Nevertheless, Peacemaker showrunner and DC Studios co-head James Gunn has a special take. Posting on Threads, Gunn wrote, “Auggie’s speech is vital not solely as a result of it reveals who Auggie is but in addition the way it speaks to Harcourt and Economos, who’ve actually spent numerous their lives as cogs in a corrupt system, hardly ever preventing it.”
Gunn has been very clear about how he needs to keep away from black and white morality in his DCU, and Earth-X Auggie could be the clearest instance of this ethos. Clearly, Auggie has his good qualities. He’s sensible sufficient to acknowledge that the Nazis who run the world (or, not less than, america on Earth-X) are evil, and he reveals real thoughtfulness when he advises Keith in opposition to searching for revenge for the loss of life of Earth-X Chris. He additionally dispatches the cops making an attempt to kill Prime Chris and Harcourt.
Nevertheless, many viewers have been prepared to present Earth-X Auggie a cross for being a hero on the Nazi world primarily based on little or no proof. For them, Auggie’s claims about his personal goodness and his hypothesis that prime Earth isn’t excellent is sufficient for them to simply accept that he should be a very good man.
Gunn’s feedback on Threads put Auggie’s goodness into a brand new perspective. By calling him a “cog,” Gunn means that Auggie and the Prime Trio don’t resist the fascist equipment round them; moderately, they assist make it occur, which explains why they’re so beloved on this world. The very noble ideas that Auggie has about himself assist him deal with this actuality, however they don’t change it.
Lest we go too far the opposite method and name Earth-X Auggie a primary villain, it’s vital to notice that Gunn explicitly compares him to 2 of our heroes, Harcourt and Economos. We first met that duo in The Suicide Squad, the place they not solely did the bidding of amoral chief Amanda Waller, however truly took bets on who would stay and die throughout Activity Drive X’s mission.
By the tip of that movie, they push again at Waller and forestall her from killing Bloodsport and others who combat in opposition to her orders, however that’s a comparatively small act–they’re each again working for her when Peacemaker season 1 begins (and in Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, however as Gunn made abundantly clear to Den of Geek, these aren’t canon).
