While John Cena will bring Peacemaker to life in The Suicide Squad and his own Peacemaker HBO Max series, the Arrowverse beat the DCEU to it. Before 2020, Peacemaker was one of DC Comics' more obscure characters; however, that changed the day Cena was officially revealed to be playing Peacemaker in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. With Cena's star-power, it didn't take long before the comics even reimagined Peacemaker to line up with Cena's upcoming DCEU iteration. Not only is he more active in the comics now, but they also updated Peacemaker's design to match Cena's likeness.
Even though Cena's character is arriving later this year in The Suicide Squad, before his HBO Max premieres in 2022, the Arrowverse was the first DC franchise to establish Peacemaker before any other live-action property. In Black Lightning season 1, episode 7, "Equinox: The Book of Fate," Lynn Stewart can be seen watching a WXA news report of a tech robbery that took a south turn. Two criminals had attempted to steal advanced medical equipment from PAX Institute but were killed as they attempted to escape. The news anchor goes on to state that PAX institute CEO Christopher Smith refused to make any comments until Freeland PD had made an arrest. In the comics, Christopher Smith is the first character to become Peacemaker, making Black Lightning the first live-action project ever to establish Peacemaker in a shared universe.
Pax Institute is also another connection to Peacemaker's comic history as that is his canonical company. The Black Lightning episode "Equinox: The Book of Fate," aired March 6, 2018, almost over two years before Cena's The Suicide Squad casting was confirmed to be Peacemaker during DC FanDome in August 2020. Back then, there were probably only a handful of viewers that may have recognized that name, compared to today, where more mainstream audience is now aware of Peacemaker because of Cena. If Black Lightning or the Arrowverse had wanted to, they could have probably used Peacemaker before the DCEU ever did. It would likely be a lot more challenging today as the character is about to get major character exposure through Cena, both in The Suicide Squad and the Peacemaker series.
In the best-case scenario, the Arrowverse may have gotten to make Peacemaker a regular character only to be told a few years later that they can't use him, like what happened to Arrow's Suicide Squad in 2015-16. However, Black Lightning making that name-drop over three years ago is what is so neat with DC live-action properties whenever they plan Easter eggs and make references. You never know what a reference or Easter egg to an obscure character like Peacemaker might lead to in the future. Whether it's in the same universe or in another franchise, like the DCEU, sometimes these DC shows and movies have ways to seed various characters or iconic storylines that may not mean much at the moment, but might in the future.
The Suicide Squad will introduce Peacemaker to a whole new audience, even comic readers who may have never stumbled upon Christopher in other DC books. While the movie will set him up, fans will get a bigger chance to see Cena's character in his own show, which is premiering sometime in January 2022, with Peacemaker season 1 consisting of eight episodes. But while Cena is the first actor to play Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad, Arrowverse will always hold the record for referencing Christopher Smith outside the comics in a live-action project, thanks to Black Lightning season 1.
