How James Gunn explores the absurd side of comics with Peacemaker

With Peacemaker, James Gunn once again showed us why he is the master when it comes to comic book adaptations. Being a hardcore comic nerd himself, his knowledge of the medium is arguably above any other director working in Hollywood today.

His deep love and knowledge of the comics allowed him to bring characters to the screen that few would even consider. Gunn isn't embarrassed to embrace the ridiculous side of comics either, which is why his work reflects the broadest sensibilities of the medium.

After getting shown the door by Disney over a decade-old tweet, Warner Bros. had offered him a Superman movie, but instead, he chose to go with characters such as the Weasel and Polka-Dot Man. Gunn loves the underdogs, those whom other characters see as jokes. He has made absurd Marvel characters such as Rocket and Groot into fan favorites, and has done the same for DC with Peacemaker.

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James Gunn loves the absurd side of comics

Peacemaker poster (Image via HBO Max)

Like Gunn's other projects, Peacemaker has received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. In true James Gunn fashion, it is about the underdogs; the ones nobody ever really cared about, and who were mostly forgotten in comic book lore. There weren't too many Peacemaker fans around the world before, but the show has certainly gone and turned that narrative on its head.

In a recent interview with The Vulture, James Gunn said that he felt superheroes are a dumb concept. He might be one of the biggest comic book affcianados there is, but for him to say something like "superheroes are dumb" makes complete sense, because at the end of the day that is exactly what he is exploring through his work.

In the interview, Gunn even talked about how he was not a fan of people treating these characters like they were gods - something that Zack Snyder received plenty of criticism for. If Peacemaker as a character was treated like a god or like he was the coolest person ever, and would come to save the day in the end, Peacemaker would likely have fallen flat on its face. It worked because it allowed its superheroes to be ridiculous and ungraceful.

The premise of the entire show is that Peacemaker is a joke and he wants to deal with that fact and overcome that existence. He has untreated trauma from his family, particularly his racist father, and is deeply traumatized by everything he has done in his life, and all he has ever wanted is acceptance. Peacemaker is about more than just his loud and ridiculous costume; there's a real human being underneath it.

Viewers can empathize with the trauma experienced by Peacemaker (Image via HBO Max)

Peacemaker is not "cool," far from it. If anything, we see how tortured his character is and end up feeling genuinely sorry for the guy. That is what James Gunn has wanted to portray; that these characters are absurd and laughed at by everyone, but they have feelings too. It ends up being an exploration of how to find beauty in life when life itself is a joke and existence by nature is absurd.

David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man in The Suicide Squad (Image via Warner Bros.)

Comics, in general, are an absurd medium. We can say that Alan Moore wrote some of the best stories out there, but for every Alan Moore Swamp Thing, there are 10 other Polka-Dot Men and Kitemen characters that make no sense whatsoever, and that is the world that James Gunn is trying to flesh out.

Take the character of Vigilante, for example. He is just the most generic superhero possible - a guy in a costume who kills people in the name of peace, and we can say that about at least four other dudes in the DCEU. But James Gunn completely reinvents the character here.

Freddie Stroma as Vigilante in Peacemaker (Image via HBO Max)

Vigilante is one of the funniest characters to have been put on screen, and it is because of the absurdity of him. He has no sense of reality and is completely removed from it. He is a maniac and that maniacal energy is what gives us the lens to analyze Peacemaker through. We begin to see how deranged these people are; they are freaks who do not understand basic concepts of humanity.

All of this gives James Gunn an opportunity to raise political questions that might seem on the nose, but it works in this context because of the nature of the show. There are people in our own world who are absurd, who believe in ridiculous ideas. Think of the flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers, those who hold unreasonable beliefs, and James Gunn makes sure to point them out in the show itself.

So, Peacemaker becomes this really interesting commentary on the whole comic book genre and the world we live in at the same time, while being a very beautiful story about people finding each other and finding solace within them.

Even the comedy in the show is unique in its approach. It doesn't feel the need to point out when something ridiculous happens on screen, nor does it saturate the dialog with quips like in most MCU movies. Rather, the comedy arises from the absurdity of the situation and the characters just being themselves, like the scene where John Cena sings into a vibrator while wearing his tighty whities.

Scenes such as these drive the comedy in Peacemaker (Image via HBO Max)

With Peacemaker, James Gunn is finally exploring the absurd side of the DC universe. He picked out the D-level and C-level characters from the comics and adapted them with respect, rather than trying to modernize them by making them less quirky or absurd. As a result, the universe feels far from lived-in and real. The show has injected new life into the DCEU and left fans craving for more.