🔗 Share this article

Speculation about the big second season surprise in Peacemaker have been circulating on the internet ever since the first episode. Viewers early on guessed that the alternate universe that Peacemaker landed wasn't as perfect as it appeared. Plenty of predicted it would be an alternate Earth, a grim DC Comics world in which Nazi Germany triumphed in the Second World War and the United States becoming a white-supremacist regime.

The Shocking Truth Is Revealed

Exactly what happened. Once our version of the character Harcourt traveled to Earth-X in episode 6, she right away noticed all the clues Chris failed to see—including the striking absence of people of color as well as an actual painting of Adolf Hitler adorning ARGUS base. This type of narrative isn't new: Parallel worlds in which Nazi forces took over the globe have long been a tried-and-true device. This includes major series like The Man in the High Castle tackled this idea. However, due to the current timeline, Peacemaker nonetheless succeeded in spark a controversy among certain groups of the internet.

The response are overblown. It's no surprise Nazis have been among the go-to villains in fiction for decades: They represent ultimate villainy.

The Role of Nazi Villains

The Nazis of the 1930s and '40s were authoritarian, oppressive, and violent. They executed countless of innocent people and scapegoated an invented enemy from within in order to consolidate their power. The idea is chilling to imagine a world where the Nazis won World War II, which is why they became such an obvious villain archetype in movies and television since the mid-20th century. Nazis are one of the few enemies that we all agree were unforgivable, allowing heroes and protagonists permission to unleash their worst.

The Core Problem

Assuming everyone can continue to agree that Nazis from history were evil—and it's hoped we can—then the anger over Peacemaker the new season isn't really due to the inclusion of Nazis in stories, rather about the uncomfortable reflection it presents. Some viewers appear peeved because their brand of nationalism, what they see as love of country, might be misinterpreted as fascism. The show's creator appears sympathetic toward this confusion—it's simple to focus on your surroundings and ignore everything else—but comes down with force on a point all of us needs to reckon with: White nationalism, however it's dressed up, is a form of bigotry.

The Allure of a Perfect Life

When Chris initially arrives in Earth-2, he sees an ideal world where his dad and sibling are still living and providing the loving family life he's never had, and his love interest of his dreams is in love with him. These perks to his personal life blind him to the countless obvious signs that he's actually stumbled into a dystopian, Nazi-controlled version of America.

Extrapolating on this idea, the show posits that it's easier for all of us to ignore bigger issues if we gain from them, or enhance our own lives. As an example, someone could be fine with a empowered militia terrorizing people due to the color of their skin if they're told this will somehow enhance their situation. Even the vague hope of employment or a house is enough to make us ignore whatever horrible actions are needed to achieve it. America is a capitalist society, but financial success doesn't necessarily have to come by causing others' pain.

In other words: It's simple to overlook the Nazi forest when you're focused on some tempting details.

Interpreting the Creator's Message

It makes sense that certain people could think the show's creator is coming after them directly with Peacemaker the new season. Gunn is the show's sole writer and often director, with a long history of openly condemning the former president and the MAGA movement. This even got Gunn dismissed by Disney in 2018 when he attracted the ire of several far-right activists, who uncovered some old, removed tweets in a campaign to discredit and fire the filmmaker.

The director's well-advertised views have led to very frivolous criticisms of his work. His recent Superman movie got lambasted as too woke and pro-diversity. More recently, another critic became popular by spreading a false claim about one character being a gender-bent version of another hero—which is not accurate. In this case, though, I don't think Gunn is equating conservatives with Nazis. That's too simple for the writer, and Peacemaker season 2 is not actually a plot line he invented: It's based on of a comic book decades old.

The Broad Lesson

Rather, Gunn is just employing a tried-and-true genre device to deliver a message of valuing fairness compassion over personal gain. This idea relevant for all people, regardless of ideology, which is why it's unfortunate that those who should to hear it most are preoccupied stirring up more anger on social media to actually heed the message.