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- "What happened to your leg?"
"Well, I was fighting off an alien invasion." - ―Elizabeth Bates and John Economos[src]
The Butterfly Invasion, codenamed Project Butterfly,[3] was a colonization attempt by the alien parasitic Butterflies, with the intention of conquering and terraforming planet Earth into their late planet.
Background[]
Arriving to Earth[]
After their home planet became uninhabitable, the Butterflies traveled to Earth via alien ships made to their size, taking with them a cow that provided them with food, which they hid beneath Coverdale Ranch. Taking possession of employeers of the Glan Tai Bottling Company, the Butterflies were able to distribute their food. Eek Stack Ik Ik believed humans were headed in the same self-destructive direction as themselves, the Butterflies possessed humans in positions of political power to take over the planet. However, one member of their species, Ik Nobe Llok, disagreed with his their plan and rebelled against them.
To carry out their plan, Eek Stack Ik Ik and a group of Butterflies took over the body of Senator Royland Goff and his family, gaining power and recruiting Judomaster into their crusade. To confront the alien threat, and special operations team eventually dubbed the "11th Street Kids" (originally called "Project Butterfly") was created by A.R.G.U.S. director Amanda Waller to stop the alien Butterfly Invasion on Earth, hiring the mercenary Clemson Murn to lead the new team, and had her staff assigned Emilia Harcourt and John Economos for the operation, as payback for them turning against her during Project Starfish.
Upon arriving on Earth, Ik Nobe Llok possessed Clemson Murn, continuing leading the "Project Butterfly", Harcourt and Economos eventually discovered that Murn was a butterfly, although John pretended to have no idea, and Murn rented the former Henenlotter Video store as his team's headquarters. After the Project Starfish mission in Corto Maltese, Amanda Waller recruited Task Force X member Peacemaker to join an offshoot team of Task Force X which included her own daughter Leota Adebayo.[4]
Invasion[]
Recruiting Peacemaker[]
After Peacemaker was discharged from Mount Rouge Health Center, he returned to his home despite assuming that he should be in prison, but was eventually caught by "Clemson Murn"'s team that offered him into joining the task force in exchange for his freedom. Smith agreed to join the investigation and later met with the team at Fennel Fields where he was partially informed about the operation.
Following a one-night stand, "Annie Sturphausen" attacked Peacemaker upon discovering his connection to Project Butterfly, and Smith fought back by killing her with his Sonic Boom helmet. After escaping with the help of Harcourt and Adebayo, Murn ordered John Economos to frame someone else for the incidents, and incriminated Smith's father, Auggie Smith, by swapping fingerprints from the crime scene, resulting in his arrest.[4]
Attack on Royland Goff[]
- "Remember that time you smashed my car with a truck and snuck up behind me and hit me in the head with a tire iron?"
- ―Judomaster to John Economos[src]
The team later went to the house of the U.S. senator Royland Goff as they susppected he was a Butterfly, where they realized that they were followed by Smith's friend, Vigilante. After seeing that not only Royland, but his whole family was infected by butterflies, Murn gave Smith the order to kill them all. However, Peacemaker struggled to kill the children, leaving the task to Vigilante who quickly kill Royland's whole family.
Just as Vigilante was about to kill Royland himself after murdering his whole family, he was stopped by Goff's bodyguard, Judomaster, who quickly knocked Smith and Chase, taking them hostages to interrogate them. Goff tried to make Peacemaker talk by torturing Vigilante but Smith refused to talk and he freed himself from their restraints, killing Goff. Upon losing Royland Goff's body, Eek Stack Ik Ik emerged from her host and was kidnapped by Smith, who sealed her in a jar, naming her "Goff," and hid her from her teammates. John Economos also managed to capture Judomaster.[4]
Attack on Auggie Smith[]
Leota Adebayo manipulates Adrian Chase to kill Auggie Smith
- "I don't think Chris is ever gonna be happy as long as his father's around."
- ―Leota Adebayo to Vigilante[src]
After discovering that his father was in prison, Peacemaker went to see him and revealed to him that he was falsely arrested for a crime he commited. Auggie immediately went to tell detective Sophie Song about the truth. Leota Adebayo convinced Vigilante to kill Smith's father, so he got himself arrested and attacked him, failing on killing him, and was later freed by Economos. Judomaster escaped from the team's custody, encountering Peacemaker, until Adebayo shot the martial artist.[4]
Glan Tai Massacre[]
- "Eat peace, motherfuckers!"
- ―Peacemaker[src]
After discovering a connection between the Glan Tai Bottling Company and the Butterflies, Murn ordered a covert raid on the facility. Upon arriving, Peacemaker used his X-ray helmet to kill several Butterflies along with Leota Adebayo, confirming that the company was a distribution center for Amber Fluid, throwing a grenade, to destroy much of the facility.
Peacemaker throws a grenade at the Butterflies
Inside the facility, the team confronted "Charlie the Gorilla", and finding themselves outmatched, John Economos saved them by killing the gorilla with a chainsaw. Once the mission was completed, the team became friends and officially renamed the "11th Street Kids." That night, Adebayo visited Smith to celebrate, but under Waller's orders, secretly planted the fake diary to incriminate him. Unable to sleep, Adebayo visited Murn's office, where she accidentally discovered he was a butterfly, prompting Murn to confess the truth.
By contacting detectives Sophie Song and Larry Fitzgibbon to re-run his fingerprints, Auggie Smith was able to prove his innocence in the murder of Annie Sturphausen. However, A.R.G.U.S. hired mercenary Caspar Locke and manipulated local authorities to appoint him as Captain of the Evergreen Police Department and prevent Auggie's release. Frustrated by their new captain's lack of impartiality, Song and Fitzgibbon visited Judge William Judy, obtaining an arrest warrant for Peacemaker.[4]
Chase of Peacemaker and Vigilante[]
Chris Smith, Eagly and Adrian Chase in the car
- "Dude! We're saving the world from a fucking alien invasion!"
- ―Vigilante to Peacemaker[src]
In their trailer, Christopher Smith and Adrian Chase noticed that Eek Stack Ik Ik had drawn a peace symbol inside her flask, implying a message. Before they could act, the Evergreen Police Department arrived to arrest Smith. Eagly, Smith, and Chase escaped into the woods, carrying Ik Ik's flask, which shattered, allowing Ik Ik to escape and possess Song, killing her in the process. With their cover blown, the pair were rescued by Caspar Locke, who brutally killed the pursuing officers and sent them off in a stolen car. Back at Henenlotter Video, John Economos tracked the Cow’s location to Coverdale Ranch, deciding they should check it out.[4]
Attack on the Evergreen Police Department[]
Under the possession of Sophie Song's body, Eek Stack Ik Ik went to the Evergreen Police Department office to use their computers to transmit a message to the Butterflies, who traveled in their special ships to Evergreen, where they invaded the office, possessing both the officers and prisoners inside the station, taking possession of a fake Peacemaker diary, containing incriminating evidence, which they used to publicly frame him for the murder of Annie Sturphausen. The butterfly cops then invaded Leota Adebayo apartment, where Ik Nobe Llok sacrificed himself to save his friends so that they survive and stop the invasion, being killed by Eek Stack Ik Ik, and suddenly, Judomaster attacked Harcourt and Adebayo, until Adebayo subdued him with a taser. Following their plans, the Butterflies headed to Coverdale Ranch, seeking to teleport the Cow away to avoid being found.[4]
Manhunt of Peacemaker[]
The White Dragon tries to kill Peacemaker and his teammates
- "You'll never be able to get the fuck away from m-"
- ―White Dragon to Peacemaker[src]
After reuniting with his Aryan Empire, Auggie Smith donned his White Dragon Armor and used a helmet tracker to hunt Christopher Smith. Preparing to destroy the Cow, Smith set out with Adrian Chase, John Economos, and Eagly, but their truck was ambushed by Auggie. The White Dragon attacked and Chase almost sacrificed himself to save his friends.
Peacemaker kills his father
Economos and Peacemaker then discovered how they were intercepted, so they tied the helmet to a raccoon to distract the Aryans. Auggie eventually found them and confronted his son and severely injured Eagly. John Economos shot all the Aryans with a machine gun, allowing Peacemaker to finally kill his father, causing him to burst into tears.[4]
Battle at Coverdale Ranch[]
John Economos infiltrates the barn
- "You're late, you fuckin' dickheads!"
- ―Peacemaker to the Justice Gang, Superman, and Supergirl[src]
At Paws A Moment Veterinary Clinic, the 11th Street Kids regrouped after saving Eagly. Adebayo chose to stay with the team, nominating Emilia Harcourt as leader in honor of Ik Nobe Llok. After securing a van, the team traveled to the Coverdale Ranch, with tensions rising between Smith and Adebayo over the planted diary. Disguised as a Butterfly, Economos carried the Sonic Boom helmet into the barn. Spooked by the Cow’s appearance, he dropped it and fled, leading to his discovery. Adebayo then activated the helmet remotely, collapsing part of the barn and killing many Butterflies.
The Justice Gang, Superman and Supergirl arrive late at Coverdale Ranch
With the sonic boom helmet depleted, Peacemaker, Emilia Harcourt, and Vigilante launched a direct assault on the Butterflies at Coverdale Ranch, killing many, but Harcourt and Chase were later injured holding off enemies, allowing Smith to reach the basement. Leota Adebayo, armed with the Human Torpedo Helmet, rushed to help. Smith confronted Ik Ik, who offered an alliance to save Earth from humanity, revealing her peaceful intentions. Torn, Smith ultimately rejected her offer and activated the helmet, launching Adebayo into the Cow, killing it. Smith then shot Locke and wounded Ik Ik. With the Cow killed and invasion stopped, the team regrouped and fled the ranch, going to be treated at Mount Rouge Health Center.[4] As they left, the Justice Gang arrived too late, drawing Smith’s scorn.[3] As Economos broke his leg in the process, he was given crutches.[5]
Aftermath[]
Leota Adebayo reveals the truth about A.R.G.U.S.
- "Both the Peacemaker and the costumed crime fighter Vigilante were working in a deep-cover operation for the U.S. Government called Project Butterfly. This is all part of a black-ops program known as Task Force X, where convicted criminals are undertaking dangerous missions for the United States in exchange for time off their sentences. It's been running for years out of Belle Reve prison, under the command of a woman named Amanda Waller, who happens to be my mother."
- ―Leota Adebayo[src]
Inspired by Peacemaker's humanity during the invasion, Leota Adebayo held a press conference, exposing Task Force X and Amanda Waller's operations to the public, clearing Smith and Adrian Chase of all charges,[6] also leading to Flo Crawley, who had turned against Waller during Project Starfish, being cleared of her criminal charges, eventually becoming director of the FBI.[7]
John Economos returns to his regular job at Belle Reve Correctional Center
In the following days, the 11th Street Kids disbanded, Leota Adebayo returned to a quiet life with Keeya, Emilia Harcourt began recovery, and John Economos resumed work at Belle Reve Correctional Center.[4] Meanwhile, Judomaster, mourning his fallen allies, visited Coverdale Ranch.[8] Smith was visited by Eek Stack Ik Ik to drink the remnants of Amber Fluid and Smith was haunted by visions of his father, Ik Ik died later that day from lack of food.[4]
References[]
- ↑ Peacemaker: 2.05: Back to the Suture
- ↑ James Gunn and John Cena talk Peacemaker season 2's new opening credits, Michael Rooker's role (exclusive)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Peacemaker: 2.01: The Ties That Grind
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn
- ↑ Creature Commandos: 1.04: Chasing Squirrels
- ↑ Creature Commandos: 1.01: The Collywobbles
- ↑ James Gunn on Threads - July 28, 2025
- ↑ Peacemaker S2 Catch Up - Judomaster
External Links[]
| Wars and Conflicts in Earth History | |||
| World War II (1939–1945) • Project Starfish (2022) • Butterfly Invasion (2023) • Invasion of Pokolistan (2024) • Prevention of the Pokolistani Conquest (2024) • Boravian-Jarhanpurian War (2025) • Establishment of Salvation (2025) | |||
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