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Peacemaker Season 2 Finale: What It Means for The DCU (SPOILERS)

Here's how the John Cena-starring Peacemaker Season 2 finale, S02E08: "Full Nelson," impacted the DCU and its connections to the comics.

We think that it's safe to say that there is a ton of speculation about what the second season finale of DC Studios and writer/director James Gunn's John Cena-starring Peacemaker, S02E08: "Full Nelson" might have to offer. We've got Chris (Cena) turning himself over to A.R.G.U.S., meaning that the rest of the 11th Street Kids must rescue him. Who will live? Who will die? Will there be a third season? Speaking of A.R.G.U.S., it looks like Rick Flag Sr.'s (Frank Grillo) deal with Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is going to lead to some doors being opened – literally. But what's waiting on the other side, and what will all of this mean to the greater DCU moving forward? At this point, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down a spoiler buffer image – you've been warned!

During the season finale, we learn that what Flag (Frank Grillo), Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), and the others have been looking for is their "Salvation." No, we're not talking about seeing the error of their ways. We're talking about a planet that seems perfect for using as a prison to store metahumans, a plan that Flag ends up selling to the government. And based on the data and analysis that Luthor provided, they have a way of accessing the planet directly without needing the QUC. A prison planet meant for metahumans is definitely the kind of thing that serves as an overarching threat to the entire DCU. We have a feeling that Luthor's work on this is going to earn him some serious "time served." On the comics side…

"Salvation Run": Running for seven issues, from 2007 to 2008, Salvation Run was written by Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges, with art by Sean Chen, Walden Wong, Joe Bennett, and Belardino Brabo. After a wild round of assaults from various big bads, the U.S. Government charges Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad with rounding up supervillains so they can be imprisoned on a distant planet named "Salvation." Over the run of the series, villains either worked to find a way of escaping or ruling over their new home planet. Some of the famous/infamous names that found themselves residing on Salvation were Lex Luthor, the Joker, The Flash's Rogues (Heat Wave, Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Abra Kadabra, and Mirror Master), Catwoman, and more.

Before Chris gets black-bagged by Flag and dropped off as a "test subject" for the not-very-safe prison planet Salvation, we see Adrian (Freddie Stroma) putting those skids of cash to excellent use. Welcome to Checkmate ("Making the World Better"), a counter-intelligence organization that counts Chris, Adrian, Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), Economos (Steve Agee), Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), Fleury (Tim Meadows), Judomaster (Nhut Le), Bordeaux (Sol Rodríguez), and Eagly. It seems like Flag and Waller will have some problems on their hands, and the DCU has a new intelligence agency in play. And if there was one team that won't stop until Chris is found, it's this one. On the comics side…

"Checkmate": Created by Paul Kupperberg and Steve Erwin and first appearing in Action Comics #598 (March 1988), the Checkmate organization was previously known as The Agency, a branch of Task Force X that Amanda Waller first established. Originally under the command of Colonel Valentina Vostok (Doom Patrol's Negative Woman) and designated to accomplish missions around the world that maintain the best interests of the United States, The Agency would be renamed Checkmate by new head Harry Stein. Taking its name from the winning Chess move, the organization's structure was based on Chess pieces: a King, a Queen, and a number of Bishops, Rooks, Knights, and Pawns. It should be noted that at one point in the organization's history, Maxwell Lord had taken on the title of Black King, devising a plan to use the organization to eliminate metahumans with the intent of manipulating the agency to kill all metahumans on Earth. In the end, Wonder Woman would end up breaking Lord's neck to break his control over Superman.

HBO Max's Peacemaker Season 2: What You Need to Know…

Returning with Cena for the second season are Steve Agee (Super, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Brightburn), Danielle Brooks (Orange Is The New Black), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Jennifer Holland (Brightburn), Freddie Stroma (Bridgerton), and Nhut Le (Kroll Show). Joining the cast is Frank Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr. (from Creature Commandos), Sol Rodriguez (Star Trek: Picard) as Sasha Bordeaux, Tim Meadows (Mean Girls, Saturday Night Live) as ARGUS Agent Langston Fleury, and Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) as Red St. Wild. In addition, David Denman, Anissa Matlock, Taylor St. Clair, Dorian Kingi, and Brandon Stanley star. Behind the camera, Gunn also confirmed that Greg Mottola (Superbad) and Peter Sollett (Ordinary Joe) had been tapped to direct a few of the season's episodes.

Gunn penned the eight-episode season and directed three of the season's episodes. Gunn, Peter Safran, and Matt Miller serve as executive producers, with Cena as co-executive producer. In addition, Lars Winther, John H. Starke, and John Rickard serve as producers. Max's Peacemaker was produced by The Safran Company and Troll Court Entertainment in association with Warner Bros Television and DC Studios

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