Many characters within the Marvel and DC universes have similar elements incorporated into their origin stories. Two of these characters, who have become more popular in recent years are Moon Knight and Peacemaker. As a result of a series of retcons, both Marc Spector and Christopher Smith share a horrifying past that has influenced each deeply: their families have ties to Nazi concentration camps. Despite sharing this backstory, each character has dealt with it differently, and it reflects in their respective personalities.
Peacemaker’s existence is a dichotomy, an individual who is so invested in peace that he is willing to kill others to maintain it. This drive to maintain peace, however, stems from a troubled past. The post-Crisis origin of Peacemaker differs from the pre-Crisis version of the character slightly. In this origin, Christopher Smith’s father was a Nazi concentration camp commandant, who killed himself on Christopher’s fifth birthday after his crimes were uncovered. Traumatized by his father’s death and legacy, Christoper became mentally unstable, which led him to his violent tendencies. Peacemaker also grew to believe that the spirit of his father haunted him, constantly berating him and criticizing his every move.
Moon Knight’s original origin differed, however, his most recent backstory involves a similar trauma. Ernst was a Nazi soldier, who came to America under the guise of a rabbi. During the war, Ernst was approached by a Jewish man, who tried to feed him false information in return for safe passage to America. This man just so happened to be Marc Spector’s grandfather. Knowing that the end of Hitler’s reign was nigh, Ernst bought into the ploy under the condition that he could escape as well. He joined the family in America under the guise of Rabbi Yitz Perlman.
Using this new identity, he would lure Jewish people to his house and torture them. Marc and his family grew close to Rabbi Perlman, with Marc even coming to refer to him as Uncle Yitz. He would often go to his house to study while his father was working. One day, however, Marc arrived at Yitz’s house earlier than he was supposed to and discovered a secret door in the floorboards. After opening the door, Marc found Uncle Yitz torturing a man, hanging him from the ceiling. Ernst then revealed his true backstory as a Nazi who finds joy in torturing Jewish people. Marc’s instincts kicked in, and he was able to attack Ernst and escape unharmed. Ernst disappeared, and the incident left Marc traumatized, becoming the trigger for his dissociative identity disorder.
Both characters’ origins share multiple similarities, with the main one being that a father figure is the cause of their lifelong trauma. The result of this trauma is similar between the two as well, as it has led each to develop their own coping mechanisms. In the case of Marc, this was his DID, with Moon Knight using Marc’s past as his greatest weapon. Smith, on the other hand, began to think he is being haunted by the voice of his father, as well as those that he has killed. The characters also share a similarity as each is willing to kill in order to meet their goals. Both characters serve justice in a brutal manner and are willing to hurt those who stand in their way. This may be a result of the weaponization of their past trauma.
Despite this, there are differences in how each handles their trauma. As time has progressed, Marc has attempted to deal with his trauma, discussing his DID with his daughter and trying to make amends with his disorder. Peacemaker, however, is stuck in his ways, believing that the only way to make amends with his past is to kill those who are similar to his father, seeking to disrupt the peace. The representation of trauma within each story is a reminder of how every individual processes traumatic events differently. The horrifying events that occurred in each character’s origin story shaped the trajectory of their lives and their resulting pursuit of justice.
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