The third episode of Peacemaker Season 2 referenced a Suicide Squad character, making them canon in the new DCU. Peacemaker, a spin-off of The Suicide Squad starring John Cena's character, is one of the few projects that link the old DCEU with DC Studios' rebooted cinematic universe. Studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran wiped the slate clean for the new DCU, with Gunn claiming "nothing is canon" until the release of the first DC Studios projects, Creature Commandos and Superman.
Now, with Peacemaker's second season taking place in the new DCU, everything that the show draws upon or references, whether it be from Season 1, from The Suicide Squad, or even earlier in the DCEU, can be considered canon in this new reboot. Season 2 has done a fair bit of this already in its initial three episodes, with Episode 2 canonizing Rich Flag's death from The Suicide Squad. In Episode 3 of Peacemaker Season 2, the HBO Max show went even further back in the timeline, referencing a character from David Ayer's 2016 film Suicide Squad.
The episode opens on a flashback to three years prior, showing Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnamon) in bed together. The duo were both ARGUS operatives at this point in time, and the scene reveals they were having an affair behind the back of Rick's girlfriend at the time, Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne):
Harcourt: "You ship out today, you should really be with June."
Flag: "You're jealous?"
Harcourt: "You know I'm not. I'm just not fond of lying."
Flag: "Yeah, well she's a f***ing sorceress."
Harcourt: "And?"
Flag: "And I'm afraid if I break up with her, she's gonna burrow a hole through the planet."
The relationship between Harcourt and Flag is a new revelation, linking the events of the DCEU and the new DCU even further and canonizing a piece of Suicide Squad lore. This also complicates the situation between Peacemaker and Harcourt further, as Peacemaker was responsible for murdering Flag, her ex.
Who Is June In Peacemaker? Rick Flag Connection Explained
In 2016's Suicide Squad, Dr. June Moone is introduced as an archaeologist who becomes possessed by the evil sorceress, the Enchantress. She and Flag are confirmed to be in a romantic relationship, but after Enchantress betrays ARGUS and goes rogue, she becomes the target for the criminal Task Force X, led by Flag.
Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) keeps Flag's relationship status with Moone a secret from the rest of the team. Flag's intention is to stop Enchantress without killing June—something his villainous teammates would likely not agree to. This leads to the team abandoning Flag and the mission until they're enticed by a chance to prove themselves as more than villains.
When Flag and Task Force X track down Enchantress, they are able to cut out the Enchantress' heart, which Flag then crushes, killing the Enchantress and freeing Moone from her possession.
The two lovers are reunited, but this is the last time Moone has been heard of in the DCU. She was left out entirely of The Suicide Squad, which Flag returned for.
Could June Moone Appear in the New DCU?
Now that Flag has returned in Peacemaker Season 2, appearing both in flashbacks and in the alternate dimension despite his death, it opens the door for even more Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad events to become canon.
June Moone is the latest namedrop in the steadily expanding DCU, which could open up possibilities for Delevigne's character to return. As far as audiences know, Moone is not dead and was seemingly still in a relationship with Flag despite his affair with Harcourt. The flashback in Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 3 confirms that Flag and Moone were still together until the events of The Suicide Squad, as the episode references that Flag would be shipping out to Corto Maltese later that day.
However, Flag never returned from his mission as Peacemaker killed him. One way to tie Moone into the story would be to have her seek revenge on Peacemaker for killing her boyfriend, potentially teaming up with Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), who is also seeking vengeance for his son.
Regardless of whether Moone has any further role in the new DCU, her mention in Peacemaker is a significant step toward making more past DCEU events canon in this new DC Studios timeline.
Peacemaker Season 2 is the second television instalment in the new DCU, following Creature Commandos. The series is written and directed by DC Studios co-chair James Gunn and streams on HBO Max.
