The Peacemaker trailer was focused on John Cena’s eponymous character, but it might have left some viewers asking: who is Vigilante? The Peacemaker trailer gave audiences the first glimpses of Peacemaker’s friend, Adrian Chase, in his guise as Vigilante. The character has a rich comics history in DC, and this adaptation will just be one more chapter for Vigilante.

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad introduced Peacemaker as a member of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X. While he is shot by Bloodsport and left for dead after betraying the team and killing Rick Flag, The Suicide Squad post-credits scene shows that Peacemaker survived somehow and set up James Gunn’s HBO Max TV series Peacemaker. While Steve Agee and Jennifer Holland will be reprising their The Suicide Squad roles as John Economos and Emilia Harcourt, the show is also introducing a host of new characters, including Adrian Chase’s Vigilante.

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Even with the new Peacemaker trailer, the storyline for the TV show is still unclear. However, the inclusion of the Adrian Chase iteration of Vigilante gives some hints as to what tone and direction the storylines might be taking. Here’s everything you need to know about Vigilante’s origin and history in DC, who plays him in Peacemaker, and where you might recognize the actor from.

Vigilante Origin & History In DC Comics

The Vigilante Adrian Chase prepares to attack in DC Comics.

Vigilante is a mantle that has been held by nine different figures throughout the DC comics. The title first appeared all the way back in November 1941 in Action Comics #42 when Greg Saunders embodied the character. While the mantle has passed from character to character, the most famous holder of the title is Adrian Chase.

Adrian Chase started out as a Manhattan district attorney who worked hard to take down the mob in the city. No stranger to superheroes, he worked with the New Teen Titans on occasion to help bring down criminals. However, when his wife and children were killed by the Scarapelli mob, he took matters into his own hands instead. Deciding that the justice system did not do enough, he sought vengeance rather than justice and became Vigilante.

Like Batman, Vigilante had a no-killing rule but used violent tactics to apprehend criminals and deliver his own brand of justice. After realizing that he had brutalized an innocent man, Adrian Chase left the Vigilante role behind. However, two friends of his picked up the mantle of Vigilante in his stead. Alan Welles became extremely violent in the role, and Chase discovering this led to a confrontation where Chase was forced to kill him. Dave Winston also became Vigilante and, while he eschewed the more violent tactics, was ultimately killed by Peacemaker in front of Adrian Chase. This led to Chase becoming Vigilante once more and starting a fierce rivalry with Suicide Squad's Peacemaker.

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Once back in his role as Vigilante, Adrian Chase became more and more violent and despite trying to step away from the role, he was repeatedly drawn back in and reached a point where he would kill even innocent people if they got in his way. He was continually conflicted about his actions, feeling that they were a way to serve justice, but knowing that sometimes he was hurting people who had done nothing wrong. His guilt over his actions eventually led him to take his own life, but Vigilante found some redemption in the “Day of Judgement” storyline as he is shown in Purgatory and is instrumental in helping the Justice League of America save Hal Jordan.

Vigilante Powers Explained

Peacemaker Vigilante Adrian Chase DC Comics Wide

Adrian Chase went through intensive training to become Vigilante. His teaching came at hands of mystical spirits and resulted in him returning to Manhattan having synchronized his mind and body. He gains the power of regeneration and is able to heal from serious wounds after battle, including gunshots and stab wounds. However, unlike some superhero figures with regenerative powers, he can definitely still be killed if he suffers enough damage in one go. He is extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat and an excellent marksman. He is also a master at using a lasso in a nod to Vigilante’s origin with Greg Saunders, who was originally a cowboy and a Wild West hero.

Who Plays Vigilante In Peacemaker

Peacemaker Vigilante Freddie Stroma Bridgerton

Peacemaker’s Vigilante is played by Freddie Stroma. Stroma had a small role in the later Harry Potter movies as Cormac McLaggen, fellow Gryffindor and member of the Quiddich team, as well as playing Luke in the first Pitch Perfect movie. He first made a name for himself in television by playing Adam Cromwell in unREAL, then H.G. Wells in Time After Time and, most recently appeared as Prince Friedrich in Bridgerton season 1. In Peacemaker, the show seems to be using Stroma in a light-hearted approach to a tragic DC character with him matching the comedic tone set by John Cena.

How Peacemaker's Vigilante Is Different From Arrow's

Arrow Vigilante Vincent Sobel

As well as the nine different fictional characters who have held the title of Vigilante in the comics, a version of the antihero appeared in Arrow seasons 5 and 6. In season 5, Arrow introduced a character called Adrian Chase who worked as a district attorney while on a secret quest for vengeance. However, in the Arrowverse, Adrian Chase does not take on the title of Vigilante but rather becomes Prometheus with it being revealed the Chase was a fake name and his real name was Simon Morrison.

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Instead, Vigilante in Arrow is the title used by a character named Vincent Sobel, who was invented entirely for the show. The character is played by Clayton Chitty in season 5 and Johann Urb in season 6 and Mick Wingert (Iron Man in What If…?) provides the voiceover when Vigilante is in disguise. Rather than a lawyer, Sobel’s Vigilante was previously a member of the Central City Police Department. His powers are similar but are given a new origin story as he is exposed to dark matter from a particle accelerator which turns him into a metahuman and grants him Vigilante’s comic book regenerative abilities. While he gets some redemption before his death, he is an antihero like Adrian Chase’s Vigilante and kills criminals as his preferred method of crime-fighting.

Next: Peacemaker Trailer Breakdown: Every Reveal & Easter Egg

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