Peacemaker: Every DC Easter Egg & Reference In Episode 8

Peacemaker episode 8, “It’s Cow or Never,” wraps up season 1’s story while including some major DC Easter eggs and DC Extended Universe characters. The entirety of Peacemaker season 1 was building towards James Gunn’s top-secret finale. It was clear the show’s finale episode would include Christopher Smith a.k.a. Peacemaker (John Cena) and his other Task Force X teammates trying to defeat an alien invasion of Butterflies, but there are also plenty of other DC references included as the main story plays out.

Peacemaker episode 8 primarily took place at the Butterflies’ secret base where their alien cow was located. Peacemaker and Task Force X devised a plan to invade the barn and stop the aliens from teleporting the cow away, which would ensure their plan for world domination would continue. However, the plan didn’t go as expected, forcing Peacemaker, Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) to go in firing to take down the alien threat. This led to Peacemaker fighting the Butterfly leader and learning about their true motive—saving humanity from bringing Earth to an end. Although the aliens tried to recruit Chris to fight for their “peaceful” cause, he refused and killed the Butterfly cow. With the enemies defeated, Peacemaker episode 8 concludes with Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) revealing the truth about ARGUS, Task Force X, and her mother Amanda Waller to the public.

As the various pieces of Peacemaker‘s season 1 story come to a conclusion in the finale, the episode also once again treats DC fans to a variety of references and Easter eggs. Audiences have already seen Peacemaker make Bat-Mite and Kite-Man part of the DCEU canon and reference some other recognizable characters from the movies and comics. However, the last episode took the show a step further and delivered some significant DCEU character cameos. Here are all of the Peacemaker episode 8 Easter eggs.

Click here to watch Peacemaker: Every DC Reference You Missed on YouTube

Adebayo Calls For Justice League Backup

Almost right from the start of “It’s Cow or Never,” Peacemaker episode 8 includes a major name drop as Adebayo asks if the Justice League should be called in. The DCEU’s Justice League team was formed for the first time in 2017. Justice League saw Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Superman (Henry Cavill) work together to protect Earth from Steppenwolf’s invasion. Once the team formed, many have continued to question why they haven’t been involved in other major events, such as The Suicide Squad‘s epic battle against Starro the Conqueror. With the new Peacemaker-led Task Force X up against a sizable threat, and not in the best position to save the world, Adebayo telling Waller to get the Justice League involved is understandable—although Waller doubts they’d make it in time.

Green Arrow Officially Joins DCEU Canon

Peacemaker episode 8 continued the show’s tradition of confirming the existence of a DC character in the DCEU through a quick reference, and this time Green Arrow has officially entered the shared universe. Oliver Queen a.k.a. Green Arrow is one of DC’s biggest superheroes and has risen in popularity thanks to The CW’s Arrow TV show. He’s a billionaire who becomes incredibly skilled with a bow and arrow and takes it upon himself to protect Star City. Peacemaker brings Green Arrow to the DCEU canon thanks to Vigilante mentioning him after Chris suggests shooting a line across the forest to transport a helmet. This leads to Peacemaker saying that Green Arrow goes to Brony conventions (events for male My Little Pony fans) where he dresses as the back half of Twilight Sparkle. Since Economos has also heard this rumor about Green Arrow, it’ll be up for his future DCEU appearance to either confirm or debunk his My Little Pony obsession.

“No More Kaijus” References The Suicide Squad’s Ending

There is also another reference to The Suicide Squad‘s ending and Starro’s arrival included in Peacemaker episode 8. Economos is tasked with sneaking Peacemaker’s sonic boom helmet into the barn to destroy the location and the aliens’ cow. This leads him to eventually see the Butterflies’ giant caterpillar-like cow. Economos immediately dropped the bag containing the helmet and repeatedly said, “No more kaijus,” as he escapes. This is a callback to the character also referring to Starro as a “f***ing kaiju” in The Suicide Squad. Kaiju are giant, city-destroying monsters traditionally depicted in Japanese cinema, with Godzilla of course being the most famous staple of the genre.

Peacemaker’s Shield Strengthen Captain America Comparisons

Peacemaker receives a bit of an upgrade in the Peacemaker season 1 finale too, as episode 8 features the debut of his shield. This accessory is not something Peacemaker usually carries with him in the comics, but its addition further positions the character as DC’s twisted Captain America. Cena has long described Peacemaker as a “douchey Captain America” due to his heightened patriotism and super strength. Peacemaker’s shield isn’t circular like Captain America’s iconic shield, but it does echo the design Steve Rogers’ original shield had. However, Peacemaker goes a step further to show how much deadlier Captain America could really be with his shield, as Chris uses his to kill multiple enemies with relative ease.

Smaller Justice League Team Debuts

After namedropping the Justice League at the start of Peacemaker episode 8, the end of the episode featured the surprising appearance of a smaller roster of heroes. Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Superman arrive at the Butterfly base after Task Force X handled the situation. Although Batman and Cyborg were on the team in Justice League, they are not part of the group that responds to this threat. Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller are the only actors clearly shown in this scene as Aquaman and Flash have a quick exchange. Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill did not return as Wonder Woman and Superman, though, which left Peacemaker to obscure their faces with shadows. The Justice League cameos raise a lot of questions about the DCEU’s future, but Peacemaker‘s finale doesn’t really bother explaining the new team. Of course, it could be as simple as as the full Justice League not responding to each and every threat, or Batman and Cyborg being help up elsewhere.

Amanda Waller Returns To The DCEU

The Peacemaker finale includes one more DCEU cameo, as Viola Davis returns as Amanda Waller. Davis made her DCEU debut in Suicide Squad and more recently returned in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. She was briefly shown in the first episode of Peacemaker talking to Adebayo, but episode 8 brings her back as Waller watches her daughter reveal her Task Force X operation to the public. With her Task Force X program now in jeopardy, it puts Amanda Waller’s DCEU future in question and might make Suicide Squad 3 impossible.

Belle Reve Prison

Peacemaker episode 8 also includes a quick reference to Belle Reve prison, the holding location for all Task Force X-eligible criminals. Belle Reve was previously featured in both Suicide Squad movies. Economos is shown going back to the prison as part of the closing montage. He’s returning to desk duty to work at the prison, although it is unclear what role he will now serve due to the truth about Task Force X coming to light.

About The Author

Cooper Hood
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Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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