Warning: contains preview pages for Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace #1!

In the newly released Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace #1, readers learn that the titular hero’s origin is a dark inversion of Batman’s. The new DC Black Label one-shot redefines the breakout star of 2021’s The Suicide Squad for a new era and starts by reexamining his dark and twisted origin.

The Peacemaker is perhaps best known as the inspiration for Watchmen’s the Comedian. The character has a much deeper history however. Created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette for Charlton Comics as part of their “Action Heroes” line, the rights to the Peacemaker were purchased by DC Comics in the early 1980s, and the character, along with the rest of Charlton’s stable, were incorporated into the DC Universe. There have been multiple versions of the character throughout his history, with the Christopher Smith incarnation being the most prominent. After languishing in limbo as a D-list character for years, James Gunn breathed new life into the character by incorporating him into last year’s The Suicide Squad, where he was played by John Cena. Peacemaker was one of the movie’s breakout stars and has gone on to appear in an HBO Max live-action show. To celebrate the character’s newfound fame, DC has enlisted writer Garth Ennis, artist Garry Brown and colorist Lee Loughridge to retell the character’s origin in Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace #1.

Related: Every New DC Hero & Villain Peacemaker Has Made Canon

In the newly released comic, readers learn Peacemaker’s tragic history. His parents both killed themselves in a double-suicide and killed their children at the same time; Christopher was saved only because he got home late from school. He was then put into foster care, and his foster father was killed in a bank robbery. The two robbers, named Skooter and Skunky, then stole his foster father’s car, intending to use it as a getaway vehicle. Realizing the child is still in the car, Skunky prepares to kill him, but readers then learn that Peacemaker took up with the two robbers, a move that seriously impacted his development.

Peacemaker Origin

Much like Batman, Peacemaker was born in violence and tragedy—maybe even more so. Not only did Peacemaker lose his biological family in a horrific fashion, but he lost his foster family as well in an equally brutal fashion. Where the two depart however, is that Peacemaker took up with the ones who murdered his foster father—a dark reversal of Batman’s origin. These tragedies have motivated both heroes, but the depths of the horrors Peacemaker have endured is far more than Batman ever had to; after losing all the family he ever knew, he was forced into an unstable life with two strung-out criminals. It is small wonder Peacemaker turned out the way he did.

The Peacemaker has in a short time become one of DC’s breakout characters, thanks to in large part to The Suicide Squad. The publisher has redefined the character, revealing him to be the dark mirror of Batman.

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