Peacemaker: Who Is White Dragon? DC Comics Powers & Origin Explained

Warning: Contains spoilers for Peacemaker episode 2.

In Peacemaker episode 2, “Best Friend, For Never,” the DCEU TV show reveals one of its villains is the DC comic book character White Dragon. While Peacemaker’s main mission is set up to be Project Butterfly, it is clear that White Dragon, as Peacemaker’s father, will be key to Christopher Smith’s narrative. Peacemaker was originally introduced to the DCEU in The Suicide Squad as a blindly patriotic and oblivious character, but the Peacemaker TV show is set to give him more depth.

Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick) is introduced in Peacemaker episode 1, “A Whole New Whirled,” when Peacemaker (John Cena) goes to retrieve his sidekick, Eagly, from his father’s house. Auggie is dismissive and racist and provides Peacemaker with a new helmet expecting him to use it to kill “commies.” In Peacemaker episode 2, the machinations of the Argus team lead to Auggie being arrested for Peacemaker’s actions and once in jail, he is revealed to be White Dragon as a group of white supremacists dedicate themselves to him.

Peacemaker is making several changes to the character of White Dragon from the character in DC comics. However, a lot of his ideology is staying the same and it promises to give the Peacemaker TV show an opportunity to provide growth for Peacemaker while also making some wider social commentary appropriate to the current day. Here’s everything viewers need to know about who Peacemaker’s villain White Dragon is, his DC comics origin, and his powers.

Who Is White Dragon In DC Comics?

The name White Dragon has been used by more than one character in the DC comics. The original and most well-known figure was William Heller, but the name was later taken up by his successor Daniel Ducannon and was also used by Chop-Chop. The Peacemaker iteration is most likely drawing on William Heller for inspiration. Heller was born rich and had few friends but was familiar with the young Floyd Lawton who would go on to become Deadshot. Heller’s parents were killed during a race riot and he went to live with his Nazi grandfather and came to hold the same ideals. He eventually used his inheritance to fund white supremacist groups before founding his own organization called the Aryan Empire.

In the DC comics, William Heller decided that he could achieve his goals more effectively if he became a vigilante and began using the name William Hell. As a vigilante he channeled his racism, letting white criminals off for their crimes and recruiting them into the Aryan Empire while turning all others over to the police. After having his reputation damaged by the Suicide Squad, Heller began using the name White Dragon and wore an extravagant suit of armor as he joined an organization called the Fourth Reich.

White Dragon’s Powers Explained (& Why Peacemaker Changed Them)

In the DC comics, White Dragon is a skilled marksman and competent at close combat but has no notable powers. Like characters such as Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) he is not a metahuman but simply driven by his ideology. The source of his armor is not explored in the comics, but it makes him considerably harder to harm and it is not until Plastique is able to break his mask that she is able to finally kill him. In Peacemaker, White Dragon’s powers have not been fully explored, but it is clear that he is a skilled inventor and engineer. In Peacemaker episode 1, his secret closet clearly uses some form of high-level tech and he is responsible for the creation of Peacemaker’s helmets, including ones that provide such boons as breathing underwater or a sonic boom (or, for some reason, scabies).

White Dragon is a name that is passed down, and therefore it is unclear whether Auggie Smith is intended to be the original White Dragon and to be replacing William Heller within the DCEU timeline, or whether Smith inherited the name from Heller. The change to White Dragon’s powers from the DC comics in Peacemaker enables him to be responsible for the creation of Peacemaker as a soldier, as well as shaping his ideology. This is part of a larger change that combines William Heller with Peacemaker’s comic book racist and abusive father, Wolfgang Schmidt.

What To Expect On Peacemaker From White Dragon

While the Butterflies are being set up as Peacemaker’s main focus, White Dragon is clearly going to have a big impact on the story. Peacemaker opens with the custodian Jamil (Rizwan Manji) accusing Peacemaker of being racist and he is later seen reflecting on Rick Flag’s accusations that he is a joke leading him to want to change. White Dragon and his white supremacist horde make the perfect antagonists both for Peacemaker to change his ways and for the current social situation in 2022.

While Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) seems irritated by it, both John Economos (Steve Agee) and Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) worked to implicate White Dragon for Peacemaker’s actions. This lands White Dragon in jail and could be setting up a storyline in which he is recruited by Amanda Waller as part of the Suicide Squad. If this is the case, it could be part of the setup for a future season of Peacemaker or a The Suicide Squad sequel as in the comics White Dragon is part of a plan to overthrow Waller and kill the Suicide Squad.

Is Peacemaker Setting Up A Nazi Superteam?

As well as founding the Aryan Empire, White Dragon joined the Neo-Nazi superteam The Fourth Reich. Led by Captain Nazi and including members such as Baroness Blitzkrieg, Baron Gestapo, and Captain Swastika, the group hoped to bring the United States under Nazi rule and were antagonists for the Justice Society of America. In the comics, this group’s plan largely focuses on their acquisition of a weapon called the Darkness Engine which disabled the powers of metahumans. As Peacemaker seems to focus less on the concept of metas and more on otherworldly threats (taking a lead from The Suicide Squad’s Starro), this particular plot seems unlikely. However, White Dragon could be part of a Peacemaker plot that sees the creation of The Fourth Reich as a non-metahuman organization that pushes their Nazi and white supremacist ideology which would fit in with Peacemaker’s political narrative so far that sees liberal politicians infiltrated by the Butterflies.

Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.

About The Author

Faefyx Collington
(487 Articles Published)

Faefyx Collington (They/Them) is a senior features writer for Screen Rant. They’re a British writer of both fiction and non-fiction, focussing on science fiction, fantasy, and mystery for the former and on culture, gender, and current affairs for the latter.
Never content to settle to one thing, Faefyx is also a co-host and producer of the podcast and video series “Unramblings,” and can occasionally be found making music around the internet as well.
Having acquired degrees on both sides of the Atlantic, Fyx has settled (for the moment) in the southern United States where they live with their spouse and an entirely appropriate number of cats.

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