DC Studios co-head James Gunn just shared a tease image from the set of season two of Peacemaker, showing a new character together with the caption “Who might this be?” Well, judging from the one photo, it looks to be a Native American man sitting around a campfire, shot from behind. And that’s all we really know so far. However, there are a handful of Native American characters from the pages of DC Comics this could be.
What we can tell from this image is that the character is male-presenting, and appears to be older. So that means we’re going to have to wait for female Native American heroes like Dawnstar for later projects. Since Peacemaker is set in the present day, we’re eliminating Western DC Comics heroes like Pow-Wow Smith, Brave Bow, and Tomahawk. Also, he’s probably not the World War I hero Johnny Cloud either. But here are our guesses as to who we think he may actually be when Peacemaker season two rolls around.
Apache Chief/Longshadow
DC Comics
Perhaps the most famous DC Native American hero wasn’t even originally from the comics. In an effort to diversify their mostly all-white lineup of heroes for the Saturday morning Super Friends cartoon, Hanna-Barbera created Apache Chief. This Native hero could grow several stories tall, merely by reciting the words “inukchuk” out loud. The character would later be reimagined as Longshadow in the Justice League Unlimited animated series, before appearing on Young Justice as Tye Longshadow, a teen version of the character. Perhaps he’s making his live-action debut at last on Peacemaker?
Manitou Raven
DC Comics
This DC hero drew inspiration from Apache Chief. He was one half of the husband-and-wife heroic duo Manitou Raven and Manitou Dawn. They first appeared in Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke’s excellent JLA run in the early 2000s. Manitou Raven is actually thousands of years old, part of an Atlantean tribe that would one day evolve into the Apache nation. Eventually transported into the present, he and his wife became Justice League members themselves. A shaman and sorcerer, Manitou Raven used his magic to fight alongside the JLA. As the photo James Gunn shared looks like an older gentleman, maybe it’s a truly immortal version of Manitou Raven?
Super Chief
DC Comics
Apache Chief may be more famous, but Super Chief is DC’s first true Native American superhero. He’s not just one hero, however, Super Chief is actually a mantle handed down to protect the Five Nations of Iroquois, powered by the ancient and magical Manitou Stone. The Super Chief has “the strength of a thousand bears,” “speed that surpasses the fastest of deer,” and “jumping prowess that surpasses those of the wolf.” In the weekly DC series 52, which covered a full year in the DC Universe without Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, the modern-day Super Chief, Jon Standing Bear, was a member of an interim Justice League of America. It’s not impossible that we’re seeing Super Chief, or at least one of them, on Peacemaker.
Black Bison
DC Comics
Of course, it’s not safe to assume that this Native-American character is a hero. He may very well be a villain. If he is, then our top choice would be Black Bison, a.k.a. John Ravenhair, a frequent Firestorm adversary. After the death of his great-grandfather Bison-Black-as-Midnight-Sky, John became possessed by his rage-filled spirit. Taking the name Black Bison, he starts taking revenge on anyone he believes has wronged the Native American people. Using ancient mystical powers, Black Bison fought Firestorm many times over the years, and even joined DC’s Secret Society of Super-Villains. We could see James Gunn reinventing Black Bison for Peacemaker. Especially as there doesn’t seem to be a Firestorm project on the horizon.
James Gunn has teased what appears to be a new Native American character for Peacemaker season two. Could this be a known DC Comics character? Read More