Although the Peacemaker was original created as a Charlton Comics character by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette in 1966's Fightin' 5 #40, Peacemaker is quickly becoming one of the most prominent characters in the DC Universe. The former Charlton character is a big part of The Suicide Squad in both comics and the DCEU, and John Cena's take on the violent hero is about to star in his own TV show.

Before this, however, Peacemaker was a much more obscure character, and that left him open to experience the harsh realities of being an expendable character. During the '90s, a battle against the evil Eclipso resulted in several heroes being brutally massacred by the villain, including Peacemaker. This sent the character into years of obscurity, the likes of which are only now being rectified by his upcoming appearance in The Suicide Squad. Before he makes his big screen debut, we're taking a look back at Charlton's violent peacekeeper and how he met one of DC"s more violent ends.

RELATED: James Gunn Calls Peacemaker's Soundtrack His Favorite Yet

The Making of Peacemaker

Peacemaker

The original Christopher Smith version of Peacemaker was an ideological anomaly, truly representing the idea of peace through strength. As a pacifist diplomat, Smith became a superhero in the hopes that he could use this level of force to bring lasting peace to the world. In his adventures, he fought mainly evil warlords and would-be tyrants.

After DC purchased Charlton's characters, the character was brought into the DC Universe after Crisis on Infinite Earths, where his origins were expounded upon more than ever. His devotion to peace stemmed from his father having been a surviving Nazi war criminal who committed suicide when his past came back to haunt him. Christopher saw this act, which traumatized him for years. He would become a violent figure years later after having served in the military, eventually returning to this role as the vigilante Peacemaker when he began working for Checkmate. This gave him a new purpose and spotlight, but sadly for Christopher Smith, it would all end incredibly violently.

RELATED: Green Lantern: How One Villain Kept the LAST DC Universe Alive

Fall of the Shadow Fighters

Shadow Fighters DC

The upcoming villain for the second season of Stargirl, Eclipso, became one of the deadliest threats in the DC Universe shortly into Post-Crisis continuity. Even though the corrupted spirit was believed to have been defeated, the lunar menace came back, even getting his own series. Taking over a small South America nation, Eclipso's evil required a new team to be formed to take him down once and for all, as well as rescue some of his hostages.

In 1992's Eclipso #11-13, by Robert Loren Fleming and Audwynn Jermaine Newman, the Shadow Fighters were assembled to take care of this situation by Amanda Waller, the former leader of the Suicide Squad. The team's ranks included several more perennial second-string DC characters such as The Creeper, Doctor Mid-Nite and the second Wildcat. Many of these characters were darker in nature than heroes such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, making them the perfect strikeforce to kill a magical megalomaniac.

Unfortunately for Peacemaker, however, the Shadow Fighters weren't nearly ready for the challenge in front of them. Eclipso and his forces massacred the Shadow Fighters, with Peacemaker being killed after he crashed a helicopter into an Eclipso-controlled tank in Eclipso #13.

These deaths, including Peacemaker, were both dramatic and also somewhat glossed over afterward. Due to their relative obscurity, Peacemaker and many of the other Shadow Fighters would go unmissed for years. Christopher Smith would eventually be replaced by several successors, showcasing how little his death in the pages of and at the hands of Eclipso made an impact. He would, however, inexplicably returned in a resurrected form in the pages of Blue Beetle, befriending Jaime Reyes. While the character is a lot more mainstream, but his place on the Suicide Squad means that his survival is always in question.

KEEP READING: Midnighter & Apollo: How the Authority's Batman & Superman Flew Into the DCU