James Gunn has defended Peacemaker’s choice to kill Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad.
One of the most shocking moments in The Suicide Squad was when newcomer Peacemaker offed Rick Flag, who appeared in the previous Task Force X film. In a surprising twist, it was revealed that the patriotic antihero was on a mission of his own to cover up the United States’ involvement with the cosmic kaiju Starro. Upon discovering this, Rick Flag and Peacemaker got into a tussle, which led to the unhinged antihero killing Flag.
While the anti-hero did what he thought was right in The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker can be seen tearfully expressing remorse for his actions in his HBO Max series. Speaking with Podly: The Peacemaker Podcast, James Gunn opened up about Peacemaker’s decision to kill Rick Flag and expressed how the antihero was right to do so – depending on what you think about his motives.
“People constantly are writing on Twitter about how awful [Peacemaker] is and how mad they are that he killed Rick Flag — and I may get shit for saying this — but what he was doing, he had a reason for doing it. He kills Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad because there’s a piece of evidence that he believes will cause the world a great amount of disturbance and death and violence. He’s covering up the truth, so if you believe in the truth being out there no matter what, you definitely don’t agree with that.”
It’s an interesting debate and one worth considering as Peacemaker’s moral compass is integral to the character as a whole. While seeing Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad was a worthy shock, it did add more real-world layers to Peacemaker’s character, who could easily come off as a cartoonish buffoon.
Rick Flag and Peacemaker appeared together in The Suicide Squad. Here is the synopsis:
Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission, with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Tinashe Kajese, Steve Agee, Jennifer Holland, Alice Braga, Juan Diego Botto, Joaquin Cosio, Storm Reid, and Taika Waititi.
The Suicide Squad is now available on BluRay, 4K, DVD, and Digital Download. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the future of James Gunn’s pocket of the DC Universe and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Podly: The Peacemaker Podcast
