WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Peacemaker Episode 4, "The Choad Less Traveled," now streaming on HBO Max.
One of the biggest takeaways from Hawkeye was the dynamic between Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). Many fans came for Clint Barton's portrayal of the archer but they were totally blown away by the snappy banter between the two women, with many craving a spinoff with them as kindred sisters. However, as fun as they were, Peacemaker has a much better dynamic duo running missions for ARGUS.
This isn't to knock the new Black Widow and the young archer extraordinaire, but all they were really relegated to were punchlines. And that's because their arcs really didn't intersect that much, despite them fighting a couple of times. Yelena's trajectory was with Clint over Nat's death, while Kate had to sort out the problems with her mom, Eleanor, and Kingpin. As such, when they interacted, it wasn't as emotional, although it did shape an enticing prospect for future team-ups.
This is the total opposite of John Cena's Chris Smith and Amanda Waller's daughter, Leota, who have the same sharp dynamic, but with a profane spin. In addition, their bond is a lot more organic because they're connecting over trust, family and that double standard of wanting to do good in the world despite being evil spies.
It's leading Leota to convince Chris to let go of his past trauma and racist dad in Auggie, while Chris genuinely being her friend is reminding Leota she shouldn't ditch her wife, Keeya, and become a monster like Waller. In short, they're becoming their best selves by learning from each other. And they're having lots of memorable moments along the way, such as Leota educating him on not being a toxic male, and Chris lamenting how she shot Judomaster when he was about to win the fight.
It's very sibling-like, which director James Gunn wants to cultivate as a new kind of love story in the DC Extended Universe, harping on friendship. Admittedly, it's something Kate and Yelena could do in time, because they were only together in limited doses in Hawkeye as opposed to being pals for a season. That said, while they're just untapped potential and a whole lot of style, Peacemaker and Leota are steeped more in substance.
In four episodes so far, it's obvious Chris and Leota want to heal each other outside of cute jokes. Sure, they get a lot more offensive and crude, but they're a lot more caring, which has left fans intrigued with how Chris will react when he finds out Leota has been spying and manipulating him for her mom. Either way, fans are all in at the moment on the pair, and maybe in time, once Marvel Studios greenlights it, we'll get a similar journey for Yelena and Kate.
To see Leota and Chris outshine Yelena and Kate, Peacemaker is streaming now on HBO Max.