Warning: This article contains spoilers for Peacemaker episodes 1-3.
The big villain reveal at the end of Peacemaker’s three-part premiere reflects poorly on the DCEU’s Justice League. At the end of the show’s third episode, ARGUS uncovered a shocking secret about the mysterious Butterflies that Clemson Murn’s ARGUS team have been fighting. Having infiltrated societies on multiple continents, these strange creatures are all over the world now.
Up until the final minutes of Peacemaker episode 3, the true nature of Project Butterfly was a huge mystery to both audiences and John Cena’s DCEU character. What initially seemed like a metahuman threat turned out to be even more dangerous than originally thought. Somehow, insect-like creatures have hijacked the bodies of an unspecified number of humans in various parts of the planet and are using them to hide in plain sight. Making matters worse is the fact that these Butterflies possess enhanced physical capabilities. All things considered, Peacemaker and ARGUS are to sure have their hands full as they work to oppose the Butterflies in the episodes to come.
Peacemaker indicates that the Butterflies will indeed be an ARGUS problem in the DCEU, even though it seems like something that the Justice League should have already targeted (and taken care of). After all, Batman (Ben Affleck) was using his resources to track metahumans, which is one reason why his systems should have helped him pick up on Butterfly activity. Since keeping the world safe from extraterrestrial or otherworldly villains is one of the Justice League’s responsibilities, the Butterflies’ success amounts to a massive failure on the part of the group.
The numbers that the Butterflies have already amassed suggest that this has been going on for quite some time right under the noses of the Earth’s premier superhero team. What Peacemaker revealed about what the Butterflies have accomplished makes it hard to excuse the Justice League’s inability to stop this from going as far as it has. Completely missing a global invasion threat that basically bodysnatched thousands – if not millions – of innocent people is a bad look for the JLA and everyone on the team. The DCEU’s ARGUS picking up on what the Butterflies were up to when the Justice League didn’t proves that the villains weren’t necessarily undetectable. Even so, the villains’ plan still escaped the notice of Batman and his allies.
Through the Butterflies, James Gunn’s Peacemaker show has created a high-stakes struggle for its main characters, albeit at the expense of the Justice League’s reputation. For now, it remains to be seen if the series will attempt to offer an explanation for how the JLA could have overlooked the Butterflies. Either way, the time for Batman and Superman’s group of superheroes to pursue the Butterflies may have passed. But without any of them around, Peacemaker’s new crew will be hard-pressed to put an end to their schemes.
Peacemaker releases new episodes on Thursdays on HBO Max.
