DC Comics got beef: “Arrow” star Stephen Amell has responded to a shocking X-rated takedown of his character in John Cena’s “Peacemaker.” Amell, 40, came out slinging at Cena, 44, after the latter made a joke about Green Arrow in the Feb. 18 season finale of his HBO Max series. Cena’s snarky Peacemaker proclaims that Green Arrow “goes to Brony conventions dressed as the back half of Twilight Sparkle with a four-inch-wide butthole drilled in the costume.” For reference, a “Brony” is a male fan of the neon cartoon “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” — and Princess Twilight Sparkle refers to the name of a horse character on the ’80s animated classic Amell starred as the DC hero on the CW’s “Arrow” for eight seasons from 2012 until 2020. He now stars as a pro-wrestler on the Stars series “Heels,” which is perhaps why he decided to sucker-punch Cena where it might hurt most. The Toronto native took to Twitter on Friday to retaliate for Peacemaker’s anal attack: Amell trolled wrestler-turned-actor Cena by quipping, “Haven’t seen it. Too busy showing Cena what professional wrestling should actually look like on TV.” Haven’t seen it. Too busy showing Cena what professional wrestling should actually look like on tv. https://t.co/CDE35wi8XX— Stephen Amell (@StephenAmell) February 18, 2022 This isn’t the first time Amell has flashed his his hot temper. He also made headlines last summer when he was boot from a plane during an inflight fight with his wife — which he later apologized for and declared “shameful.” But the Green Arrow actor is actually in esteemed company: Previously on “Peacemaker,” Cena’s character has made jabs about other iconic DC heroes. He once said that Aquaman has sex with fish. see also However, creator and executive producer James Gunn has pointed out that Aquaman himself Jason Momoa had no problem with the joke — and even cameoed in the “Peacemaker” finale. “I think before we ever shot the show, we talked to Jason about it. We were like, ‘Listen, [Peacemaker] says you f–k fish all the time,’” Gunn, 55, told Variety. “And we were a little afraid he would be upset, but he just laughed. He was cool. So he was pretty much on board from the beginning,” the “Guardians of the Galaxy” director added. Of Peacemaker’s vigilantism, Gunn noted, “Peacemaker makes the ultimate sacrifice — of perhaps the world. He sort of does the wrong thing for the right reasons. He does the thing that’s spiritually right for him, because it’s honest and true and authentic to himself. But it’s also perhaps problematic and what’s going to come next for all of us.” ”Peacemaker” has been renewed for season two and also stars Steve Agee, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma and Nhut Le. The action series had the largest single-day performance of all of HBO Max’s original programming, with 44 percent more viewers tuning in for the finale compared to the premiere episode. Gunn celebrated the big milestone and tweeted on Feb. 18, “F#CK YEAH!! Peacemaker finale had the biggest single day performance for a Max Original series ever and finale viewing was up 44% over premiere. Thanks to all the fans who kept showing up more and more every week this season. @HboMax@DCpeacemaker.” Cena also responded to the happy news, saying: “I am incredibly honored and humbled by the response to ‘Peacemaker’ and the experience of playing this character.”
