Warning: contains spoilers for Swamp Thing #8!
As a fan-favorite star of the DCEU with an upcoming HBO Max series on the way, The Suicide Squad's own version of Captain America, Peacemaker has recently emerged as a significant figure in the DC Universe. In a teaser released at last year's DC FanDome, John Cena revealed that director James Gunn told him to approach the role as a "douchey Captain America" - but the comics are taking this further.
In the current Swamp Thing limited series from Ram V, Mike Perkins, and Mike Spicer), Levi Kamei has succeeded Alec Holland as the Avatar of The Green. In Suicide Squad #7 (from Robbie Thompson and Eduardo Panic), the iron-willed master strategist Amanda Waller revealed that she intends to use the new Swamp Thing's connection to plant life across the planet to create the ultimate surveillance network. Christopher Smith, her top operative, is on the case - even if it means standing up against the forces of nature. While Cena's version of the character is played as a misguided patriot, his comic book counterpart shows that he is prepared to confront anyone that gets in the way of his vision of peace.
In The Swamp Thing #8, as the diplomat-turned-antihero prepares to subdue Swamp Thing, his teammate Asa attempts to call him out on his arrogance: "What hubris you must have... to think you could ever control something like that." He is unfazed by these comments, explaining, "There is peace yet to be made here, and I will make it... one way or another." However, before his confrontation with Levi, Peacemaker hints that his allegiance doesn't necessarily lie with the Suicide Squad, Waller, or even America itself. Rather, he believes that even more violence could come about if Waller does not get her way: “You have power. The kind they all want. And until they have it, there will be no peace. And I make the peace.” It is unclear whether Smith is fully convinced of Waller's vision (having implied that he didn't believe in her mission in Suicide Squad #7), or whether he's simply afraid of what she would do if they were to fail.
In his fight with Peacemaker, however, Levi manages to remove the bomb planted in Smith's neck. Using his plant-controlling powers to mimic his brain activity, Waller's head-exploding ultimatum is no longer a fatal threat for Peacemaker. Swamp Thing offers his opponent the chance to walk away from the fight, though the newfound freedom from Waller's punishment does not deter Smith's distrust of The Green's new Avatar. Whatever follows in the next issue, Peacemaker's extreme ideologies are sure to bring about further conflict with the plant elemental, and possibly even other members of Task Force X. If he successfully delivers his mission to control Levi, however, Peacemaker might well be responsible for the eradication of privacy for countless citizens across the DC Universe - but is the absence of conflict worth the annihilation of freedom?
James Gunn and John Cena gave audiences a Peacemaker who was prepared to kill his teammates to protect the reputation of the U.S. Government, but the comics are heading down an even more extreme path, proving that he's more than just a Captain America parody. If Peacemaker is prepared to side with any party that successfully sells him their vision of peace, could we see him turning against the Suicide Squad in the near future? Would a team like the Justice League ever be willing to recruit a violent man with shifting allegiances? Only time will tell what DC has in store for the Suicide Squad's far more extreme Captain America, Peacemaker.