Peacemaker’s DCEU Timeline Change Creates A Joker Plot Hole

Warning: Contains spoilers for Peacemaker episode 4.

James Gunn’s Peacemaker seems to establish a new DCEU timeline within the canon, but the change creates a plot hole issue for the Joker. When James Gunn joined the DCEU for The Suicide Squad the movie was assumed to be a continuation from Birds of Prey and a soft reboot of David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad. However, new evidence in Peacemaker suggests that this isn’t actually the case.

In Peacemaker episode 1, “A Whole New Whirled,” Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is seen asking Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) if she has planted a fake Peacemaker diary. The diary is shown to have a “Wayne Foundation” logo on it, but the logo is notably different to the “Wayne Enterprises” logo that appears in the DCEU’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Another bigger clue hints that this is a different timeline to the main DCEU as Auggie Smith’s neighbor (Mel Tuck) taunts Peacemaker (John Cena) in episode 4 about whether he is a superhero, pointing out that “Batman doesn’t kill people.” This is in stark contrast to the Batman that appears in the Zack Snyder-led DCEU movies, which shows a Bruce Wayne who is entirely comfortable using lethal force. If this is a different timeline with a different Batman, then it makes sense that the DCEU has a new Joker in this timeline as well.

The Peacemaker TV series is very clearly a direct sequel to The Suicide Squad, picking up directly from the events of the movie and its post-credits scene. The Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) in the movie in turn appears to be the same one that appears in both Birds of Prey and Suicide Squad. However, if the timeline of The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker is a new one with different versions of Batman and Joker who have behaved differently, then it would stand to reason that Harley Quinn should also be a different version of herself, and yet she has maintained the same backstory and appearance throughout. A similar issue arises around Amanda Waller, as she appeared in Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, and now Peacemaker.

However, James Gunn might have hidden a small clue to the new timeline in a Harley Quinn detail in The Suicide Squad. While she appears to be the same character and certainly her storyline follows her emancipation from the Joker in Birds of Prey, a physical change was made. In the first Suicide Squad movie and in Birds of Prey, Harley Quinn has the word “Rotten” tattooed on her right cheek, but the tattoo is missing in The Suicide Squad. James Gunn said that he heard that Robbie disliked it so they removed it, and while this is likely true, it could also have been a part of establishing a new timeline for the DCEU multiverse. This would also explain some of the drastic changes in Rick Flag that led the actor, Joel Kinnaman, to say he treated it like an entirely new role.

Another possible explanation for the seeming DCEU plot hole created by having a new Joker and Batman but not a new Quinn, is that the DCEU might be borrowing a trick from the Arrowverse. In Titans season 1, episode 4 “Doom Patrol,” the show introduced the Doom Patrol and their leader Dr. Niles Caulder (Bruno Bichir Nájera). For the new show Doom Patrol, the same cast returned but with Timothy Dalton taking over the role of Caulder and with the show never mentioning the existence of Gar Logan/Beast Boy (Ryan Potter). While this appeared to be a plot hole at first, it was revealed during Arrowverse’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event that the two series actually took place on similar but unconnected timelines that allowed for physical similarities. With the DCEU introducing the multiverse with The Flash (2022), James Gunn’s Peacemaker might just be getting in there first.

Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO.