Every Current Member Of The DCU's Checkmate Team Explained

By Dan Bibby

October 11th, 2025

Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Peacemaker season 2 finale!

Peacemaker season 2's finale, "Full Nelson," gave Checkmate its live-action debut by introducing the team's initial lineup. While Peacemaker's version of Checkmate differs quite a lot from the comics, it makes sense given James Gunn's current vision for the DCU.

Pretty much founded as an independent and less problematic version of ARGUS, Checkmate's simple slogan of "Making the world better" makes the group's mission especially obvious. Ending Peacemaker season 2 with a total of nine members, Checkmate has a pretty robust roster for an agency that's just finding its feet.

Chris Smith - A.K.A. "Peacemaker"

Played By: John Cena

Unsurprisingly, Peacemaker's title character is one of Checkmate's founding members in the DCU. Like most of his teammates, he isn't a metahuman. Still, he's managed to create some huge issues for ARGUS both while being forced to work for them AND while opposing them. His immense physical conditioning and impressive marksmanship make him a formidable fighter, even without his array of helmets that augment his brutal fighting style with functions like X-ray vision and sonic booms.

Emelia Harcourt

Played By: Jennifer Holland

After her tumultuous career as an ARGUS employee, Harcourt ends Peacemaker season 2 by severing ties with the US government agency altogether and helping to create Checkmate. As highly trained as Peacemaker - and even defeating him in physical combat in season 2 - Harcourt isn't someone you want to find yourself on the bad side of.

Leota "Ads" Adebayo

Played By: Danielle Brooks

James Gunn created Adebayo exclusively for Peacemaker, meaning she isn't based on a comic book character like almost everyone else on this list. However, as the estranged daughter of Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, Adebayo is strongly entrenched in comic book lore. Although generally not a physical threat, her ARGUS training makes her a great addition to Checkmate's lineup. As an added bonus, she's one of the only emotionally available members of the team, making her the glue holding everyone together.

Rip Jagger - A.K.A. "Judomaster"

Played By: Nhut Le

After opposing Peacemaker and his allies for most of the show's run, Judomaster has a change of heart near the end of season 2 that feels very sudden and a little unearned. Regardless, he ends "Full Nelson" as a fully-fledged member of Checkmate. He certainly seems to be a metahuman, but he's not. Instead, he's dedicated his life and body to martial arts and isn't to be underestimated.

Adrian Chase - A.K.A. "Vigilante"

Played By: Freddie Stroma

The self-appointed best friend of Peacemaker, Freddie Stroma's fan-favorite character is arguably the most pivotal member of the Checkmate lineup. When the agency was nothing but an idea, the blood money Vigilante had sitting in his basement after liberating it from various criminals became the foundation on which Checkmate was built. It paid for the necessary office space, equipment, and presumably the salaries of the Checkmate team members. Vigilante is a chaotic fighter who often acts before thinking properly.

John Economos - A.K.A. "Ginger Cool"

Played By: Steve Agee

Economos is fortunate to be surrounded by friends and colleagues willing and able to protect him, as his skill set lies elsewhere. Once one of ARGUS' premier tech and tactics guys, Economos has enjoyed a pretty parallel move to Checkmate. Think less "guy in the chair," and more, "guy towering over everyone as he awkwardly tries to explain the risks of their plans."

Langston Fleury

Played By: Tim Meadows

Langston, like Adebayo, is also original to Peacemaker and doesn't originate in the pages of a comic book. In a show as generally funny as Peacemaker, it might seem redundant to have a comic relief character, but that's pretty much what Langston's role is in the show. He has no superpowers, but he does have bird-blindness, which is...useful? Langston may have a shortage of dramatic moments, but his decision to leave ARGUS and join Checkmate came from his disdain for how soullessly his former employer was sending agents to their deaths while exploring the Quantum Unfolding Chamber.

Sasha Bordeaux

Played By: Sol Rodríguez

Another ARGUS defector, Bordeaux is Checkmate's only metahuman. After discovering General Rick Flag Sr.'s plan to dump law-breaking metahumans on a planet called Salvation, Rodríguez's character decides she can't continue working for her boss/part-time lover. She was restructured by ARGUS after a car accident, with her body augmented with top-of-the-line government tech.

Eagly - A.K.A "The Prime Eagle"

Played By: Dee Bradley Baker

Unless it's Peacemaker telling him what to do, Eagly often has a problem with following orders. Even if his master is the one giving him instructions, it also depends on whether Checkmate's bird agent feels like obeying him. Still, his merciless attacks on various Peacemaker characters to this point establish him as an Eagle that shouldn't be trifled with. He's the third and final Checkmate agent on this list who was created for the show.

A weirdly in-depth subplot in season 2 makes Eagly far more than just a regular eagle. Instead, he's now canonically elevated to the position of Prime Eagle, making him capable of commanding the loyalty and obedience of other members of his species. If this ever comes back into play after Peacemaker season 2, I'll be surprised...but not THAT surprised.

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