Peacemaker Season 2 wrapped up with a dire yet hopeful finale that didn’t just end Christopher Smith’s arc—it redefined it. The HBO Max series left fans on the edge of their seats with a multiversal twist, a heartbreaking separation, and the birth of one of DC’s most secretive organizations: Checkmate.
Here’s how everything came together in the finale and what it means for Peacemaker’s future in the DC Universe.
Where does Chris Smith end up at the end of Peacemaker Season 2?
Christopher Smith, a.k.a. Peacemaker, has been through a lot this season – haunted by guilt, struggling to connect with his friends, and jumping to an alternate universe only to realize it’s not perfect. By the end of Season 2, Chris surrendered to A.R.G.U.S., bargaining his freedom for his friends’ safety.
But just as he seemed to find redemption, the rug was pulled out from under him. Rick Flag Sr. betrayed him, forcing Chris through a multiversal portal into a barren, hostile world called Salvation. The planet, designed as a prison for metahumans, is eerily empty—at least at first.
The final cut shows Chris staring into a dense, foggy wilderness as deafening roars echo through the trees. Something massive is out there. Alone once again, Peacemaker must survive in what feels like a prehistoric nightmare. The ending hints that Salvation isn’t just another prison—it’s a test.
What is Checkmate in DC Universe and comics?
While Chris battles isolation on Salvation, his team back home takes a step that could change everything. Emilia Harcourt, frustrated with A.R.G.U.S.’s obsession with the Quantum-Unfolding Tunnel, teams up with Sasha Bordeaux, Adebayo, Vigilante, Judomaster, Economos, and Langston Feury to form Checkmate. It is an underground agency dedicated to protecting metahumans rather than exploiting them.
In the comics, Checkmate first appeared in Action Comics #598 in 1988. It’s a secret intelligence organization operating in the gray zone between justice and control. Over the years, members have included Amanda Waller, Maxwell Lord, and Peacemaker himself. Sometimes they save the world; other times, they manipulate it.
The show’s version of Checkmate seems to serve as a counterbalance to A.R.G.U.S. and Rick Flag Sr.’s extremist agenda. With Waller and Luthor lurking in the shadows of the new DC Universe, Checkmate’s creation could be the first catalyst in a larger rebellion against authoritarian power.
