The opening three episodes of the Peacemaker series, a spin-off of James Gunn’s Suicide Squad film, are now solely available on HBO Max. Thanks to the arrival of the new hit program, DC fans are eager to learn more about the villain known as White Dragon.
Of course, there may be spoilers for the initial three episodes of the White Dragon Peacemaker ahead.
In episode two of Peacemaker, Peacemaker’s father, Auggie Smith, was referred to as the White Dragon by his fellow prisoners. But who is the actual White Dragon from the DC universe? Everything you want to know is right here.
Who Is The White Dragon From DC Comics?
Auggie Smith, first introduced in the premiere episode, is a major role model figure in Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker’s life, in spite of his obvious dislike for his own son. When Christopher Smith escapes from the hospital unnoticed, his first thought is to find his father, who has been imprisoned for four years. It is evident that Auggie, despite his own son, is a hateful individual who spews bigoted nonsense. When he is wrongfully accused of the crimes committed by Peacemaker, he is imprisoned, and it is disclosed to the audience that he used to go by the moniker “White Dragon.” The revelation upends the context of his position in the series and suggests that the show will go deeper into obscure aspects of the comic canon.
The White Dragon DC, created by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell, first debuted in Suicide Squad #4 as a formidable foe to the Suicide Squad team. Unlike the television version, the original Dragon was William Heller, not Auggie. Heller was a Neo-Nazi with ties to the Ku Klux Klan who wore a powerful suit to enforce his white supremacy. He was a physical danger to even the worst of the worst, with the ability to fly around and fire powerful blasts. After Heller, a few names took up the mantle, but they needed a more transparent connection to Peacemaker.
However, according to the source material, Christopher Smith’s father was Wolfgang Schmidt, a literal Nazi commander who committed suicide after his participation in the war was revealed. The incident traumatized young Chris, fueling his desire to pursue justice in his red and blue attire. There is a unique chance to create an even more pertinent canon for the merciless hero by combining both obscure storylines.
The father-son connection is critical to understanding what turned Christopher into a cold-blooded murderer of women, children, and men. The fact that his father is a violent white supremacist explains a lot about his son’s incredibly flawed ideology. It provides a physical danger for Peacemaker to battle against in the series. With Auggie designing the helmet and suit for his boy, it seems likely that he will don his super-powered outfit this season. Furthermore, the White Dragon’s followers appear alive and well, eager to support their racist leader despite his old age.
As Peacemaker proceeds to challenge the genre by delivering an extremely raunchy superhero story, the ambitious storytelling will undoubtedly profit from the White Dragon’s potential social commentary. Auggie Smith, along with his bigotry, will be an essential piece of the overall story in this first season, as Gunn is one to use such opportunities wisely.
15 White Dragon Facts Only Hardcore DC Comics Fans Know
1. No Link To Peacemaker In The DC Comics
The White Dragon is one element that fans of the show will not find in some of the best Peacemaker comic books. In DC Comics, the two characters have no connection, and the villain has never met Peacemaker in any of his numerous forms.
Peacemaker’s father is a supremacist and racist; however, the live-action version creates a new character in Auggie Smith DC, portrayed by Robert Patrick, by drawing from other sources in the comic books.
2. The Father Of Peacemaker
The live-action version incorporates aspects of Peacemaker’s father from the comics, but he is a distinct character from White Dragon. As comic book readers are aware, the Peacemaker’s father was a Nazi trooper. Despite his father’s passing, he continued to haunt the character.
Because he influenced Christopher Smith’s mental condition, his father would become one of Peacemaker’s most powerful villains in the comics. The live-action version takes many of Peacemaker’s father’s characteristics.
3. The First Time White Dragon Appeared In DC Comics
Daniel William Ducannon was the first White Dragon DC Comics. He debuted in Hawkworld #27 in 1992 as an avenger. His racist views caused him to clash with several superheroes, including Hawkwoman as well as the Suicide Squad.
Some elements of his character, such as his armored outfit, have influenced the live-action version of the character. Other elements are unique to the DC comics White Dragon Peacemaker series, giving him a hybrid of the different comic characters.
4. The Meta-Bomb
The Meta-Bomb Event, a cataclysmic event from the 1989 DC Comics crossover Invasion!, gave White Dragon his abilities of pyrokinesis and flight. This bomb triggered the meta-gene in people, transforming them into superhumans.
As a consequence of this occurrence, the first DC comics White Dragon was able to generate and control fire. The live-action iteration in the DCEU does not appear to have these superpowers, though he may reveal them by the conclusion of the series.
5. White Dragon Of The Golden Age
White Dragon first appeared in DC Comics during the Golden Age. In 1941, the first villain with the name appeared in Flash Comics #23 as a backup story, battling The Whip. Despite being significantly different from subsequent versions, he blended in by assaulting and kidnapping Chinese people.
This White Dragon does not rank among the greatest Golden Age comic book protagonists, and he vanishes after his first issue. The character and idea appeared in various forms due to numerous changes in DC continuity over the years.
6. The Last Laugh
The Joker is considered one of Batman’s finest adversaries in the comics but also one of the world’s greatest threats. He demonstrated this in Joker: Last Laugh, during which he Jokerized several supervillains imprisoned in Slabside, which includes White Dragon.
The White Dragon had been caught and was being treated for cancer at this time. When Joker targeted the penitentiary, he was changed into a crazed villain who lashed out using his pyrokinetic abilities.
7. The White Dragon
In contemporary DC the White Dragon Comics, Daniel William Ducannon debuted as the White Dragon. His racist views drove him to commit heinous acts that harmed and killed others. Though he held an outstanding intellect, it let him down when it came to his fellow man. Ducannon told White Dragon from the live-action version, including his armored suit, was accurately reproduced on screen.
Other aspects were created by the Peacemaker White Dragon series, making him more of a mash-up of the various comic versions, which also involve characters like William Heller.
8. William Hell
In DC Comics, Ducannon was actually predated by another White Dragon. In Suicide Squad #4, a character called William Heller, better known as William Hell, made his first appearance in a costume very different from his final armored look.
William Hell is a supremacist and racist like Ducannon, and he became a vigilante who attacked disenfranchised people. In the comics, he became a target of the Suicide Squad, but like many antagonists, his relationship with that squad takes a surprising turn.
9. Hawkworld
Ducannon debuted in Hawkworld #27 in 1992. The comic introduces White Dragon’s ability and ethos immediately, as he utilizes his pyrokinesis to set ablaze low-income neighborhoods in Chicago on a hot summer evening. This immediately puts him at odds with Hawkman and Hawkwoman, who are watching over the city.
In subsequent comics, he was involved in several clashes with superheroes, including the Suicide Squad. With Hawkman, one of the most powerful members of the JSA, featured in Black Adam, this narrative could be adapted for live-action.
10. Friends With Deadshot
William Hell also revealed an interesting link to the Suicide Squad. Floyd Lawton was a childhood buddy of his. Lawton ultimately evolved into Deadshot, a cruel mercenary and formidable martial artist in DC Comics. Their strained friendship was exacerbated when both men were assigned to the Suicide Squad.
This resulted in some strange, albeit amusing, occurrences. In Heller’s place, Deadshot spoke at a white supremacist gathering, calling for understanding and unity. Heller then emerged, prompting a challenge to determine which of them was the true White Dragon Peacemaker.
11. Riding An Actual White Dragon
In Justice Society of America #4, the White Dragon rode a literal white dragon in an epic fight with the JSA. The White Dragon flew alongside the truly revolting Fourth Reich, a supervillain organization composed of several white supremacists such as Captain Nazi and Baroness Blitzkrieg.
This issue also introduces Cyclone, a character who was first presented in Black Adam. She will continue to appear in the DCEU and may cross tracks with Peacemaker.
12. Suicide Squad Member
Fans of comic books will recognize Suicide Squad as a group of nefarious characters, including past villains. White Dragon was one of them. After being pursued by them, William Hell joined the squad, and his armor was outfitted with a shock device to ensure he was obedient.
He always stuck to his ways and tried to assassinate Task Force X leader Amanda Waller and take over Suicide Squad. It didn’t work out for White Dragon, as is typically the case with characters who take on Amanda Waller.
13. Sudden Death
The coup by White Dragon ends in disaster for the entire squad. White Dragon brutally murders his erstwhile teammate Twister, infuriating another member, Plastique. She breaches his high-tech armor, then kills him with an energy blast from within his outfit.
His passing in Suicide Squad #8 from the series 2007 volume would be the end of this character iteration. A fresh rendition of White Dragon has yet to make an appearance in the present DC Comics continuity, but his presence in live-action may change that.
14. High-Tech Armor
White Dragon’s high-tech armor is the defining trait of all DC Comics versions. Though there are differences, this continues into the faithful adaptation of Peacemaker. The armor increases White Dragon’s power and stamina, and in the Duncannon form, it allows him to use his pyrokinetic skill, making his flames even more deadly than before.
Plastique took advantage of a vulnerability in the eye ports to breach the armor. The DCEU version is made of a combination of metal and fabric, implying that it is not as unbreakable as the comic version.
15. Do Not Confuse it With The White Dragon Marvel Versions
Fans looking for White Dragon in the comics may be puzzled by another version from Marvel. White Dragon appears in several Marvel Comics issues, and while they feature a comparable red and white scheme of colors, they are entirely distinct characters.
The second iteration debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #184 and is perhaps the most well-known. He is an enforcer for the Dragon Lords group in New York City, and his uniform is modeled after a Chinese dragon. He fought Spider-Man and Shang-Chi several times.
Read also:
- Is Red Dead Redemption Online Cross-Platform?
- Resident Evil Games In Order
- Assassin’s Creed Games in Order
- Need For Speed Games In Order
- Arcane Is Now the First Emmy-Winning Gaming Show
- How to Resolve the “Overwatch 2 Beta Not Showing Up” Problem?
Sarah Durrani 
