princess Weekes produced a very thorough analytical essay on very popular stories of King that have utilized and reinforced the trope in his fiction and the adaptation of his fiction, as well as how his use of the trope over the course of his career has perpetuated the use of it in modern fiction to this day. You can check it out either in the link on the screen or in the description down below./
I think it’s safe to say that because of these commonalities found in the Magical Negro trope, for a lot of us geeks of color who watched Peacemaker, seeing a character in it like Adebayo -- an African American lesbian created by a white dude, in a TV show centered around the development of a problematic white dude that isn’t beyond redemption -- was definitely worrying.
ESPECIALLY when you take into account all of the black characters we’ve seen and experienced in the past that literally only existed just to cater to the development of the white leads.
But while Adebayo had her moments that made us worry at first glance, what sets her apart is that not only is she allowed to be her own character that grows and develops and thrives, but she is not Chris’s initial instrument used for his growth over the course of the season.
/If anything, the two have parallel development arcs that by the time the season ends, have branched out in such different ways that Adebayo comes out of it in a way that’s WAY healthier than that of who the show is actually about./
Let’s actually talk about said parallels right quick.
Chris’s father is the white supremacist supervillain White Dragon, who he constantly struggles with coming to terms with the abuse and trauma he was forced to endure just for the sake of getting his approval.
Adebayo’s mother is Amanda Waller, the leader of ARGUS and overseer of the Task Force X program.
/She IS consciously aware of the things Waller is forcing her to do over the course of the show thanks to the combination of her own judgment and that of her wife, but is struggling with making the morally just decision surrounding her own ethics because of things like the lie of capitalistic sustainability./
She doesn’t WANT to be an ARGUS Agent despite proving that she does, in fact, have a knack for this line of work, and doesn’t want this one job she’s on to give her mother the opportunity to persuade her to be one.
/She also doesn’t have the capability of cutting off secondary emotions like guilt when Waller forces her to jeopardize the rapport she and Chris have established by planting the journal in his trailer. But the money from this one job will be enough for her, her wife and their two fur babies to put down proper roots in ways that will allow them to live their lives as they intended that the lack of funds would’ve obviously kept them from doing without forms of debt./
/I say this because in revisiting the reality check Adebayo gave Chris in episode 4, she was clearly speaking from experience with her OWN parent when she said this to him about his OWN./ (We all wanna believe that our parents are flawed but innately good, and maybe -- usually -- that’s the case)
We know this because after she personally took pages out of the Wall’s playbook when it came to emotional manipulation in order to get things in motion for the sake of the mission felt TERRIBLE about it...
/She realized that despite being good at what she does, she is not her mother, nor does she want to be. And, after the death of the Butterfly’s cow, made it her mission to use her skillset that Emilia Harcourt assured her she had to expose both Waller and Task Force X in order to take them both down./ (Waller: What the fuck...)
She’s already disqualified from being a Magical Negro in this regard, because unlike them, she has a development arc of her own and is allowed to progress and learn from it. And in a way, it’s one that’s a more HEALTHY version of what Chris is going through.
Not only does it show that said complexities are universal and reflect multiple problems of societal norms surrounding the like of classism and race...
But it also shows the difference in how individuals that are aware of their circumstances and are mature enough to acknowledge the problems via reflection and realization process their trauma in order to step in the right direction...
/Differ from others who don’t have the mental or emotional maturity and strength to completely work on or come to terms with themselves and the things they dealt with in a way that doesn’t allow them to fully move on./
/Adebayo realized that just like humanity has to be the ones to make the decisions to do the right thing themselves, she ALSO has to make a similar choice, and the season ends with her on the course to do so./
/Chris, however, thanks to how he chose to only focus on the outside orchestrator of his trauma for temporary relief and less on coming to terms with working on forgiving himself before doing so, is going to remain haunted by said orchestrator until he’s able to. And as a result, his constant need to relieve himself of said haunting until he’s successful in doing so will cause him -- to paraphrase a lyric from the band Motley Crue -- to run away high, so that he won’t come home low./
/And unlike other characters that end up fitting the mold of the traditional Magical Negro trope, because that battle is internal, the most Adebayo can do to help Chris find that reflection, acceptance, and self-forgiveness, is to wish him the best and be an example to him, by bettering herself -- for herself -- first and foremost./ (Where are you going? To do the right thing)
Conclusion
Readers, to say that I was surprised at how much I found myself enjoying Peacemaker is an understatement.
But if you couldn’t tell by how much I gushed about it in this video, the fact that James Gunn found a way to make character like Peacemaker after doing what he did with him in The Suicide Squad such an interesting dissection in this series is something that I’m impressed with to this day.
Not only did he prove that Christopher Smith was the PERFECT surviving member of the Suicide Squad to give a series to, especially for the second-handed sake of using his helmet as a proper mirror to hold up to the people who needed to receive a very much needed reality check for the hope of starting a movement of self examination in a lot of individuals in this country
But he did this all while introducing a queer black character into the DC mythos that while was capable of helping Christopher find some development in how he handles his problems...
Is NOT the main function of her character and is allowed to go on her OWN journey of reflection and betterment in ways that does not abandon neither her blackness or her queerness for the sake of unintentional tokenism.
Peacemaker is a good time from start to finish. Especially for someone like me who can’t help but to look for deeper meaning in the content I choose to digest.
/Then again, if you saw the dance number in the opening credits, chances are you already knew that./
But, I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below what YOU thought of Peacemaker season 1 if you’ve seen it.
Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, a tv show or movie you’ve watched that absolutely surprised you with how well conceived the choices for a lot of its storytelling decisions were handled.
Bonus points if it used said choices to blatantly tell certain porcelain people they need to re-evaluate things. Like, a LOT of things. Damn near ALL THE THINGS. You get it.
/A HUGE shoutout to my Patrons both big and small for helping make this channel possible.
Make sure you check out the card at the end of the video to see if you want to join, or click the link to it or any of my affiliates in the description box below.
Until next time, this is Readus 101. Class dismissed./
