DC Finest: Peacemaker: Kill for Peace

Peacemaker 1987 #1-4+

by Joe Gill, Paul Kupperberg, Pat Boyette (Illustrator)

Decades before he had his own break-out TV show starring John Cena, Peacemaker got his start in the pages of comic books! Experience the earliest days of Christopher Smith, a man who loves peace so much he's willing to kill for it in this brand-new collection!
DC Finest continues, a major publishing initiative presenting comprehensive collections of the most in-demand and celebrated periods in DC Comics history, spanning genres, characters, and eras!

Christopher Smith is a peace envoy and diplomat whose entire life is dedicated to the elimination of war between men. In fact, he loves peace so much that he is willing to do anything to preserve it...including fighting for it. Christopher Smith is the Peacemaker! Discover the comics origin of the character from the hit show on Max in his very own DC Finest volume, collecting Peacemaker's never-before-reprinted comics debut from The Fightin' 5 #40-41, the five-issue miniseries from 1967, Peacemaker #1-4, and his cameos from the pages of Checkmate #16-26, #28, and #32-33, Suicide Squad #27-30, Vigilante #37-38 and #41-43, and Eclipso #11-13.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics

640 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2025

About the author

Joseph P. Gill was an American magazine writer and highly prolific comic book scripter. Most of his work was for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the superheroes Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and Judomaster, among others. Comics historians consider Gill a top contender as the comic-book field's most prolific writer. Per historian and columnist Mark Evanier, Gill "wrote a staggering number of comics. There are a half-dozen guys in his category. If someone came back and said he was the most prolific ever, no one would be surprised."

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always thought the classic Peacemaker character was an interesting almost anti-hero type. Great collection of the classic Silver age & Modern age stories. Recommended

[Darik · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's kind of incredible to look back at this whole stretch of comics, dating all the way back to the '60s, and realize that, before James Gunn got his hands on him... Peacemaker was just no good as a character.

Created by Joe Gill at Charlton Comics as a politically-themed superhero-- "a man who loves peace so much he's willing to fight for it"-- the character was clearly meant as a conservative fantasy about being the mature, morally-responsible adult in the room AND being the brash man-of-action who gets the job done at the same time. "You can't blame ME for blowing up that submarine! These dangerous lunatics gave me no other choice! All of my diplomatic options had failed!" It's pretty transparent, and the comics are mostly kinda dull.

When the character was revived by DC-- shortly after Alan Moore had used the Charlton characters as the template for the anti-heroes of Watchmen-- Peacemaker was re-imagined by Paul Kupperberg as an outright maniac: a delusional and dangerous man who believed himself an upstanding, righteous hero. The BEST use of this version of the character is as an antagonist in Kupperberg's Vigilante run; a relentless, delusional murderer kinda makes SENSE as a bad guy, right?

Alas, this was the late '80s, and grim, obsessive killers like Wolverine and the Punisher were all the rage. So DC made a go of turning Peacemaker into a protagonist-- giving him a four-issue solo miniseries by Kupperberg, and then working him into the Checkmate comics as a recurring guest star. And the results are... pretty dire. Peacemaker is a one-note character whose only defining trait (outside of being a TOTAL BADASS) is that he near-constantly hallucinates that his dead Nazi father is in the room with him, berating him and encouraging him to be more violent. Which means that so, SO much of this book is taken up by scenes of a literal Nazi just being a monstrous sh*thead and saying deeply unpleasant things.

It's not great.

Worse, the back half of this collection is taken up by excerpts from Checkmate and Eclipso issues... but only the pages pertaining to Peacemaker, so there are all these random characters and plotlines whirling around him that never get adequately explained or resolved. (There's also a five-part story from Showcase '96 by Mike Baron that may legitimately be one of the worst comics I've ever read.)

I love these DC Finest collections, and a definitely appreciate the focus on individual characters and their broader histories, but... WOOF. This guy really needed to become a joke to work!

[Al Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Silver Age: Peacemaker is an interesting character, a peace envoy who is secretly a Superhero who employs death and destruction to achieve Peace, and interesting concept that is poorly executed with the over the top outlandish rushed storytelling of the Silver Age.

The stories from the 80s and 90s turn the character into a delusional homicidal maniac, and it’s just stupid.

While the book has nice art throughout, pass on this book.

I’m glad DC Finest is releasing a lot of material, but this is one book to pass on.

[Index Purga · Rating 3 out of 5]

índice pendiente, pero incluye material de: The Fightin' 5 #40-41, la miniserie de cinco capítulos de 1967, Peacemaker #1-4, sus cameos en Checkmate #16-26, #28 y #32-33, Suicide Squad #27-30, Vigilante #37-38 y #41-43 y también Eclipso #11-13..

[Matt Fuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely the worst DC Finest so far the character of Peacemaker changes radically over the years and no version of him is any good. Preferred the stupid Charlton Comics version from the 60s than the homicidal maniac from the 90s. Covers 1966-1993.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. Rating is solely based on the 116 pages of Charlton material from 1966-1967, which were fun. I read until the end of the Vigilante issues. I flipped through the rest and can stomach no more. It's not my cup of Coke Zero.

[Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading this

[Trey Ball · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF
It's interesting to see Peacemaker's Charlton Comics origins, but it still wasnt good. The Vigilante stuff was mediocre, and once I got to the Peacemaker solo series, I had to call it quits.

[Jeff Cole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Skip it and just watch The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker tv show.