Gunn had teased as a lot in a latest interview with GQ, calling Earth-X “difficult.” He continued, “I feel folks assume now it’s reduce and dried and Auggie’s a Nazi and this and that, and I imply you’re going to get the following episode—it’s not reduce and dried. Individuals are advanced, individuals are folks.”
In reality, speaking about Peacemaker‘s second season with Den of Geek, Gunn stated such an method utilized not simply to Chris Smith and an alternate universe run by Nazis, however to your entire DCU. “Within the DCU normally, we’re discovering shades of grey in folks’s morality,” he advised us. “That’s even with Superman, who’s pretty much as good as you will get, or the Justice Gang, who’re heroes, however they’re company instruments. It’s by no means a black and white factor.”
However shouldn’t or not it’s black and white, a minimum of when Nazis are concerned? To make certain, Gunn has given us the Nazi-killing goodness we want, within the great G.I. Robotic targeted episode of Creature Commandos. Nonetheless, he’s doing one thing extra difficult and, frankly, extra satisfying than simply giving us a easy unhealthy man to punch.
As a lot as Auggie needs to consider that he’s a great man in a nasty place, nothing outdoors of the speech backs up his claims. Certain, he kills the cops who attempt to arrest Chris and Harcourt, however he additionally stabs Economos within the hand. Certain, he talks about attempting to boost his boys proper, however Keith didn’t hesitate to shout “One bought out! A Black!” when he noticed Adebayo strolling round. Certain, Auggie describes his Earth-One counterpart, a virulent white supremacist, in disparaging phrases, however he additionally describes Earth-One as “a darker world.” Most damning of all, Auggie is a hero, beloved by these in a Nazi world, by those that–as Harcourt observes–have copies of Mein Kampf available.
Briefly, Auggie isn’t practically the nice man he thinks he’s. Then once more, nobody in Gunn’s DCU is, not even Superman. And that’s to Gunn’s credit score.
Superhero tales so typically give us easy morality, which inserts their origin as youngsters’s leisure or distractions for GIs in World Conflict II. Whereas Gunn’s method to superhero tales has typically veered away from their child focus in troubling methods, he does shades of ethical gray the suitable method. By exhibiting that Earth-X Auggie isn’t a virtuous hero, Peacemaker reminds us that the work of resisting fascism is ongoing, that it’s not sufficient to easily intellectually disagree whereas having fun with all the advantages of an unequal society. By exhibiting us a Superman who isn’t a one-note paragon of fine, we acquire grace for ourselves and others, reminding us to forgive ourselves and each other once we slip up.
