Peacemaker has never been more popular than he is now. Coming off a large role in 2021’s The Suicide Squad (played by the fabulous John Cena), the man who loves peace so much that he’s willing to kill for it now also stars in his own HBO Max series.
Not many obscure comic characters get to make such an impact. Due to his lesser-known status there are surely plenty of questions new fans may have about the toilet bowl-wearing mercenary. Ranging from basic information to obscure trivia, fans need to know more about Charlton Comics’ paradoxical pacifist.
10 Who Created Peacemaker?
The Peacemaker first appeared in the pages of Fightin’ 5 #40 from 1966 by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette. Beginning as a backup feature to the titular Fightin’ 5 adventure team, Peacemaker swiftly overtook the group in popularity. After one more issue, the series was rebranded and retitled as The Peacemaker. The Fightin’ 5 took Peacemaker’s place as the backup for the magazine.
For the following five issues, the exploits of Christopher Smith and his battle for peace took center stage. This incarnation of the character was a straight-laced and square-jawed hero. He was forced to break his oath against violence to stop the evil machinations of third-world dictators and subterranean monsters.
9 Who Supplies Him With His Gear?
During the Silver Age, it was Peacemaker who crafted and invented his arsenal of weapons and gadgets. During that time, he was characterized as the son of a politician and research scientist. Both impacted his career as a peace envoy for the United Nations and inventor. In the 1980s, when DC bought out Charlton Comics (the publishers of The Peacemaker), the vigilante was reinvented as a manic and unhinged anti-hero. He had his supply of gear provided by the United States government via the off-the-books organization only referred to as “The Agency”.
8 Where Does He Operate From?
Both the 1960s and 1980s incarnations of the character were headquartered in a château in the Swiss Alps. The Silver Age version of Christopher Smith owned the location because of his immense wealth. He nicknamed the base as The Peace Palace. The 1980’s reinvention by Paul Kupperberg flipped the original concept on its head.
Kupperberg reimagined the cliché trappings of Peacemaker as a government setup created to keep eyes on the lethal enforcer via a variety of maids, butlers, and love interests. Both versions would use high-powered jets to quickly transport out of Switzerland and into wherever Smith was needed.
7 What Happened When He Was Bought By DC?
The character was reworked in a 1988 four-issue mini-series by Paul Kupperberg and artist Tod Smith. However, three years prior to his new solo series he would feature in a small capacity in DC’s 50th anniversary event Crisis On Infinite Earths.
Peacemaker (along with Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, The Question, Nightshade, and Judomaster) assisted the Monitor and his team of characters from across the multiverse in battle against the Anti-Monitor. Following these events, Earth-Four would be folded into the prime DC universe and rebooted as part of the company-wide reset.
6 Does Peacemaker Have Any Friends?
While Christopher Smith maintains several partners and allies in the HBO Max series by James Gunn, in the comics he tended to be more of a loner. The majority of side characters in his original Post-Crisis series were all government plants. Following that, he would join Task Force X adjacent groups like the Shadow Fighters and Checkmate.
His closest ally in modern comics is easily Jaime Reyes, the third Blue Beetle. Introduced in Infinite Crisis, the 2005 sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jaime would come into contact with the mystical scarab once used by the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. A more even-headed Smith (who had seemingly left his Peacemaker identity behind) would join Jaime as a mentor in his battle against the alien invasion force, known as the Reach.
5 Have There Been Other Peacemakers?
While Christopher Smith has generally been used as the primary Peacemaker, there have been two other distinct individuals to use the moniker as well. In Justice League International #65, there appeared an unnamed individual donning the Peacemaker garb as part of a group of villains called the “League-Busters.”
Inexplicably, this character would never be brought up again. A different person would claim the mantle. Mitchell Black was a surgeon, and joined other Charlton Comics heroes as part of L.A.W. (Living Assault Weapons). Unfortunately for Mitchell, he would be killed by Prometheus in Infinite Crisis #7 a few years later.
4 Has Peacemaker Ever Appeared In A Video Game?
Despite having only come to prominence in recent years, Peacemaker actually appeared in 2013’s Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure by 5th Cell. Both the Christopher Smith and Mitchell Black incarnations can be summoned using Maxwell’s notepad. The DCEU depiction of Peacemaker has also appeared in Fortnite by Epic Games as an emote.
This lead some to believe that a playable skin may be released to tie in with the HBO Max series. Rocksteady Studio‘s upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League likely won’t feature Peacemaker in any substantial role. The game’s core cast and story was likely set in stone years ago, but that doesn’t rule out a possible easter egg or reference.
3 Who In Watchmen Is Based On Peacemaker?
Prior to his appearance in The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker was most likely famous for being the basis of Watchmen character, the Comedian. Originally, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons‘ 1986 work was going to use the Charlton Comics group of characters for its examination of the long underwear psyche. Until, DC managing editor Dick Giordano pushed back and asked Moore to use original creations instead.
Peacemaker would be swapped out for the Comedian, the Question for Rorschach, Blue Beetle for Nite Owl, Captain Atom for Doctor Manhattan, and Nightshade for Silk Spectre. Ironically, this would come to hurt DC. The original characters and story became monumental and untouchable in comic book culture. It wasn’t until the 2010s, and the Zack Snyder adaption, that the company would feel comfortable with creating prequels, sequels, and spin-offs.
2 Is Peacemaker Crazy?
Whether Peacemaker is ‘crazy’ is dependent on which incarnation is being considered. The original Gill-era Peacemaker seems relatively sane, all things considered. He had a bizarre, hypocritical stance on violence being bad – unless it serves his purpose. This has more to do with the writing of the books than it does with any intentional character flaws.
The Kupperberg version explicitly suffers from bipolar disorder and possible schizophrenia. Obviously, suffering from those real-world illnesses doesn’t make one ‘crazy’. It is his belief that the souls of those he kills will be trapped inside his helmet that fits the bill. Peacemaker’s mental health would vary wildly over the next few decades. As of the current Suicide Squad comic by Robbie Thompson and Eduardo Pansica, he seems fairly balanced.
1 Which Are The Good Peacemaker Comics?
While the original comics have their charm, the most recommended series out of the character’s history is easily the four-issue 1988 mini-series from Kupperberg and Smith. The story suffers from the inclusion of anti-Asian caricature Dr. Tzin-Tzin. The slow descent into madness that Smith suffers, due to his childhood trauma and time in Vietnam, is expertly depicted by the ever-present taunting of his father.
The current ongoing Suicide Squad title by Thompson and Pansica is also a fantastic read, though Peacemaker is merely part of a larger team and not the sole focus. The mid-00s Blue Beetle series by John Rogers, Keith Giffen, and Cully Hamner doesn’t feature Smith as much as other books. Despite this, this series is one of the best comics, and a great read for any fan of the Charlton Comics roster of characters.
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