In a twist that has DC fans reeling and Disney purists clutching their pearls, the second season of Peacemaker—James Gunn’s irreverent HBO Max juggernaut—has unleashed what might be the most audacious crossover parody in superhero TV history: a live-action retelling of The Little Mermaid set in a nightmarish alternate dimension ruled by Nazis. Episode 6, “Ignorance is Chris,” dropped last week like a depth charge, plunging John Cena’s helmeted anti-hero into a warped Earth-X where fascist overlords have twisted beloved fairy tales into propaganda spectacles. But this isn’t your grandma’s Hans Christian Andersen; it’s a blood-soaked, fourth-wall-shattering musical extravaganza featuring Cena as a finned-out Peacemaker crooning “Under the Swastika” while dodging trident-wielding stormtroopers. Fans aren’t just laughing—they’re declaring it “leagues better than Disney’s 2023 live-action flop,” with social media ablaze in memes and manifestos hailing it as the “mermaid glow-up we deserved.”
For the uninitiated, Peacemaker Season 2 picks up in the freshly minted DC Universe (DCU), post-Superman (2025), where Chris Smith—aka Peacemaker—grapples with redemption after the butterflying horrors of Season 1. Armed with his late father Auggie’s Quantum Unfolding Chamber (a multiversal portal gun that’s equal parts DeLorean and Deathtrap), Chris stumbles into “the best dimension ever”: a parallel Earth where his abusive dad (Robert Patrick, rechristened the “Blue Dragon”) and slain brother Keith (David Denman) helm a celebrated superhero trio, the Top Trio. Here, Chris is adored—kids chant his name, Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) pines for him unrequitedly, and street crime bows to his chrome-domed vigilantism. It’s utopia for a man starved of validation, or so it seems. Enter the rug-pull: Episode 6 reveals this paradise as Earth-X, DC Comics’ infamous Nazi-victory timeline from 1973’s Justice League of America #107, where Hitler’s mind-control tech conquered the globe, birthing a world of Aryan supremacy and zero tolerance for “impure” narratives.
Gunn, ever the provocateur, doesn’t stop at dystopian dread. To underscore the regime’s cultural stranglehold, the episode pivots to a state-mandated “Fairy Tale Festival” in a bombed-out Berlin (filmed in Atlanta’s Trilith Studios with meticulous WWII-era sets). The centerpiece? A live-action Little Mermaid production, reimagined as Die Kleine Meerjungfrau: Triumph of the Tide, starring alternate-universe doppelgangers of the 11th Street Kids. Danielle Brooks’ Leota Adebayo transforms into a sassy Ariel analogue, “Leota the Languid Lagoon Lass,” bartering her voice for a shot at “Aryan legs” from a Ursula-esque Amanda Waller (Viola Davis in a cameo that’s pure venom). Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante plays a spear-wielding Flounder gone rogue, while Chukwudi Iwuji’s Clemson Murn croons as a Sebastian crab with a swastika shell tattoo, belting a goose-stepping rendition of “Under the Sea” that devolves into a conga line of goose-stepping polyps.
But the crown jewel—and the scene that’s spawned endless TikToks—is Cena’s Chris, dragooned into the role of Prince Eric after a “heroic” beach rescue (really a botched portal mishap). Donning a mermaid tail fashioned from salvaged U-boat periscopes and a blonde wig that screams Blonde Ambition, Peacemaker flails through underwater ballets, his anti-grav helmet bubbling like a faulty snorkel. The musical numbers? Gunn’s magnum opus of satire. “Part of Your World” becomes “Part of the Reich,” a yearning ballad about assimilation where Leota laments, “Wand’rin’ free, what would I give to live where they need no fins at all?”—intercut with archival footage of Leni Riefenstahl’s propaganda reels. The villainous medley? Ursula/Waller’s “Poor Unfortunate Souls” skewers inclusivity as “degenerate deviation,” with lyrics like “It’s sympathy for the shellfish, the mollusks and the things that don’t belong!” Fans on X erupted: “Disney’s mermaid swam for love; Peacemaker’s swims for survival. Gunn just eviscerated the remake in one soggy sequence,” tweeted @DCDeepCuts, racking up 200K likes.
What elevates this from gimmick to gut-punch is its unflinching commentary. Earth-X, popularized in the Arrowverse’s 2017 “Crisis on Earth-X” crossover, is no stranger to DC’s multiversal menagerie—a hellscape where Overman (a Hitler-raised Superman) enforces eugenics, and freedom fighters like The Ray battle from the shadows. Gunn leans in, twisting the fairy tale to expose how regimes co-opt stories for control. Ariel’s voice-loss mirrors silenced dissent; the merfolk’s underwater haven becomes a metaphor for ghettos. Chris, oblivious at first, clocks the horror when he spots the American flag’s stars replaced by swastikas, and his “adoring” fans chanting in Teutonic tongues. “This ain’t peace; it’s a prettier prison,” he growls, helmet fogging with regret. The 11th Street Kids’ rescue mission—portaling in via the Chamber—culminates in a chaotic stage invasion: Vigilante harpooning extras, Economos (Steve Agee) hacking the pyrotechnics for fireworks of freedom, and Harcourt dueling her fascist twin in a hair-pulling, trident-clashing catfight that’s equal parts WrestleMania and West Side Story.
Production whispers paint a picture of controlled chaos. Filming wrapped in November 2024 after delays from the 2023 strikes, with Gunn enlisting The Suicide Squad‘s choreographer for the aquatic antics—practical effects blending Atlanta’s soundstages with Moroccan underwater tanks for authenticity. Cena, bulking up further for the role, spent weeks in mermaid boot camp: “John flopping around in that tail? Comedy gold, but the emotional beats hit hard,” Gunn shared at a virtual watch party. The score, by Kevin Kiner and Clint Mansell, mashes ethereal flutes with Wagnerian bombast, turning “Kiss the Girl” into a tense infiltration waltz. Davis’ Waller cameo, shot in a single day, was a “soft reboot” nod, teasing her Waller spin-off. And the costumes? April Ferry’s designs—fin-scales etched with runes, seashell bras armored like panzer plates—earned Emmy buzz before the finale even aired.
Fan fervor has been tidal. Post-episode, #PeacemakerMermaid trended globally, with 1.5 million posts. “Disney’s version was a soggy mess—Halle killed it, but the CGI fish flopped harder than Ariel’s tail,” posted @NerdNirvana87, whose thread comparing scene-for-scene “upgrades” went viral. “Gunn’s got heart, horror, and hilarity; Disney had… more songs about hair?” Reddit’s r/Peacemaker dissected the layers: Threads on “How Earth-X’s Mermaid Subverts Colonialism in Fairy Tales” garnered 50K upvotes, while fan edits syncing the sequence to original Disney audio amassed millions on YouTube. Critics? Ecstatic. The Hollywood Reporter dubbed it “a subversive siren song that drowns out corporate retreads,” praising Holland’s “ferocious” dual performance. Variety noted, “In a season darker than Season 1’s butterflies, this musical detour is Gunn’s boldest stroke—proving Peacemaker can sing, sting, and satirize.”
Yet, amid the acclaim, controversy brews. Some decry the Nazi imagery as “punching down” in 2025’s polarized climate, echoing backlash to Superman‘s anti-fascist themes. Gunn addressed it head-on in a Threads AMA: “Earth-X isn’t glorification; it’s a warning. Fairy tales were weaponized then—hell, they’re sanitized now. We flip the script to free it.” Disney loyalists fired back on TikTok, but the consensus tilts toward triumph: Rotten Tomatoes sits at 96% for the season, with Episode 6’s mermaid mayhem earning a perfect 100%. Viewership spiked 40% week-over-week, per HBO Max metrics, outpacing The Penguin‘s premiere.
As Season 2 barrels toward its October 9 finale, teases hint at ripple effects: Chris smuggling merfolk rebels back to Earth-Prime, Waller’s Ursula plotting multiversal mergers, and a post-credits sting featuring Overman eyeing the portal. Gunn’s vision—to weave Peacemaker into the DCU’s fabric—shines here, bridging whimsy with weight. In a multiverse of reboots, this live-action Little Mermaid isn’t just better than Disney’s—it’s a declaration: True tales thrive in the depths, fins and all. Stream it on HBO Max, but beware: Once you hear “Under the Swastika,” you’ll never unhear the hooks.
