The following contains spoilers for DC’sPeacemakerstreaming series.WhenPeacemakerkicked off its streaming series, it did so with the introduction ofProject Butterfly in the DC Extended Universe. Peacemaker was placed on a team of Amanda Waller’s choosing to track down “Butterflies” around the world and eliminate the threat. Butterflies are creatures who resemble the insect, but are able to take over the mind of living creatures by embedding in their brains. Outside of that, not much is known about the beings or their real motivations in the series.
What the audience does know is that a Butterfly has already embedded itself into the project team. Former mercenary Clemson Murn, the project leader, is actually a Butterfly, something the audience knows an episode before Leota Adebayo discovers it with the help of Peacemaker’s x-ray helmet. What’s interesting about that x-ray helmet, however, is that when Peacemaker is using it himself to find Butterflies, he doesn’t have it activated around his team. The only person he uses the helmet around is Adebayo, which is why she’s so interested in it later. He deactivates it before they meet up with the rest of the team and confront Charlie the Gorilla. It might make the audience wonder if there could be another Butterfly hidden in the team.
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John Economos
It seems incredibly unlikely that John Economos could be a Butterfly. Why? The audience has seen him on his own multiple times in the first five episodes, and none of his scenes have ever featured any kind of reveal like Murn feeding as a Butterfly. That being said, there has been an opportunity for the Butterflies to get to him.
Economos is the one most often left alone to guard the van and fend for himself on missions while everyone else is partnered up. The last two instances of him being left alone haveresulted in him capturing Judomasterand coming to save the team from Charlie the Gorilla. That would seem like he has the team’s best interest at heart, but Murn has always seemed like he had the team’s best interest at heart as well.
In particular, the window of time right before Economos’ taking out ofCharlie the Gorilla in Episode 5is when he could have ended up being taken over by a Butterfly. His actions endear him to Peacemaker, who at the time would have been quick to suspect him if ever given the opportunity. Likewise, his weapon for the occasion was the chainsaw mentioned by Vigilante before the mission began, something fresh in his mind, not something more efficient. It’s entirely possible that a Butterfly could have used him, though that does seem less likely than some other options.
Emilia Harcourt
Emilia Harcourt is another person that the audience has actually seen on her own multiple times. It’s clear that she’s actively trying to decompress after work, so it seems most unlikely that she’s a Butterfly. Instead, it seems thatHarcourt might be heading toward a more tragic endingthan her teammates, which would be a shame for the character.
Harcourt is the person most vocal about keeping her personal and professional lives separate. She’s also the one most often warning Adebayo about putting people in her life in danger as a result of the job. She doesn’t really want to be friends with the people she works with in case the job goes badly, but Harcourt has also already broken her own rules.
Not only has she encouraged Peacemaker to be more forgiving of Economos, but it’sHarcourt who creates a group text for the team, named after the song that bonds them, and shares a photograph she takes following the mission. She is bonding in spite of herself, so if Harcourt turns out to be a Butterfly as well, it would be surprising. What seems more likely is that Harcourt’s breaking of her own rules will lead to her losing a teammate - or her own life - as she proves her point.
Adrian Chase
Adrian Chase, also known as Vigilante, is initially a stickler for keeping his real identity a secret from everyone that is a part of Project Butterfly, despite him asserting that Peacemaker is basically his best friend. He only ends up with his identity revealed to the team when he and Peacemaker are taken captive on one of their missions. Chase is truly the most authentically himself as far as the audience knows. He’s loud, he weasels his way into the missions without actually being invited, and he’s a bit of a loose canon.
That’s why, if any member of the team is a Butterfly outside of Murn, Chase would be the most shocking choice. The audience really wouldn’t see it coming. His enthusiasm, no matter how misguided, is infectious. It would certainly be fun to see the character take a drastic change as a result of being one.
Of course, if he ended up as a Butterfly, that might prevent the character from being used in future DCEU series, which would be a shame. It might be more fun for the audience if Chase’s attitude, like his resentment of Economos getting to use the chainsaw against Charlie, costs the team a bigger mission andhe ends up in the nextSuicide Squadproject.
Another Ally
If any of the remaining team Project Butterfly team members turn out to be a Butterfly themselves, it could certainly surprise the audience and make for a fun twist, but it might not necessarily fit the narrative of the show so far.
Teaching a lesson to the team about trust or the dangers of the job could come in the form of someone else in their lives being a Butterfly instead.With Peacemaker’s father already a supervillain, he’s an unlikely suspect. Adebayo’s wife, Keeya, however, who wants to start a family, would also be a shocking one, and a writing choice that could really spotlight the character’s skills. So far, she’s largely been used as a tool to manipulate Vigilante and Peacemaker for Amanda Waller, and it’s clear working for her mother isn’t really what she wants to be doing.
Her wife turning out to be a Butterfly would be the better potential twist as the character has only appeared a handful of times to highlight how difficult working a secret mission is. It would throw Adebayo and the audience for a loop and make the stakes of the Butterfly invasion even more personal than Murn being the only Butterfly on the team.
