Comic book superhero
Comics character
Peacemaker
is the name of a series of fictional characters originally owned by
Charlton Comics
and later acquired by
DC Comics
. The original Peacemaker first appeared in
Fightin' 5
#40 (November 1966) and was created by writer
Joe Gill
and artist
Pat Boyette
.
[1]
John Cena
portrayed the Christopher Smith version of Peacemaker in the 2021
DC Extended Universe
film
The Suicide Squad
and the
eponymous 2022 television series
on
HBO Max
.
Publication history
[
edit
]
The Peacemaker first appeared as a backup series in
Charlton Comics
' espionage-team title
Fightin' 5
#40 (November 1966).
[2]
When that series was canceled with issue #41, Peacemaker received his own title lasting five issues cover-dated March to November 1967, with
Fightin' 5
as a backup series and later a low reprint run on the Modern Comics imprint. Some of
penciler
-
inker
Pat Boyette
's artwork for a projected sixth issue later appeared online. Following Charlton Comics' demise in the mid-1980s,
DC Comics
acquired The Peacemaker and released a four-issue
mini-series
(January?April 1988).
Fictional character biography
[
edit
]
Christopher Smith
[
edit
]
Pre-Crisis
[
edit
]
The Peacemaker is Christopher Smith, a
pacifist
diplomat so committed to
peace
that he is willing to use force as a superhero to advance the cause.
[3]
He uses an array of special non-lethal weapons and also founded the Pax Institute. Most of the villains he goes up against are dictators and warlords.
[4]
During the
Crisis on Infinite Earths
storyline, Peacemaker fought against the
Anti-Monitor
's Shadow Demons where he was assisted by
Cyborg
,
Son of Vulcan
I,
Vigilante
III, and
Wildcat
II. He suffered a head injury during the fight.
[5]
Post-Crisis
[
edit
]
The post-Crisis version of Peacemaker differs greatly from the pre-
Crisis
version of the character. Smith learns that his peace-through-violence efforts were the result of a serious mental illness brought on by the shame of having a
Nazi
death camp commandant for a father, Wolfgang Schmidt. He believes his father's spirit haunts him continually and criticizes his every move, even as he tries to live down his past.
[6]
Becoming a particularly deadly vigilante who would kill at the slightest provocation, he begins to believe that the ghosts of the people he killed, or who were killed in his vicinity, are collected inside his helmet and can offer him advice and commentary. For a time, the Peacemaker serves as a U.S. government agent under the auspices of
Checkmate
, a special-forces unit, hunting down terrorists until his own behavior becomes too extreme. Peacemaker plays a part in the
Janus Directive
and battles the
Adrian Chase / Vigilante
.
[7]
Although he is seen as a helpful ally, some of the other heroes think that he is too extreme to be helping them out. He eventually crashes a helicopter to destroy tanks controlled by the
supervillain
Eclipso
and is reported dead.
[8]
His soul shows up in the realm of Purgatory in the
Day of Judgment
series. A team of heroes has shown up to recruit the soul of
Hal Jordan
. The guardians of Purgatory do not like this and Peacemaker, along with other dead vigilantes, rally and provide enough of a distraction so the group could return to Earth.
Another individual appearing in the 2006
Blue Beetle
series has claimed both Smith's name and the Peacemaker identity, both things confirmed by several hints, such as his catchphrase of "loving peace so much, he'd kill for it", spoken by villain Tia Amparo / La Dama to define him.
[9]
However, divested of his trademark helmet, he was shown using the 'Mitchell Black' identity before settling again on his real name.
[10]
A year prior to his meeting with the Blue Beetle (
Jaime Reyes
), during a fight against
Intergang
, he found himself in a
Bialyan
pyramid that happened to be the same one the first Blue Beetle,
Dan Garrett
, found the scarab in years before. While inside, he accidentally came into contact with alien technology that allowed him to receive the scarab's database in his mind, explaining the inability of the
Reach
to control Garrett and Reyes. The Scarab was taken away with only a partly functioning AI with the higher instructions, including the ones needed to control the host, left in the pyramid and downloaded into Smith's mind.
Sensing the connection, he sought out Jaime, initially to see if the boy would become a threat but eventually becoming a reluctant partner. Upon witnessing Jaime's rebellion, the Reach implanted Peacemaker with a scarab himself,
[9]
which was dormant until a
Sinestro Corps
Power Ring
contacted the AI and assigned him control of Space Sector 2, including the Reach Empire. He was sent to kill Jaime, but Jaime interfaced with Smith's scarab and helped him face his inner fears. Gathering enough courage for a last stand, Smith forcibly cut the scarab from his spine, leaving him injured but not dead.
[11]
He helped defend Jaime's family from a Reach attack, and has continued to serve as a sort of mentor to the third Blue Beetle. At the conclusion of the
Blue Beetle
volume, Peacemaker leaves El Paso. Before he departs, he bids farewell to Jaime and advises him to learn to become his own man.
Later, he makes an appearance in
Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape
as a detainee and potential recruit of the
Global Peace Agency
.
Peacemaker later appears in the
Watchmen
sequel "
Doomsday Clock
", partaking in the battle on Mars against
Doctor Manhattan
.
[12]
In the pages of
Infinite Frontier
, Peacemaker returns as a member of the
Suicide Squad
retaining his original look, breaking into
Arkham Asylum
to bring in Talon a few minutes before the
Joker
Incident.
[13]
League-Busters version
[
edit
]
Another operative using the name Peacemaker appeared in
Justice League International
#65 as a member of the "League-Busters".
Mitchell Black
[
edit
]
Mitchell Black, a surgeon, was recruited by the "Peacemaker Project", an organization unaffiliated with the Pax Institute and the US government's "Project Peacemaker". Black would reappear in the miniseries titled
The L.A.W.
, reunited with the other heroes acquired from Charlton. As a team, they investigated a powerful being targeting military facilities.
He appeared to have been killed by the supervillain
Prometheus
in
Infinite Crisis
#7 during a battle to save
Metropolis
from destruction.
Other versions
[
edit
]
Earth-Four
[
edit
]
On Earth-Four, Christopher Smith is the son of an unnamed diplomat who built a special body armor and fought in troubled areas as Peacemaker.
[14]
During the
Crisis on Infinite Earths
storyline, Peacemaker is among the Earth-Four heroes who were mind-controlled by
Psycho-Pirate
into attacking
Azrael
,
Blok
,
Flash
, and
Martian Manhunter
at the time when the
Harbinger
sent them to rescue Earth-Four's superheroes. After Psycho-Pirate was defeated, Peacemaker and his fellow Earth-Four superheroes agreed to help them fight the
Anti-Monitor
.
[15]
Peacemaker of Earth-Four is among the superheroes that took part in the fight against the Anti-Monitor during the event when the Multiverse was created.
[16]
Peacemaker would later find himself on New Earth after the Multiverse was folded into it by
Spectre
.
[17]
Peacemaker of Earth-Four was among the superheroes who fought the Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons. He was unable to get to
Green Arrow of Earth-Two
in time as he is killed by one of the Shadow Demons. When Peacemaker was falling after a Shadow Demon came in contact with his gun enough for an explosion to happen, he was saved by
Halo
. After the Anti-Monitor was defeated, Peacemaker of Earth-Four faded from existence.
[5]
Kingdom Come
[
edit
]
The Peacemaker makes a minor appearance in flashbacks in
Kingdom Come
#2 as a member of
Magog
's Justice Battalion.
[18]
Watchmen
[
edit
]
Peacemaker was used as an inspiration and influence for the
Comedian
in
Alan Moore
's
Watchmen
.
[19]
In the final issue of the 2006 - 2007 series
52
, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-4". As a result of
Mister Mind
"eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-4, including Peacemaker and the other Charlton characters. The names of the characters are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear.
[20]
Based on comments by
Grant Morrison
, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-4.
[21]
The Earth-4 Peacemaker also appears in
Multiversity
:
Pax Americana
#1.
[22]
Armageddon 2001
[
edit
]
A group called the
Peacemakers
appear in
Armageddon 2001
#2.
[23]
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
[
edit
]
An unnamed female
A.R.G.U.S.
agent named
Peacewrecker
appears in
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
#7.
[24]
In other media
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker will appear in
Suicide Squad Isekai
, voiced by
Takehito Koyasu
.
[25]
DC Extended Universe
[
edit
]
The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker appears in media set in the
DC Extended Universe
, portrayed by
John Cena
.
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
Video games
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).
The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe
. DK Publishing. p. 228.
ISBN
978-1-4654-5357-0
.
- ^
Morris, Jon (2015).
The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half Baked Heroes from Comic Book History
. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Quirk Books. pp. 178?179.
ISBN
978-1-59474-763-2
.
- ^
Wells, John (2014).
American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965-1969
. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 133.
ISBN
978-1605490557
.
- ^
Markstein, Don.
"The Peacemaker"
.
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
. Retrieved
April 2,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Crisis on Infinite Earths
#12. DC Comics.
- ^
Peacemaker
vol. 2 #1
- ^
Vigilante
#37
- ^
Eclipso
#13. DC Comics.
- ^
a
b
Blue Beetle
(vol. 7) #13. DC Comics.
- ^
Blue Beetle
(vol. 7) #8. DC Comics.
- ^
Blue Beetle
(vol. 7) #20. DC Comics.
- ^
Johns, Geoff
(2019).
Doomsday Clock #9
.
DC Comics
. p. 16.
- ^
Infinite Frontier
#0
.
DC Comics
. 2021.
- ^
Fightin' 5
#40. DC Comics.
- ^
Crisis on Infinite Earths
#6-7. DC Comics.
- ^
Crisis on Infinite Earths
#10. DC Comics.
- ^
Crisis on Infinite Earths
#11. DC Comics.
- ^
Kingdom Come
#2
- ^
Kogod, Theo (February 22, 2022).
"How Peacemaker and the Comedian Influenced Each Other (And Revolutionized Comics)"
.
CBR
.
Archived
from the original on September 16, 2023.
- ^
52
, no. 52, p. 13/5 (May 2, 2007).
DC Comics
.
- ^
Brady, Matt (May 8, 2007).
"THE 52 EXIT INTERVIEWS: GRANT MORRISON"
.
Newsarama
. Archived from
the original
on May 10, 2007
. Retrieved
May 12,
2007
.
- ^
The Multiversity: Pax Americana
#1
- ^
Armageddon 2001
#2
- ^
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
#7
- ^
Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 1, 2023).
"Suicide Squad Isekai Anime Reveals Main Cast in New Trailer"
.
Anime News Network
. Retrieved
December 1,
2023
.
- ^
Sneider, Jeff (March 7, 2019).
"
'Suicide Squad 2' Exclusive: Meet the New Characters James Gunn Will Introduce in Sequel"
.
Collider
. Retrieved
March 7,
2019
.
- ^
Flook, Ray (September 23, 2020).
"Peacemaker: James Gunn, John Cena Set for HBO Max Prequel Series"
.
Bleeding Cool
. Archived from
the original
on October 20, 2020
. Retrieved
August 15,
2021
.
- ^
Ridlehoover, John (January 26, 2021).
"Peacemaker Set Photos Feature Some Surprising - and Not So Surprising - DC Easter Eggs"
.
Comic Book Resources
. Retrieved
January 14,
2022
.
- ^
Anderson, Jenna (February 10, 2022).
"Peacemaker Just Confirmed a Major Character is Bisexual"
.
Comic Book Resources
. Retrieved
February 17,
2022
.
- ^
"Peacemaker Gameplay Reveal - Injustice 2 Mobile"
.
YouTube
. Injustice 2 Mobile, Warner Bros. Entertainment. February 27, 2024
. Retrieved
April 10,
2024
.
- ^
Onder, Cade (July 21, 2023).
"Mortal Kombat 1 Reveals Homelander, Peacemaker, and Omni-Man as DLC"
. Retrieved
July 21,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Current members
| Director
| |
---|
Field Leader
| |
---|
Operatives
| |
---|
|
---|
Notable former members
| |
---|
Antagonists
| |
---|
Film
| |
---|
TV series
| |
---|
Video game
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Characters
| |
---|
Supporting characters
| |
---|
Enemies
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|