Peacemaker Just Unleashed Its Biggest Superman Cameo Yet, and Fans Are Losing It
Peacemaker Season 2 pulls off its biggest shock yet in Episode 6, reviving a major Superman character. A prison showdown is blowing up social feeds as James Gunn’s HBO Max series deepens its Superman ties and amps up the Justice Gang storyline.
Peacemaker just pulled the most obvious kind of surprise: the one you still grin at anyway. Episode 6 drops a certain bald genius into the mix, and it is very clearly James Gunn continuing to lace this very R-rated spinoff to the larger Superman plans, Justice Gang thread and all.
Yes, that was Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor
Season 2, Episode 6, titled "Ignorance Is Chris," parks us inside Belle Reve Prison where Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) pays a visit to a very familiar inmate. Nicholas Hoult shows up as Lex Luthor again, picking up the role he launched in Superman (2025).
"General Flag, what an unexpected delight. Last time I saw you, you were denying that metahumans were a threat. And now it seems they’re taking over the world."
Quick status check: according to the scene, Luthor is doing 265 years. Flag pitches him a deal — help track down Peacemaker and you get transferred to a facility without metahumans breathing down your neck. Lex, being Lex, shrugs off Peacemaker as a goofball vigilante with no real heat. Flag reframes it as, essentially, an opportunity for redemption. It is a slick little power dance, and it sets the tone for how this version of Lex fits into Gunn's universe.
The reveal landed exactly how you think
The second his theme music hit, fans called it. The immediate reaction online has been: snarkier Lex, sharper edge, and yes, people lost it at him casually dropping the word 'twink.' One particularly inside baseball takeaway floating around: some viewers read Flag going to Lex as tying into the QUC threads from Superman — a neat little breadcrumb trail if you have your DCU decoder ring on.
Where this is going (and what Episode 6 actually locks in)
Beyond the cameo thrill, the episode ends with Flag telling Sasha (Sol Rodriguez) that Luthor is now in the mix. How far Lex actually gets involved past the intel-for-transfer deal is the dangling question — and the show is clearly saving that for later. This whole season has been building out the Superman connection while nudging forward the Justice Gang storyline, and bringing Hoult in here makes that intent crystal clear.
Season 2 cameos so far
- Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion)
- Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced)
- Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi)
- Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn)
Lex now joins that list, but he is the one with obvious long-game implications. Peacemaker has never been shy about swinging above its weight class, and this is the most overt swing yet from Gunn and the HBO Max series.