The biggest lingering thread from the first season of Peacemaker is undoubtedly the curtain pull of both ARGUS and the Task Force X operation by Leota Adebayo, Amanda Waller’s daughter. The reveal left a lot of people wondering what effect it was going to have on the greater DCEU and the shows second season. Well, obviously, it had no effect on the DCEU because it’s now defunct, but it does seem to be continuing to cause issues for the inhabitants of that particular corner of the newly formed DCU.
What Happened To Amanda Waller?
In the season premiere, we learned that ARGUS’ former leader, Amanda Waller, is “facing congressional hearings” for her role in Task Force X and its numerous and unspecified operations conducted over the past decade, assuming that the events of Suicide Squad are still somewhat canon. This is a bit of a departure from the last time we saw her, as Creature Commandos saw Waller still in control of ARGUS and even working around the congressional limitations placed on the organisation, swapping human prisoners for monsters and robots to operate as freshly dubbed Task Force M. The timeframe of Commandos is anchored by a comment made by Rick Flag Sr, where he states that it has been two years since the death of his son, Rick Flag Jr., which is dated as August 17, 2021.
Enter Rick Flag Sr.
In the very beginning of Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 “A Man is Only As Good As His Bird,” we flashback to the day that Rick Flag Sr. took over as the acting director of ARGUS. We are immediately told that the flashback takes place eight months prior to the present in Season 2 so we can pinpoint Flag’s time as director beginning in early October of 2024. Season 2 of Peacemaker currently takes place in June of 2025, confirmed by James Gunn himself to be set a month after the events of Superman.
Fans will remember that by the end of Commandos, Flag Sr. was incapacitated due to a fight with Clayface, leaving him severely injured and laid up in a hospital bed with Waller at his side. Again, as previously mentioned, Commandos takes place two years after the events of The Suicide Squad, specifically after August 17, 2021, the date of Flag Sr.’s son’s death, which would land Commandos in late 2023, possibly even early 2024, but that may be stretching it a little too far. Another detail that may help lock down this time frame comes from the help of Clayface. When we first meet him in Commandos, he’s hunkered himself down on the sofa and is playing Mortal Kombat 1, a game that was released on September 14, 2023. Presuming the release dates are the same, Commandos takes place in late September of 2023 or even later, but it’s likely after September 14. We also have to factor in Flag Sr.’s extensive injuries; we can presume that he spent a good chunk of the rest of 2023 and 2024 recovering before eventually being appointed to being the director of ARGUS.
All Roads Lead To Waller
So, now that we have pinpointed the timing of Commandos to be late 2023 and Flag Sr.’s appointment to October of 2024, we can presume that at some point between late 2023 and October of 2024, Amanda Waller was ousted from ARGUS as its director, potentially due to the events of Pokolistan, with The Bride killing Princess Ilana Rostovic. Even though the team is seemingly staying together with the ending of Commandos establishing them within their own wing of Belle Reve and additional team members being added, there is a chance this was the final straw that saw Amanda lose her coveted position. It’s also just possible that further hearings saw Waller ousted solely due to Task Force X, and that the decision came eventually after a deliberation process.
Going out on a limb here, I think it would be safe to say that Flag Sr. spends the rest of 2023 and a good chunk of 2024 recovering, going into the summer. It might not be completely insane to suggest that Waller finds herself without a job almost a year later, after the events of Commandos, potentially landing her firing in late August of 2024, to early September. Giving the president a few weeks to appoint Flag Sr. following his full recovery.
Now you may be wondering, “Just where could these questions be answered?” Well, Waller of course! Obviously, it’s well known that the show has been through some creative difficulties, confirmed by Gunn. The show may also be one of the longest projects in development for the DCU, alongside the now-running second season of Peacemaker, having been announced around the finale of Season 1. Gunn has confirmed on multiple occasions that the series is indeed still in the works like back in November of 2024, confirming it in response to Popped’s very own Christopher Mills, and even as recently as June 2025. The series was even confirmed to be shuffled around and now set after Peacemaker Season 2 due to a “variety of reasons.”
While Season 2 of Peacemaker still rages on, its unclear if we will see or hear anything else about Amanda Waller down the line as of right now. It does seem like Gunn has carved out a nice chunk of time to explore what happened to Waller between late 2023 and October of 2024, but considering Gunn has confirmed on multiple occasions that the series will be set after Peacemaker, it’s likely that we may only blip back to these past moments similar to how we are in this season.
The first two episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 are now streaming on HBO Max! You can check out our review of the series here, as well as further coverage with more to come. Check out the trailer below:
