'Peacemaker' Episode 7 Recap: John Cena's Supervillain Addresses His Daddy Issues

It seems Peacemaker just can't catch a break: not only does he have the Butterflies to contend with, there's also his dad, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick).

James Gunn never fails to bring bad dads and the emotional and/or physical trauma they give their sons into his superhero worlds, and this was quite evident in Episode 7 of the HBO Max show.

**Warning: This Article Contains Spoilers for 'Peacemaker' Episode 7**

Going straight to the heart of the pain in the supervillain's (John Cena) life, the episode opens with Peacemaker reflecting on his "origin story": the moment he accidentally killed his brother Kevin.

In emotional scenes we watch as a young Christopher and his brother rock out to hair metal together before taking part in a fight spurred on by their father, who is taking bets over which of his sons will beat up the other (dad of the year here).

Unfortunately for Peacemaker, one wrong punch results in his brother having a seizure and dying, resulting in his dad blaming him for the deed even though he was the one who put his boys up to the fight.

Peacemaker is still distraught by the ordeal to this day, understandably, but he decides to put this trauma aside and head out with Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) and Economos (Steve Agee) so they can handle the impending Butterfly threat, and the police chief who has now turned on them.

Peacemaker Deals With His Daddy Issues

They don't get far though because Auggie, in his full White Dragon costume, is determined to get revenge by killing his own son. He heads out with his white supremacist followers to stop Peacemaker in his tracks.

Thanks to Vigilante's quick thinking, by throwing a bomb at the White Dragon and his cohort, Peacemaker and Economos are able to run away.

They realize that the White Dragon and his followers tracked him down using a chip placed in Peacemaker's helmet, and they decide to tie it to a nearby raccoon (not named Rocket, sadly) to throw them off the scent.

It works, and Peacemaker and Economos are able to find Vigilante, who stole one of the white supremacists' cars, and escape.

Peacemaker doesn't make it that far before his dad and the white supremacists catch up with him, though, and he is forced to fight them off.

The White Dragon pins Peacemaker down, beating him mercilessly and taunting him over his past and perceived slights, with Auggie ultimately preparing to deliver the killing blow without a second thought.

Luckily, Vigilante stops the White Dragon from killing his son by stabbing him through a gap in his armor, and this gives Peacemaker the edge in their fight.

Peacemaker manages to overpower his dad and, when he's taunted further, gets a gun and points it at him.

"You can't do it," Auggie claims, telling his son that he's not "man enough" to pull the trigger and says that he will always have power over him.

It is the last thing he says, though, because Peacemaker does pull the trigger, killing his father instantly.

Murn Makes the Ultimate Sacrifice

Elsewhere in the episode, Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) finds Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) and questions her over planting a diary at Peacemaker's home.

Their argument leads Harcourt to realise that Adebayo is Amanda Waller's (Viola Davis) daughter, who put her up to the task in the first place.

Harcourt and Adebayo are joined by Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji), who tells them they have to go after the Cow, the source of the alien Butterflies' food.

The pair head out to regroup, leaving Murn on his own, and the leader is then met by Detective Song (Annie Chang) and her fellow Butterflies.

Using a walkie-talkie, Murn tells Harcourt and Adebayo it is up to them to find and kill the Cow, and this leads Song to realise that Murn is also a Butterfly.

She shoots Murn and also kills his Butterfly self, telling her people they have to go and move the Cow before Peacemaker and the group can find it.

Harcourt and Adebayo return to the scene after they leave, and the former has an emotional farewell with Murn in his Butterfly form before he dies.

They are attacked by Judomaster (Nhut Le) but, after a tense fight with Harcourt, he is knocked out by Adebayo, who uses a taser to do so.

Race to the Cow

The team regroup at a local veterinary office as they wait for Eagly, Peacemaker's pet eagle, to recover from his injuries after being caught in the crossfire at the fight with White Dragon's.

After Eagly pulls through, the group decide that Harcourt should lead the mission following Murn's death. She gives them a rousing pep talk about their most difficult task yet: find and kill the Cow before the Butterflies can move it.

The episode ends with Detective Song and her fellow Butterflies arriving at the underground bunker they have been keeping the Cow, and viewers finally get to see a glimpse at the monstrosity Peacemaker has to stop.

Huge doesn't even begin to accurately describe the Cow, and it's clear that the supervillain and his team have their work cut out for them in the show's finale.

Peacemaker's Season 1 finale airs Thursday, February 17 on HBO Max.