Peacemaker

• Peacemaker season 2 episode 5 has made its streaming debut
• It puts a major twist to Sasha Bordeaux’s origins story in the comics
• The change was necessary for one major reason

Peacemaker season 2 episode 5 has landed on HBO Max and other streaming services, and the show’s latest chapter makes a major change to Sasha Bordeaux’s backstory from the comics.

Until now, most viewers knew little about the ARGUS agent portrayed by Sol Rodriguez. But, thanks to a couple of key scenes in this season’s fifth entry, titled ‘Back to the Suture’, Bordeaux isn’t as much of an enigma as she’s been presented as.

Full spoilers immediately follow for Peacemaker season 2 episode 5, titled ‘Back to the Suture’.

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This is the face that some fans might pull when they learn about Bordeaux’s altered backstory (Image credit: DC Studios/HBO Max)

The first major revelation about Bordeaux emerges during the stand-off between Chris Smith and the ARGUS agents trying to arrest him at Kupperberg Park. None of the assembled group have a clear shot on their target because Smith has taken Agent Clyne hostage and has draped them across his shoulders to use as a protective shield.

Cue Bordeaux’s intervention. Informing ARGUS chief Rick Flag Sr that Smith is locked into a turning pattern – essentially, Smith’s moving in a circle on the spot to keep tabs on the approaching personnel – she says she has a clear shot and, if she takes it, it’ll be fatal.

Yep, Bordeaux isn’t completely human (Image credit: DC Studios/HBO Max)

In a move that’ll surprise many viewers, it’s revealed Bordeaux is actually part-android; her robotic right eye and 0.002% miss rate calculation being the clear giveaways.

Luckily for Smith, Emilia Harcourt makes a last-second intervention that prevents Bordeaux from killing the titular anti-hero. Okay, he’s subdued, arrested and carted off to ARGUS headquarters to, as we later see, be heavily beaten by Flag Sr, but at least the metahuman known as Peacemaker isn’t actually dead. Hey, you take the wins where you can.

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Anyway, back at ARGUS, Harcourt reunites with John Economos and persuades him to ‘book’ Smith so there’s an arrest record, which will prevent Flag Sr from making Smith ‘disappear’ – i.e. bumping him off.

It’s during this conversation that we learn more about Bordeaux, with Economos revealing she’s a cyborg. Continuing, Economos says that, following a near-fatal plane crash, ARGUS replaced half of her body, which had been mangled in said disaster, with machinery and other technology to save her life.

Why Sasha Bordeaux’s origin story needed to be changed in Peacemaker season 2

Some DC devotees might be wondering why Bordeaux’s backstory needed to be changed (Image credit: HBO Max/YouTube)

Bordeaux’s origin story in the DC Universe (DCU) isn’t wholly dissimilar to part of her backstory in the comics. Indeed, Bordeaux is turned into a type of cyborg known as OMAC (Omni Mind and Community or, to use the original abbreviation, Observational Metahuman Activity Construct). OMACs are humans who’ve been turned into robots by a virus created by Maxwell Lord to kill metahumans.

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However, Bordeaux’s origins needed to be tweaked for Peacemaker season 2 – and, by proxy, the DCU – for one big reason: Batman.

In the comics, Bordeaux is initially introduced as a secret service agent-turned-private contractor who’s hired as the head of Bryce Wayne’s security team. Without getting into the nitty-gritty of her entire arc to date, Bordeaux *deep breath* learns Wayne is Batman, starts patrolling Gotham City alongside him, falls in love with the Caped Crusader, is co-framed for the murder of Wayne’s ex-girlfriend, almost dies in prison, joins the government agency known as Checkmate, rises through that group’s ranks, and eventually becomes said cyborg.

Sasha Bordeaux’s origins story in the DCU differs from her literary counterpart (Image credit: DC Comics)

Considering The Dark Knight hasn’t been fully introduced in the DCU yet – we know he’s already active, though, due to his silhouetted cameo in Creature Commandos episode 6 – a lot of heavy lifting would’ve been required on Peacemaker‘s part to explain Bordeaux’s comic-accurate backstory. In that sense, simplifying her origins in the DCU was the best option available to James Gunn and company.

This doesn’t mean Bordeaux couldn’t cross paths with The Dark Knight in another DCU Chapter One project. We already know that a Batman movie, currently titled The Brave and the Bold, is in early development at DC Studios. Speaking to TechRadar ahead of Peacemaker’s return, Rodriguez admitted she’d love to appear in The Brave and the Bold, but had no idea whether Gunn would include her as part of its cast.

Of course, in order to meet Batman, Bordeaux needs to survive the final three episodes of one of the best HBO Max shows’ second season. Given Gunn’s penchant for killing off characters willy-nilly, there’s no guarantee that she’ll make it to the end, either.

Anyway, what do you think about this reframing of Bordeaux’s origins tale? Does it work? Are you upset that it doesn’t follow her literary backstory ad verbatim? Let me know in the comments.

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