Peacemaker (DC)
Peacemaker is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Charlton
Christopher Smith
He served as a peace envoy at the disarmament conference in Geneva when he uncovered a plot by Emil Bork. Bork was an ingenious cold-blooded criminal who planned to start brushfires among small nations in order to create a market for arms that he could sell. (Peacemaker v1 #4)
As part of his assignment, Smith was sent personally by the American President to Geneva in order to stop a border war being provoked between two South American nations by a mysterious entity. What was known was that the arms-dealer Emil Bork had been selling weapons to both of them, and Smith began an inquiry to look deeper into this. Upon landing in Geneva, his secretary Miss Blair informed him that Bork had deployed agents in the two countries to harm their infrastructure. Smith's limousine was soon ambushed by Bork's men and he told Blair to stay down. As the goons opened his dummy briefcase, they were killed by a deadly gas, preventing them from taking the papers implicating Bork. A day later at a dinner organized by the embassy of one of the South American countries the US was concerned about, Smith met Bork personally and realized that he could not stop him peacefully. Later at his home, he decided to use violence and after donning a bulletproof armor he himself designed, he dubbed himself the "Peacemaker". He however swore to do so again only when there was no other way to stop a conflict. Going to Bork's headquarters with his jetpack, he used his helmet's all-wave radio receiver to learn that his goons had abducted three members of the peace commission that was trying to resolve the flaring tensions amd successfully knocked all of of them out, before being held at gunpoint by Bork's chief hitman, who was armed with a rocket launcher. Bork's hitman wanted to know his enemy's identity before killing him, but Smith used this to destroy his launcher with a laser-beam from his helmet. After learning from him that Bork was fleeing in a bomber, he chased after the aircraft but was soon targeted by its rocket. Though he succeeded in destroying it with a laser-beam, he was knocked out after being caught in the blast. (Fightin' 5 v1 #40)
Smith woke up at the last minute and used his jetpack to avoid hitting the ground, before using his advanced U-X warplane he himself designed to go to the South American country Bork had fled to. Later at a dinner organized for all ambassadors, he learnt from the American ambassador that Bork was trying to start a war between it and its neighbor. After hearing about the attack on the American embassy, Smith pursued the fleeing Bork, but was forced to let him go after being fired upon from a helicopter. He realized that his peaceful ways were futile and donned the disguise of Peacemaker once more, before going to the border's international bridge where both nations had stationed their troops. As Bork's men fired at both sides, Smith stunned the commander-in-chief of the attacking nation and mimicked his voice to order the troops to stand down, before using a nerve gas to incapacitate troops of the other country. Learning that the Peacemaker was interfering, Bork had his men fire cobalt bombs at the site. Smith however destroyed all of them except one, which he guided towards Bork's aircraft. (Fightin' 5 v1 #41)
Smith continued fighting against threats to world peace after killing Bork. One such task was regarding fishing fleets of multiple countries being sabotaged and the various sides blaming each other. Heading to the fishing trawler 'Manson', he learned from its captain that the real perpetrator was someone else and the recent acts of sabotage had taken place in the Thousand Mile Reef. As the trawler lowered its fishing nets, a saboteur destroyed them and warned the crew that on the orders of the "Commodore", he had attached an explosive charge which would destroy their hull within a minute. Smith then learnt from the captain that the Commodore was the one attacking the fleets and donned his Peacemaker disguise before stopping the charge in time. (Peacemaker v1 #1)
In another of his missions, he encountered another criminal named 'the Commodore' who had acquired a nuclear submarine and somehow maintained control over a pack of man-eating sharks. With these resources, he claimed to rule all undersea life where his activities led to a battle with Peacemaker along the thousand mile reef. Smith used an explosive that was unintentionally supplied by the Commodore which he used to destroy the submarine whilst the Peacemaker used his breathing apparatus to escape the underwater environment. (Peacemaker v1 #4)
DC
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Christopher Schmidt was born in 1951 as the only child of Austrian munitions manufacturer Wolfgang Schmidt and his American wife Elizabeth who was a writer. For the first five years of his life, the young Christopher had a typical childhood in his ancestral home and title in Carinthia. (Peacemaker v2 #1)
In 1973, he agreed to join a top-secret Pentagon program that established a military unit called the Peacekeeper Force that was made to combat the proliferation of Middle-Eastern terrorism. (Peacemaker v2 #1)
Smith came to be recruited into the Agency where he served as a special operative though there were concerns about his mental state. (Vigilante v1 #36)
Peacemaker vented to the voices in his head the disappointment he felt at leaving Vigilante alive, calling him a cold-blooded murderer and failing to see the irony. His paranoia and delusions drew a connection between Vigilante's handler Lt. Stein and PLO terrorist Achmed. He was convinced the two were one and the same, and decided to return to America to kill him. (Vigilante v1 #41) Valentina and Lt. Stein finished a congressional hearing about the Agency when the Peacemaker confronted them, opening fire and accusing Stein of infiltrating the Agency as a terrorist. Valentina slowed him down in hand-to-hand combat, and Stein hotwired a car so they could flee. They went to a government safehouse, but Peacemaker, disguised as a janitor, found them and started shooting again. Government officers responded, and Peacemaker was forced to flee. Agents hit the streets to find Peacemaker, but he had been watching the building and chose that moment to strike again. He refused to listen to reason from Valentina and Stein, but they were saved by the newly arrived Vigilante. They knocked out Peacemaker, and Valentina told the MP to lock him in a cell after a thorough search, reminding them how dangerous he was. (Vigilante v1 #43)
Peacemaker was sent to Purgatory when he died. When several heroes traveled to Purgatory to find a new host for the Spectre, Peacemaker and many other heroes volunteered, but Green Lantern Hal Jordan was chosen. Keeper angels tried to keep Hal from returning to Earth, but Peacemaker and the other fallen heroes fought the Keepers long enough for Hal to leave and save all of creation from Asmodel. (Day of Judgment v1 #3)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Placed in charge of a new Suicide Squad, he was dispatched on a mission by Amanda Waller where the team were to infiltrate Arkham Asylum to gather their latest recruit. Using Bolt, they infiltrated the site where they went to a cell holding the amnesiac William Cobb who had been a Talon in the Court of Owls. The mission was to recover Cobb for the team but the Talon regained his memories and proceeded to murder Bolt leading to a fight in the prison that drew the attention of security. (Suicide Squad v7 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He operated as a career diplomat, an intellectual and a man who seemingly despised violence. (Peacemaker v1 #1) Smith's dedication to peace was to such an extent that he would defend it by using violence. (Peacemaker v1 #4)
Smith had said that he hated it when people touched him. (Vigilante v1 #36)
There were concerns regarding his mental health with Smith being completely nuts. It was said that Smith was never the picture of mental health. However, this same instability was said to make him an effective weapon against terrorism. (Vigilante v1 #36)
It was said that Smith was convinced that those he killed were absorbed into his helmet. He claimed that they spoke to him and demanded from him some sort of vengeance. (Vigilante v1 #36)
Peacemaker was shown to have a deep love for America and believed everyone was entitled to an opinion which was why the country was so great. (Vigilante v1 #36)
Powers and abilities
As an elite soldier with several years of Special Ops experience, he had served with the U.S. Army infantry, Army Rangers, Green Berets, Special Air Service, as well as Delta Force. (Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace v1 #1)
He as said to be a master of every weapon known to man. (Peacemaker v1 #1) These were all present within his laboratory which contained an arsenal of weaponry. (Peacemaker v1 #4)
A base of operations for him was the Pax Institute that was located in Geneva, Switzerland. (Peacemaker v2 #3) He also operated from a chateau that was known as the Peace Palace that was located by Mount Rouge. (Peacemaker v1 #4)
Notes
- Peacemaker was created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette where he made his first appearance in Charlton Comics Fightin' 5 v1 #40 (November, 1966).
- The character adapted to create the Comedian in the Watchmen universe.
Alternate Versions
- In The Multiversity: Pax Americana v1 #1 (2015), an alternate version of Peacemaker appeared as an inhabitant of the new Earth 4 in the reformed Multiverse. A man named Harley discovered Algorithm 8, a solution to world peace, and the revelation of the structure of the universe. He came up with a plan to execute the algorithm, but to do so he need an America inspired by real life superheroes, in with all their gaudy colors and wish fulfillment seen in the comic books. He created the persona of Peacemaker, a man who loved peace so much he’d fight for it, and assigned it to Christopher King. As Peacemaker, King was equipped with high-tech weapons and armor. Harley, now governor, had Peacemaker make his debut in 2005, effortlessly stopping a terrorist attack on President Bush. In 2008 Harley was elected President, and formed the Pax Americana, a super team to bring peace to America. Peacemaker had suggested the name Justice League of America, a reference to a popular comic book, but Harley promised them that their team identity had been perfectly crafted. Harley explained his grand scheme to Peacemaker, who shared what he knew to his lover Nora O’Rourke. Captain Atom had created a mobius strip that could solve Algorithm 8, a cure for world peace, but Harley had to die to accomplish his goals. He chose Peacemaker to be his executioner. O’Rourke was murdered shortly after Peacemaker unburdened to her. In 2015 President Harley was shot dead by Peacemaker. Harley had planned his own sacrifice, and was working on a scheme of redemption that relied on Captain Atom being able to restore him from the dead. Vice-president Eden took control of America, and declared the superhero dead. Peacemaker was brought to the interrogation room, and given a savage beating by Sarge Steel, refusing to explain his action.
- In Future State: Suicide Squad v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of Peacemaker appeared in the possible timeline of Future State. It was shown that he was attached with Task Force X where he worked for Amanda Waller. By the mid-21st century, Waller was responsible for a large scale incident on Earth and fled that reality for Earth-3. This saw a Suicide Squad team being assembled and headed by Peacemaker with the purpose of hunting Amanda Waller down. Their team arrived on Earth-3 where they battled Waller's Justice Squad who were criminals implanted with bombs and styled on the Justice League as she sought to separate that world from the Multiverse. Despite resistance, Peacemaker was ultimately shown to be responsible for eliminating Waller for her crimes against Prime Earth.
In other media
Television
- In Peacemaker, Peacemaker appeared in the setting of the live-action television series sequel to The Suicide Squad film where he was once again portrayed by actor John Cena.
Films
- In The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor John Cena.
Video games
Appearances
- Fightin' 5 v1: (1966)
- Peacemaker v1:
- Vigilante v2:
- Peacemaker v2:
- Blue Beetle:
- Future State: Suicide Squad v1:
- Suicide Squad v7: (2021)
External Links
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