A major DC Universe hero has already killed themselves, their father, and their brother on-screen. Of the several DC Universe characters that have already been confirmed, only a few have received fleshed-out backstories so far. Superman‘s ending established several heroes that will be explored in the franchise’s future, with the тιтular hero being one who received an overly developed story.

This marked a great start for the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, with Peacemaker season 2 continuing that. Peacemaker season 2, episode 1 marked the next installment of the overarching franchise, also continuing the story of other DCU characters who, like Superman, have more fleshed out backstories.

Peacemaker‘s cast of characters have been part of the DCEU since 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Save for a few major DCEU-to-DCU retcons, the backstory of each of Peacemaker season 2’s characters continues on from season 1. With both seasons in mind, one DCU character now has an extremely dark familial record in the franchise.

Peacemaker Has Killed His Father, Brother, & Himself In The DCU

Warning! The following sections contain spoilers for Peacemaker season 2, episode 1.

That character is Peacemaker himself. As of Peacemaker season 2, episode 1, the character has killed himself, his father, and his brother in the DC Universe. Starting with himself, this happened due to Peacemaker season 2’s alternate dimension storyline. Christopher Smith found a door in his Quantum Unfolding Chamber that led to a dimension a lot like his own.

In this universe, he found an alternate version of himself, who essentially attacked him on sight. After a brief fight, Chris unwittingly killed his alternate self by activating his jetpack. His doppelgänger flew up to the ceiling of the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, where he was impaled by a giant spike.

In Peacemaker season 1, it was explored how Chris also killed his father and was accidentally responsible for his brother’s death, too. As children, Chris and his brother, Keith, were forced to fight by their father for the entertainment of his neo-Nazi friends. Keith died during one of these fights due to a seizure, greatly affecting Chris, who, of course, never intended to kill his brother.

After Chris grew up and came to terms with his father’s abusive ways, he fought back against him. In Peacemaker season 1, episode 7, Auggie is sH๏τ in the head by Chris. Therefore, Peacemaker has killed his father, himself, and his brother in the DC Universe, though with the latter two being unintentional.

Peacemaker’s DCU Past Is Dark, But Serves The Themes Of The Show

Admittedly, this Peacemaker DCU fact is not particularly a fun one, but it highlights the themes that the show is tackling. Peacemaker season 1 and season 2 both focus on Chris’ desire to become a better person. The way he does this in Peacemaker season 1 is by directly confronting his father and the neo-Nazi cult he leads.

This also saw Chris come to terms with Keith’s death and stop blaming himself. By exploring the deaths of Auggie and Keith, Peacemaker season 1 tackled the central theme of Chris confronting his demons and overcoming them.

Peacemaker season 2 is continuing these themes via the death of his alternate self, and the fact that Auggie and Keith are still alive in the other universe. More specifically, though, Peacemaker season 2 focuses on Chris’ desire to become an actual hero that people revere, a lot like Superman.

Peacemaker season 2’s Easter eggs to the Justice Gang showcase this, with Chris outlining his traumas to the team when auditioning to join. Killing his alternate self at the end of the episode is seemingly symbolic of Chris’ journey in Peacemaker season 2, as he continually attempts to overcome his past self and become a better person.

This will only be further developed as Chris explores the alternate universe he stumbled upon in the upcoming episodes of Peacemaker season 2. Chris’ family members will play an important role in that as a dicH๏τomy of the dark familial bonds he had in the mainline DCU. These may be dark, but they directly prop up Peacemaker‘s themes.

Peacemaker Continues A James Gunn Superhero Trend

Thanks to the exploration of familial issues in Peacemaker, the show continues a James Gunn trend. Since the filmmaker’s first step into superhero movies, familial relationships, specifically linked to fathers, have been prominent. The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is proof of this.

Those movies focus a lot on Peter Quill/Star-Lord and his paternal relationships. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 shows Peter finding out his biological father, Ego, is a malevolent Celestial and that his adopted father, Yondu, was more of a real father to him. The trilogy also focuses on Nebula and Gamora and their evil father, Thanos.

Then there is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Rocket’s story with the High Evolutionary, who can be seen as his father in a way. Superman also dealt with the storyline that Jor-El sent Kal-El to Earth with nefarious means, only for the latter’s adopted father, Jonathan Kent, to reinforce that he is a good person.

Peacemaker continues this, showing how Chris’ relationship with his father has shaped him and led him down a dark path in some ways. Peacemaker season 2 also includes Rick Flag Sr., who has beef with Peacemaker as the latter killed his son in The Suicide Squad. Evidently, Peacemaker continues Gunn’s trend of exploring complex familial dynamics.