Did Peacemaker’s Season 2 Finale Secretly Introduce Rick Flag’s Clone? The Clues James Gunn Hid in Plain Sight
In Full Nelson, Peacemaker Season 2 ends with a brutal twist as Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr snatches John Cena’s Chris Smith and hurls him through a portal to the dimension Salvation — payback for his son’s death in The Suicide Squad.
Peacemaker Season 2 wraps with a big swing, and not the feel-good kind. The finale, 'Full Nelson,' has Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr. bagging John Cena's Chris Smith and hurling him through a portal into a place called 'Salvation.' On paper, it tracks — Smith did kill Flag's son in The Suicide Squad (2021). In practice, something about the guy running the op didn’t look like the Rick Flag we’ve been following across these projects.
So... what happened to Rick Flag Sr.?
Flag used to operate as the conscience in the room, especially when Amanda Waller bent the rules so hard they snapped. In the finale, that compass isn’t just off — it’s spinning. He’s not checking Waller’s power anymore; he’s wielding it. The most unsettling beat: he’s yucking it up with Lex Luthor’s crew while his own people are trapped — and in some cases dying — across dimensions. That’s not a tough call or a gray area; that’s a total vibe shift.
The Lex effect (and a very comic-booky wrinkle)
Ever since Flag crossed paths with Lex, the man’s energy has been different. Little tells start piling up — like him blanking on the fact that he once asked Harcourt to use his first name. That isn’t a cute character beat; it’s a flag on the play. And yes, Lex has a history of cloning people. If that’s what’s happening here, it would be the third time this year James Gunn has nudged a cloning angle into the mix. Whether that’s a creative gamble or Gunn riffing on identity as a running theme in the DCU, the takeaway is the same:
'This Rick Flag doesn’t feel like the real Rick Flag.'
He’s not the guy we met in Creature Commandos (or in Superman)
Over in Creature Commandos, Flag Sr. is framed as a straight-up soldier: Waller’s point man, duty-first, the kind of leader who still believes in a line you don’t cross. In that series — and in Superman — he reads as the steady hand on the right side of the fight. Early in Peacemaker Season 2, he still looked like that guy. By the finale? Complete 180. He goes from side-eyeing Lex to basically moving like him. He’s harsher, more vengeful, and laser-focused on Chris. Between imprisoning metahumans, tossing Peacemaker into a prison dimension, and aligning himself with Luthor’s broader plan, he’s playing authoritarian instead of idealist — a far cry from his Creature Commandos self.
Where this could be heading
- Imposter theory: If Lex swapped Flag with a clone, the personality whiplash makes sense. The memory slip with Harcourt points that way, and it lines up with Lex’s past playbook.
- Manipulation theory: No clone, just classic Luthor mind games. Same outcome: Flag’s soul gets sanded down until he’s functionally someone else.
- Villain track: Either way, sending Chris to 'Salvation' plants Flag on a bad-guy trajectory. He’s got growing pull inside ARGUS and a clear distrust of metahumans.
- Superman: Man of Tomorrow setup: The next Superman outing teams Lex and Clark against a bigger threat. If the movie needs a morally complicated human antagonist, Flag Sr. is suddenly right there, perfectly positioned to be one of the problems they’re forced to solve.
Whether it’s a bold character swing or a twist waiting to be confirmed, the finale is basically telling us not to trust what we’re seeing. If the real Rick Flag is out there, he’s not the one who just toasted with Lex while his people were in mortal danger.
Peacemaker Season 2 is now streaming on Max.