The DCU just got a whole lot bigger, with not just one Rick Flag (Sr.), but the reintroduction of Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr. during the opening of Episode 3 of Peacemaker Season 2, “Another Rick Up My Sleeve.” One of the biggest questions and conversations regarding the DCU right now are all about canon. The universe shift and shifting of Peacemaker has a lot of people asking a lot of questions, mostly regarding the series’ previous status in the DCEU and the connections to it.
While a handful of characters and plot lines have made the jump, many remain in the air. The full events of The Suicide Squad and characters like Harley Quinn and Bloodsport remain in limbo until officially addressed. A major plot thread revolving around Peacemaker has been the death of Rick Flag Jr., a topic with repercussions that hasn’t been totally followed up on….until now. The recent episode of Peacemaker canonized quite of bit of The Suicide Squad film, and we’re not just talking about James Gunn’s 2021 pseudo-sequel.
Joel Kinnaman Returns as Rick Flag Jr. in ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2
Right off the bat, we find Harcourt getting out of bed and dressed, only to reveal Rick Flag Jr., behind her in bed, revealing a previously unknown relationship. Not only that, the moment just so happens to take place hours before Flag is set to ship out to Corto Maltese, further canonizing The Suicide Squad with a sudden burst of clips from the film that show the events of the beach ambush, as well as the fight between both Flag and Christopher Smith that would lead to his death. Many will remember that the previous episode also included flashbacks to that fight, with all of the clips cheekily avoiding including any other characters in those original scenes.
Gunn even goes a step further, canonizing a plot point from David Ayer’s Suicide Squad from the dawn of the DCEU, with a mention of the one and only June Moone, who many will remember as the Enchantress. While many prefer to forget that film, we wouldn’t have what we have now without it, and it’s nice to see Gunn respect what came before his time at DC. The only difference is that it seems to retcon the death of the Enchantress from the end of the film, as Flag mentions that June remains a sorceress in 2021, 5 years after the events of that film.
Joel Kinnaman Returns…Again
Surprise! What did you think they meant when they literally called the episode “Another Rick Up My Sleeve.” Yes, during his fledgling journey through this new universe, Christopher Smith comes face to face with the man he killed, well, a version of that man. While masquerading as the Peacemaker of that universe, he goes to meet with that world’s Emilia Harcourt, looking to repair a relationship the last guy managed to also mess up. Just before he can do that, he stumbles into the Rick Flag Jr. of this world, fit with yet another classic yellow shirt.
However, this Rick Flag is a tad bit different from the one we knew. This one is a bit goofier, a bit more of a jealous type and not as stern and disciplined as the last one. It seems that even in this universe this Rick has also managed to strike up a relationship with Emilia Harcourt, likely the jarhead referred to back in Episode 1 by Keith.
So technically, no, our Rick Flag Jr. does not live but this other world’s Rick Flag Jr. does live! if you think about it, ours does kind of live, spiritually, with the series canonizing his past and events from both prior Suicide Squad films.
Playing Coy
Just a few months ago, when rumors began to swirl that Kinnaman would be returning as Flag in the second season of Peacemaker, the actor actually responded to the rumors and made himself out to be disgusted by even the thought of it. During an interview with Screen Rant, Kinnaman responded to the rumors by saying, “I don’t know what to say. That’s ridiculous, I would never. I would never be on a show like that. It’s not what I do, It’s not what I do.”
Many took that quote and ran with it, using it as criticism against the series from a previous DCEU actor, but in the end, it was obviously in jest and meant to deflect from the truth behind the rumors.
The first three episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 are now streaming on HBO Max, and you can check out our review here! More coverage of the series is set to follow throughout the coming weeks so make sure to stay tuned to Popped for all things peace related!
