Peacemaker (character)

Peacemaker is the name of a series of fictional antiheroes 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.

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. This portrayal will continue into the rebooted DC Universe.

Publication history

The Peacemaker first appeared as a backup series in Charlton Comics' espionage-team title '' Fightin' 5'' #40 (November 1966). 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

Christopher Smith

Pre-Crisis

The Peacemaker is Christopher Smith, a pacifistic diplomat so committed to peace that he is willing to use force as a superhero to advance the cause. He uses an array of special non-lethal weapons and also founded the Pax Institute. Most of the villains he battles are dictators and warlords.''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' #12. DC Comics.

Post-Crisis

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.

Smith later becomes a vigilante, believing that his helmet contains the ghosts of the people he killed or were killed in his vicinity. For a time, the Peacemaker serves as a U.S. government agent under the auspices of Checkmate, a special-forces unit, hunting terrorists until his own behavior becomes too extreme. Peacemaker plays a part in the Janus Directive and battles Adrian Chase / Vigilante. Although he is seen as an ally, some of the other heroes think that he is too extreme to be helping them. He eventually crashes a helicopter to destroy tanks controlled by Eclipso and is reported dead. Years later, Peacemaker resurfaces and becomes a mentor to Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes).''Blue Beetle'' (vol. 7) #13. DC Comics.

Peacemaker appears in '' Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape'' as a detainee and potential recruit of the Global Peace Agency.

In ''Infinite Frontier'', Peacemaker joins the Suicide Squad.

League-Busters version

Another operative using the name Peacemaker appears in ''Justice League International'' #65 as a member of the "League-Busters".

Mitchell Black

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. He is later killed by Prometheus in ''Infinite Crisis''.

Other versions

Earth-Four

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.

In ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', Peacemaker is among the Earth-Four heroes who are mind-controlled by Psycho-Pirate. After being freed, he battles the Anti-Monitor before being killed and replaced with his main universe counterpart.

''Kingdom Come''

Peacemaker makes a minor appearance in flashbacks in ''Kingdom Come'' #2 as a member of Magog's Justice Battalion.

''Watchmen''

Peacemaker was used as an inspiration and influence for the Comedian in Alan Moore's ''Watchmen''.

''52''

The Earth-Four incarnation of Peacemaker appears in '' 52'' and ''The Multiversity''.

''Armageddon 2001''

A group called the Peacemakers appear in ''Armageddon 2001'' #2.

''Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths''

An unnamed female A.R.G.U.S. agent known as Peacewrecker was introduced in ''Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths'' #7.

In other media

Television

The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker appears in ''Suicide Squad Isekai'', voiced by Takehito Koyasu in Japanese and Seán Patrick Judge in English. This version is a member of the Suicide Squad.

Film

An unidentified Peacemaker makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths''.

DC Extended Universe

The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker appears in media set in the DC Extended Universe, portrayed by John Cena.

Video games

* The Christopher Smith and Mitchell Black incarnations of Peacemaker appear in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.
* The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears in ''DC Legends''.
* The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears as an emote in ''Fortnite Battle Royale''.
* The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears as a playable character in the mobile version of ''Injustice 2''.
* The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears as a playable character in ''Mortal Kombat 1'' via the "Kombat Pack" DLC, voiced by John Cena.
* The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears in '' Mortal Kombat: Onslaught''.

References

External links

Peacemaker
at International Superheroes

Peacemaker
at Comics101

Keith Giffen verifies identity of the new Peacemaker



{{Suicide Squad

1967 comics debuts
Characters created by Joe Gill
Charlton Comics superheroes
Charlton Comics titles
Comics by Paul Kupperberg
Comics characters introduced in 1966
DC Comics American superheroes
DC Comics male superheroes
DC Comics television characters
DC Comics titles
Fictional diplomats
Fictional pacifists
Fictional shield fighters
Suicide Squad members
United States-themed superheroes
Vigilante characters in comics