Warning: Spoilers for Peacemaker episode 4.
The cheerfully violent Vigilante was recast during the production of Peacemaker, but episode 4 proves that the new actor is perfect for the role. Vigilante, a.k.a. Adrian Chase, is both a friend and foil to John Cena’s Peacemaker, who is gradually growing out of the violent jingoism he displayed in 2021’s The Suicide Squad. Vigilante is similarly violent and lacks a degree of self-awareness, but he’s quickly becoming the most likable and entertaining character in HBO Max's Peacemaker, in large part due to his actor, Freddie Stroma.
Unlike his comic counterpart, the DCEU’s Adrian Chase has no qualms about killing criminals. Chase and his brother are longtime friends of Christopher Smith (Peacemaker), and while Smith often treats Chase with hostility, Vigilante cares about him and often destructively tries to keep Smith safe from entities like A.R.G.U.S. and his abusive father. Like Peacemaker, Vigilante has a rigid sense of justice, remorselessly killing anybody who he considers to be a wrongdoer.
Vigilante was initially played by Chris Conrad, who tackled the role for five and a half episodes’ worth of footage before he departed Peacemaker due to creative differences with showrunner James Gunn. Gunn replaced Conrad with Freddie Stroma, reshooting all of Conrad’s scenes. Stroma has proven to be perfect for the role, with “The Choad Less Traveled” showing not only his skill at portraying the chaotic comedy of Vigilante but also the character’s more emotional moments.
Vigilante was introduced in Peacemaker’s second episode, where Stroma was off to a strong start, depicting Chase’s obsessive friendship with Peacemaker and comparably absurd justification for murder excellently. Stroma’s cheeriness and his character’s complete lack of remorse for his violence made him an entertaining partner for Peacemaker during the latter’s mission to stop the butterfly aliens. Vigilante’s playful humming as he used a sniper rifle to dispatch butterflies disguised as a politician’s spouse and children had an absurdly comedic reminiscence to the Marvel Comics character Deadpool.
In Peacemaker episode 4, Stroma continues to depict Chase excellently in his quieter moments alongside the titular antihero. Despite feeling hurt by Peacemaker’s callousness towards his torture in the previous episode, Chase still insists on helping his friend, making him all too easily manipulated by the A.R.G.U.S. agent Leota Adebayo. Outside of his genuinely funny moments, Stroma’s sadness over potentially making Smith’s situation worse by attempting to kill his abusive father was a truly heartfelt moment.
Easily Stroma’s best moment as Vigilante, however, was when he confronted the white supremacist gang in prison, seeking to kill their leader, Auggie. Stroma’s fast-paced string of insults and provocations, followed by his swift fisticuffs that dispatched Auggie’s three cronies proved to be one of the most satisfying scenes in Peacemaker thus far. While this is due in part to James Gunn’s writing, it was also the result of Freddie Stroma’s impeccable portrayal of Vigilante, showing that he’s perfect for the Peacemaker supporting character.
Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.
