Peacemaker creator James Gunn has revealed Judomaster's appearance in the series, offering fans their best look yet at the character.
In HBO Max's The Suicide Squad spinoff Peacemaker, the United States government recruits John Cena's Christopher Smith for "Project Butterfly." With years of experience as a hired gun and contract killer, Peacemaker seems tailor-made for the job -- but an order to kill kids causes him to reflect on whether he is doing the right thing. Unfortunately, Peacemaker may live to regret his crisis of conscience when he comes face-to-face with one of his youngest targets, Nhut Le's Judomaster. Peacemaker's recent trailer showed Judomaster fighting against Smith, proving his diminutive stature has no impact on his combat skills. Now, Gunn has offered a closer glimpse at Judomaster's fighting prowess ahead of the character's live-action debut.
In the comics, Judomaster is a mantle held by multiple different martial artists. The original hero, Rip Jagger, first appeared in 1965's Special War Stories #4, published by Charlton Comics. When DC bought Charlton's properties, the character was renamed Ripley and joined the All-Star Squadron. Years later, Judomaster II appeared as a foe to Justice League International member Guy Gardner before Ripley's son Tommy took on the title for himself. However, since Tommy was also an operative of the black ops group Checkmate, he had little time to be Judomaster and abandoned the mantle. This absence created the opportunity for Sonia Sato to become the final and arguably most-well known iteration of Judomaster as a member of the Birds of Prey and Justice Society of America.
Given Judomaster's complicated history, it's unclear which incarnation of the character Le will be playing. Gunn is a noted fan of the source material and has filled Peacemaker with Easter eggs from the comics, including some obscure characters. Notably, the series features Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante, a character who hasn't helmed an ongoing series since 1988. Gunn calls Vigilante Peacemaker's oddest character, hinting at a dramatically different interpretation from the hero's appearances in The CW's Arrowverse.
Though Judomaster's fight with Smith suggests the two will be enemies when they first meet, Peacemaker has a well-rounded support team to back him up. In addition to Stroma's Vigilante, Cena will be reinforced by Chukwudi Iwuji's Clemson Murn, Danielle Brooks' Leota Adebayo, Jennifer Holland's Emilia Harcourt and Steve Agee's John Economos. Collectively, this task force follows in the Suicide Squad's footsteps as they track down threats against the United States of America.
Peacemaker hits HBO Max on Jan. 13, 2022.
Source: Twitter