Peacemaker (character)

This article is about the comics character. For the DCEU character, see Peacemaker (DC Extended Universe).

Peacemaker
The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker as depicted in Who's Who in the DC Universe #5 (December 1990). Art by Grant Miehm and Tom McCraw.
Publication information
Publisher	Charlton Comics Modern Comics DC Comics
First appearance	Christopher Smith: Fightin' 5 #40 (November 10, 1966) Unknown: Justice League International #65 (June 10, 1994) Mitchell Black: The L.A.W. #1 (September 10, 1999) Peacewrecker: Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (December 20, 2022)
Created by	Christopher Smith: Joe Gill Pat Boyette Unknown: Gerard Jones Chuck Wojtkiewicz Mitchell Black: Bob Layton Dick Giordano Peacewrecker: Joshua Williamson Rafa Sandoval
In-story information
Full name	Christopher Smith Mitchell Black
Species	Human
Team affiliations	Christopher Smith: Checkmate Shadow Fighters Suicide Squad Unknown: League-Busters Mitchell Black: Peacemaker Project L.A.W.
Abilities	Peak of human physical abilities Durable armor Flight pack technology Communications helmet Indomitable will Expert combatant Hand-to-hand combat Axe mastery Sword mastery Shield mastery Knife expertise Access to advanced military weapons Skilled marksman Expert assassin Espionage Stealth Proficient tactician and strategist

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. This portrayal will continue into the rebooted DC Universe.

Publication history

The Peacemaker #1 (March 1967). Cover art by Pat Boyette.

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

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. ^[3] 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. ^{[4] [5]}

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. ^[6]

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. ^[7] 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. ^[8] Years later, Peacemaker resurfaces and becomes a mentor to Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes). ^{[9] [10] [11]}

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. ^[12]

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. ^[13]

In Crisis on Infinite Earths , Peacemaker is among the Earth-Four heroes who are mind-controlled by Psycho-Pirate. ^[14] After being freed, he battles the Anti-Monitor before being killed and replaced with his main universe counterpart. ^{[5] [15] [16]}

Kingdom Come

Peacemaker makes a minor appearance in flashbacks in Kingdom Come #2 as a member of Magog's Justice Battalion. ^[17]

Watchmen

Peacemaker was used as an inspiration and influence for the Comedian in Alan Moore's Watchmen . ^[18]

52

The Earth-Four incarnation of Peacemaker appears in 52 and The Multiversity . ^{[19] [20] [21]}

Armageddon 2001

A group called the Peacemakers appear in Armageddon 2001 #2. ^[22]

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. ^[23]

In other media

Television

The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker appears in Suicide Squad Isekai , voiced by Takehito Koyasu in Japanese ^[24] 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 .^{[ citation needed ]}

DC Extended Universe

See also: Peacemaker (DC Extended Universe)

The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker appears in media set in the DC Extended Universe, portrayed by John Cena. ^{[25] [26] [27] [28]}

Video games

• The Christopher Smith and Mitchell Black incarnations of Peacemaker appear in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . ^[29]
• The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears in DC Legends.^{[ citation needed ]}
• The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears as an emote in Fortnite Battle Royale .^{[ citation needed ]}
• The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears as a playable character in the mobile version of Injustice 2 . ^[30]
• 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. ^[31]
• The Christopher Smith incarnation of Peacemaker, based on the DCEU version, appears in Mortal Kombat: Onslaught .

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Wells, John (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965–1969. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 133. ISBN   978-1605490557.
4. Markstein, Don. "The Peacemaker". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
5. Crisis on Infinite Earths #12. DC Comics.
6. Peacemaker vol. 2 #1
7. Vigilante #37
8. Eclipso #13. DC Comics.
9. Blue Beetle (vol. 7) #13. DC Comics.
10. Blue Beetle (vol. 7) #8. DC Comics.
11. Blue Beetle (vol. 7) #20. DC Comics.
12. Infinite Frontier #0. DC Comics. 2021.
13. Fightin' 5 #40. DC Comics.
14. Crisis on Infinite Earths #6–7. DC Comics.
15. Crisis on Infinite Earths #10. DC Comics.
16. Crisis on Infinite Earths #11. DC Comics.
17. Kingdom Come #2
18. 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.
19. 52 ,no. 52,p. 13/5(May 2, 2007). DC Comics .
20. Brady, Matt (May 8, 2007). "THE 52 EXIT INTERVIEWS: GRANT MORRISON". Newsarama. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
21. The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1
22. Armageddon 2001 #2
23. Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #7
24. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 1, 2023). "Suicide Squad Isekai Anime Reveals Main Cast in New Trailer". Anime News Network . Retrieved December 1, 2023.
25. Sneider, Jeff (March 7, 2019). "'Suicide Squad 2' Exclusive: Meet the New Characters James Gunn Will Introduce in Sequel". Collider. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
26. 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.
27. 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.
28. Anderson, Jenna (February 10, 2022). "Peacemaker Just Confirmed a Major Character is Bisexual". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved February 17, 2022.
29. Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects – Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
30. "Peacemaker Gameplay Reveal – Injustice 2 Mobile". YouTube. Injustice 2 Mobile, Warner Bros. Entertainment. February 27, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
31. Onder, Cade (July 21, 2023). "Mortal Kombat 1 Reveals Homelander, Peacemaker, and Omni-Man as DLC" . Retrieved July 21, 2023.

External links

• Peacemaker at International Superheroes
• Peacemaker at Comics101
• Keith Giffen verifies identity of the new Peacemaker
• Index to the Earth-4 adventures of the Charlton Action Heroes