PEACEMAKER WILL INCLUDE OTHER FAN FAVORITE DC COMICS CHARACTERS
Peacemaker is not the only fan favorite DC Comics character who will be a part of the HBO Max series. Adrian Chase, aka Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), will be a main character in Peacemaker. Chris Conrad was initially cast to play Chase, but left due to creative differences and Freddie Stroma was cast to replace him. In the comics Adrian Chase was a New York City district attorney who became the anti-hero Vigilante after his wife and daughter were murdered by mobsters. Initially Chase used non-lethal force and weapons to fight his enemies, trying not to kill those he was fighting.
Throughout his life, and multiple tenures as Vigilante, Chase was tormented by guilt and the justice in his actions. This would break his fragile psyche eventually leading him to commit suicide. It is worth noting that in the comics Adrian Chase fights against Peacemaker seeking revenge after Peacemaker killed one of his friends who had assumed the Vigilante identity after Chase retired. How Adrian Chase aka Vigilante plays into the upcoming series will be exciting to see. Based on the image from Entertainment Weekly above and footage from the DC Fandome trailer it looks like Vigilante could be working alongside Peacemaker and the rest of the team.
Judomaster will be making his live action debut in Peacemaker played by Nhut Le. Judomaster is a much smaller comic book character with a few versions throughout the comics. The original Judomaster Sergeant Hadley “Rip” Jagger saved the daughter of a Pacific Island chief during WWII and was taught judo in return. He was technically a part of the All-Star Squad, after DC Comics acquired him and the other Charlton superheroes, although he never appeared in a published story as a part of the team. He lived in Nanda Parbat and was later killed by Bane in the battle of Metropolis during Infinite Crisis.
The title was then inherited by his son Thomas “Tommy” Jagger who was a top field agent for Checkmate. There was a third Judomaster who worked with Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Nightshade in Peter Cannon’s battle against his enemy Andreas Havoc in Justice League Quarterly #14. There is also a female Judomaster named Sonia Sato. With Judomaster being a less well known and smaller comic book character, he seems like the perfect fit for James Gunn. It will be interesting to see how James Gunn brings Judomaster to life and fleshes out this little known DC character.
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Other characters in the upcoming Peacemaker series include Captain Locke (Christopher Heyerdahl), Detective Sophie Song (Annie Chang), Larry Fitzgibbon (Lochlyn Munro), Keeya (Elizabeth Ludlow), and Jamil (Rizwan Manji). Allison Araya and Lenny Jacobson will also play recurring characters Amber and Evan respectively, a married couple. Larry Fitzgibbon is described as “a wry and kind character who is Detective Song’s partner and friend.” Given the fact that this character shares the surname with Doctor Fitzgibbon from The Suicide Squad, the doctor at Belle Reve Penitentiary, could they be related?
We at The Illuminerdi revealed a bit of casting information about Keeya in January that seems particularly interesting. Specifically, that she is dealing with her new wife’s government job and the secrecy it requires. This seems to point to Keeya being married to either Emily Harcourt or Leota Adebayo. Given that Adebayo is a newcomer to this world, a storyline with her trying to balance marriage with a new shadowy government job could be intriguing.
Although the plot of Peacemaker is still a mystery based on what we do know it looks like this will be an action packed series that takes the chance to explore Peaceamker in a way The Suicide Squad wasn’t able to. James Gunn has said this series is more grounded than The Suicide Squad, which makes sense given the bombastic nature of the film.
DC Fandome will feature the first Peacemaker teaser much to fans excitement where hopefully even more about this series will be revealed. Perhaps fans will learn what this threat is that has called Peacemaker into action once more. Peacemaker is set to premiere on HBO Max in January with an 8 episode first season and hopefully more seasons to come. Are you excited for DC Fandome? What do you want to see in Peacemaker? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more Peacemaker and DC news.
KEEP READING: THE SUICIDE SQUAD: THE COMPLEX DICHOTOMY OF PEACEMAKER AND HOW IT COULD PLAY INTO THE NEW HBO MAX SERIES
