A major member of the Suicide Squad was just taken down by one of the newest faces at the Teen Titans Academy.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Suicide Squad #3 by Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, and Marcelo Maiolo, on sale now
Despite first appearing in 1966, Peacemaker is only now reaching the heights of prominence, with the character set to be a central character in both James Gunn’s upcoming DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad as well as a solo Peacemaker series on HBO Max.
It would appear that Peacemaker’s imminent popularity doesn’t make the character impervious, as one of DC’s newest figures just painfully reminded him. Despite his combat capabilities making him the current Suicide Squad’s most dangerous member, the mysterious Red X just brought him down with ease.
The Suicide Squad has been picking up more and more members lately, with Peacemaker quietly trying to establish himself as the true leader of the unit even while taking orders from Amanda Waller. But things are only becoming more intense as evidenced by their latest attempt to recruit Bolt, a young speedster currently living at Titans Tower. Thanks in part to the chaos of Keymaster trying (and failing) to escape their mission before Amanda Waller could activate the bomb implanted in him, the team fails to capture the young woman. Superboy even gives her an opening to catch her bearings, allowing her to evade Peacemaker despite his best efforts. Before they can be pulled out of the mission though, Peacemaker is shocked to see Red X.
The young and mysterious masked figure has been one of the chief mysteries of Infinite Frontier and Future State, an enigmatic vigilante using an identity briefly used by Dick Grayson, who seems fated to have a major impact on the Teen Titans. Peacemaker tries his best to catch the masked man in combat, but despite his skills, Red X proves to be quick enough to dodge every blow before landing two painful shots of his own against the Suicide Squad leader. Within moments, the rest of the Suicide Squad is shocked to find themselves staring down Red X, having easily brought down Peacemaker and demanding an audience with Waller. It’s an impressive showing from Red X, especially given how Peacemaker has been portrayed so far in Suicide Squad.
Peacemaker has been reestablished as one of the Suicide Squad’s most fierce members, capable of keeping the team in line despite their rough edges. He’s also been shown as an absolutely ruthless fighter, making his quick defeat all the more surprising. Red X has so far been a genuinely confounding element of Infinite Frontier. In Future State, the mysterious figure was revealed to be a prisoner of the Teen Titans after his actions resulted in the deaths of Donna Troy and Miguel Montez. But in the battle against the Four Horsemen (who’d corrupted heroes like Wally West and Roundhouse), Red X helped summoned the spirits of the fallen Titans to fight alongside them before ultimately seeming to fall in battle himself.
In the present day, he’s been one of the more unique elements of the Teen Titans Academy, with the mystery of his identity remaining intact while he’s operating from the shadows and stealing information from the Titans Tower computer system. He seems to be operating according to his own mission and is keenly aware that Peacemaker isn’t the true leader of the Suicide Squad. He might also quietly be the only thing keeping Waller from ordering the team to breach Titans Tower. It’s been hinted that multiple people have used the identity over the years, but it appears that whoever is the current one is a good enough fighter to bring down one of the Suicide Squad’s best fighters, suggesting that an experienced hero may be hiding behind the mask.
