Now that Peacemaker is working with Monsieur Mallah and The Brain, he’s not so much worried about getting stabbed in the back. He’s just worried about when it will happen. Your Major Spoilers review of Peacemaker Tries Hard #2 from DC Comics Black Label awaits!

PEACEMAKER TRIES HARD #2

Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Steve Pugh
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey
Editor: Matthew Levine
Publisher: DC Comics Black Label
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 6, 2023

Previously in Peacemaker Tries Hard: The Brain has given Peacemaker no choice but to complete a dangerous mission on his behalf, but he won’t have to kick bad-guy butt on his own. With Monsieur Mallah at his side, Peacemaker breaks into the secret base of General Immortus to steal some super-villain DNA. What starts as the team-up you never knew you wanted takes a surprising turn that could leave Peacemaker face down in a pool of his own blood!

BRING ME THE DNA OF DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR!

After being blindsided by The Brain and Monsieur Mallah last issue, Peacemaker is amazed that they trust him to defeat Deathstroke in combat… except, they don’t. His job is to break into the citadel of General Immortus and steal a sample of Deathstroke’s DNA that he has on file, which the nefarious duo will then use to clone a perfect human body for Brain. Peacemaker and Mallah set out, after a quick stop to pick up a new Peacemaker helmet (and to bond over Mallah beating up the local teens who have been tormenting Peacemaker/Chris). They find very little resistance breaking into Immortus’ lab, still under construction, only to crash with The Demolition Team, who end up defeated by mandatory lunch breaks. After Peacemaker slaps down the elderly villain with ease, he’s ready to bask in a rare win!

That is, until Monsieur Mallah blindsides him with a volley of machine gun fire.

CURSE YOUR SUDDEN AND INEVITABLE BETRAYAL!

Like the last issue, we get a lot of the attitude of the Peacemaker streaming show, including Chris’ cool Camaro, his love of hard rock (like John Constantine’s band Mucous Membrane), and helmet gags, including one that’s fitted with a “F@$& Beam.” The gross reveal of exactly what DNA Immortus has is in keeping with the vulgar humor, with more setup for Rick Raleigh to reveal that he’s actually the Red Bee, hopefully next issue. Pugh’s art combines realism with just enough exaggeration to make the action believable, but since we’re talking about a gorilla with a Gatling gun invading a secret installation, that’s probably the hardest part. This issue suffers a little bit from the proverbial Middle Chapter Syndrome, especially given that Peacemaker himself is sort of along for the ride for most of the issue’s events.

BOTTOM LINE: GOOD STUFF

All in all, though, Peacemaker Tries Hard #2 is a success, even more than a year after the series that inspired it, with really well-done storytelling in the art and a lot of charm in even the most minor bit of dialogue, all wrapped up in gorillas fighting and punk rock, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. It’s looking bad for l’il Bruce Wayne the French bulldog, but there may still be hope coming in the final issues of the series.

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