When I think about the eras of DC Comics that are near and dear to my heart, the 1980s always stands out. Sure, the decade was filled with bombastic, genre-defining crossover events and maxiseries, but the periphery of the publisher’s outputs was a showcase of an unparalleled amount of creativity. In the ’80s, it felt like any costumed character could (and realistically, did) get their own several-issue miniseries or short-lived ongoings, expanding out their worlds and supporting casts far beyond fans’ expectations. Among the massive roster of characters to get that treatment (in his case, with a four-issue miniseries) was Peacemaker, a Charlton Comics character from the 1960s who was then folded into the main DC universe post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. Those four issues took the goofy and violent character and made him even goofier and more violent, all while crafting an origin story that was both reverential to old fans and accessible to new ones.
