Posted in: Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: peacemaker, superman

Peacemaker: Rick Flag Sr. "Doesn't Hate All Metahumans at All": Gunn

During Monday watch party, Peacemaker writer and director James Gunn explained why he doesn't buy into Rick Flag, Sr. hating all metahumans.

By the time the credits rolled on the second season finale of DC Studios and writer/director James Gunn's John Cena-starring Peacemaker, many folks weren't loving what Rick Flag, Sr. (Frank Grillo) had to offer. From striking a deal with Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and creating a prison planet for dangerous and problematic metahumans, to trapping Chris (Cena) on "Salvation" as an involuntary test subject, some fans were left wondering what caused Flag to flip from protecting to hating metahumans. Except, Gunn doesn't see it that way, and he addressed that very topic during Monday night's watch party for the Season 2 finale, S02E08: "Full Nelson."

In terms of Flag's proposal for "Salvation," Gunn doesn't buy into the idea that the A.R.G.U.S. head is looking to ship all metahumans off planet. The writer/director sees Flag's position as the government needing someplace to properly contain very serious threats to the planet. "He [Flag] doesn't hate all metahumans at all. He sees some as dangerous like folks walking around with a neutron bomb attached to their arms." Later on, during the watch party, Gunn elaborated further on his position.

"Rick doesn't hate metahumans. He's afraid of the power some metahumans have dictating world politics (as started by Superman and the Justice Gang – especially Hawkgirl), and mostly afraid of how difficult it is to contain metahuman criminals," Gunn shared. "Happersen hates all metahumans and maybe Otis and Lex. But Flag just wants a way to protect Americans and goes about it in a callous fashion. Oh, and obviously, he hates Peacemaker for killing his son."

In fact, it's easy to make the case that Flag has very good reason to be wary of metahumans. "Yes, for sure, that as well. Having a metahuman almost kill you might make you more wary of metahumans," Gunn noted, with another individual bringing up the point that Flag was nearly killed by Frankenstein and Clayface in the animated series Creature Commandos. Still, Gunn made it clear that he hasn't put Flag in his personal hate column. "Despite everything, I don't hate Flag. I think he's manipulative and stupid and vengeful and very callous about discovery, but I still like him."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!