General Immortus kidnapped Peacemaker’s dog. Cancel Christmas. Your Major Spoilers review of Peacemaker Tries Hard #4 from DC Comics Black Label awaits!

PEACEMAKER TRIES HARD #4

Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Steve Pugh
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey
Editor: Matthew Levine
Publisher: DC Comics Black Label
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 29, 2023

Previously in Peacemaker Tries Hard: Things go from bad to worse when Peacemaker, with the help of some Golden Age superheroes, infiltrates General Immortus’s secret island base, but ends up captured by a drug smuggler with a penchant for his own goods. Bullets, powder, and punches fly, and Peacemaker’s geriatric squad have victory in sight. But first they’ll have to get through Deathstroke!

Well… kinda?

THE ATTACK OF THE OLD DUDE

In a McShoney’s somewhere in the middle of nowhere, right about 4:30 p.m., the villain known as General Immortus is enjoying the early bird special, with a side of pecan pie, when Peacemaker and The Red Bee arrive to ruin his dinner. After successfully getting information out of the oldest man in the DC Universe (who very much does not want a napkin holder forcibly inserted into his nethers), the heroes and Michael the trained bee have to find transportation to The Brain’s secret hidden base. Thanks to another nonagenarian, one Johnny Blackhawk, they make their way to the Amazon jungle and set out for the base. Poisonous frogs, a horde of armed henchmen, and crates of knockoff athletic shoes ensue, only for Peacemaker to discover The Brain’s latest henchman: Snowflame, the man who gains superpowers from cocaine!

Sooo, that’s bad.

NOT FOR EVERYONE

Honestly, for my tastes, the use of Red Bee and Snowflame is just note-perfect for a Peacemaker story, given that Christopher Smith was only recently rescued from the “LOLFail” club himself. In a post-Wizard Magazine world, it’s great to see creators embracing the outré characters rather than playing the “too cool for school” game. This issue has a lovely sequence wherein Peacemaker tries to get help from Amanda Waller by telling her that Bruce Wayne has been kidnapped, without telling her that Bruce Wayne is his pet stray bulldog. It’s well-crafted and funny, with an ending fillip that I find relatable as heck. As for the art of Steve Pugh, I will tell you that the Red Bee hasn’t looked this good since the days of Lou Fine at Quality Comics. Aside from the fun and frenetic fight sequences, there’s a bit involving poison frogs of the Amazon that makes perfectly timed comedy, and then sets up a callback later in the issue that may be the piece de resistance.

BOTTOM LINE: WORTH IT FOR SNOWFLAME

For the fourth issue running, Peacemaker Tries Hard #4 hits a triple play, providing clean, attractive, and dynamic art, paired with a story that will resonate with fans of the Peacemaker’s TV show and loving character work for even the most ridiculed of DC’s roster of characters, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. If you take nothing else from this issue, you should take away the lesson that there is no character beyond redemption, no matter what random Internet goobers would have you believe.

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