Peacemaker Deals with Childhood Trauma and His Brother’s Mysterious Death

Peacemaker Episode 4 left me speechless. The number of plot points and arcs to follow was quite overwhelming. Filled with many twists and turns, the episode goes deeper into Peacemaker’s complexes and his dysfunctional relationship with his father.

The episode also reveals his brother’s mysterious death during his childhood, which added to his traumatic past. While this shocked me, it also gave a profound insight into why The White Dragon (Peacemaker’s dad) hates him so much.

Peacemaker approaches Harcourt to know about his past and his brother’s death. She reveals that his brother died under mysterious circumstances and that he was involved in it. However, she doesn’t mention how or what role he played.

So, did Peacemaker kill his own brother?

We still don’t know the answer to this question. In a flashback montage, we see Peacemaker and his brother enjoying music, and then his brother lying on a heap of mud with foam coming out of his mouth while a few boys stand by.

Peacemaker and his father, Auggie Smith aka The White Dragon, have a very toxic relationship. When Peacemaker goes into the prison to see his father, he tells how much he loved his brother to bits, but he just felt indifferent towards him. To Auggie, Peacemaker was merely a piece of meat he had to take care of.

Later in the episode, Peacemaker asks Harcourt what was written about his brother’s death in his file. When she reveals that he was involved and his brother died under mysterious circumstances, we see a devastated Peacemaker go back to his trailer and dance to music while revisiting his childhood trauma.

In the series of flashback scenes, we first see how he was made to kill a person by his own father, then how he and his brother used to enjoy music in their bedroom, and then how his brother died with blood in his nose and foam coming out of his mouth.

Theory Behind the Death of Peacemaker’s Brother

My theory is that Peacemaker’s brother was killed by people trying to get back at him for some street feud, or maybe due to some of his father’s actions. Peacemaker might have been at the scene but couldn’t save his brother.

This is perhaps why Auggie hates him so much and thinks he’s not “man enough,” probably because he couldn’t stop the people from killing his brother.

Conclusion

While this is merely a theory, I think it’s strongly possible. For now, we don’t know if Peacemaker killed his brother and we might only find out in the upcoming episodes.

About Peacemaker

Peacemaker is a DC Extended Universe series that will delve into the past of the titular character, who’ll make his cinematic debut in James Gunn’s DCEU film, The Suicide Squad (2021). The character will be portrayed by John Cena, who will reprise his role in the HBO Max series.

Other cast members include Steve Agee, Danielle Brooks, Robert Patrick, Chris Conrad, and Chukwudi Iwuji among many others.

James Gunn will also helm the HBO Max series for its second season.