Peacemaker Villain Easter Egg Reveals The Worst Thing About Its Nazi Villains
Warning: Contains spoilers for Peacemaker episode 7.
In Peacemaker episode 7, an easter egg relating to the Nazi’s infamous “fourteen words” demonstrates one of the worst things about the DCEU TV series’ white supremacist villains. While some people complain about politics in comic books, they have always contained strong moral and political messages. James Gunn’s Peacemaker stays true to that mission with its consistent criticism of white supremacy, alt-right media coverage, and other forms of bigotry throughout.
Peacemaker’s father, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick), is revealed to be the white supremacist supervillain White Dragon, who in DC comics founded the Aryan Empire and was a member of the Fourth Reich. In his first appearance, he spouts a load of hateful language about anyone who isn’t straight, white, and Christian. The cult-like passion for his villain is demonstrated in Peacemaker episode 2 when White Dragon is arrested and praised by the white supremacists in the jail. After he is released from jail, he heads out to kill Peacemaker (John Cena), and a group of white supremacists wearing hoods reminiscent of the KKK help him into his White Dragon costume. James Gunn hides nothing about how he feels about these people, with the credits revealing the character names to be things like “Whitehood Wanker.”
After White Dragon and the Peacemaker team clash in Peacemaker episode 7, “Stop Dragon My Heart Around,” Vigilante steals the white supremacists' car and as he drives it down the road the license plate is revealed to be “14WRDS.” “Fourteen words,” when used by white supremacists, refers to a slogan derived from Hitler’s Mein Kampf and developed by a white supremacist terrorist which states: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” This hateful rhetoric has been used to justify many atrocities and is a direct reference to Hitler, and yet the white supremacist group is able to drive around with it printed openly on a government-issued license plate. Not only does this reveal that the white supremacists in Peacemaker do not need to fear repercussions for expressing these words that signal intent to harm people, but it highlights the very real-world situation taking place in the United States where someone having this very license plate is honestly entirely believable.
The easter egg helps to signal how fundamentally evil the Peacemaker villains are, but it also uses those words to highlight a major theme of the TV show. The “fourteen words” are about parents pushing their ideals for the world onto their children. In Peacemaker, Peacemaker and Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) are pushing back against the idea that they need to be defined by their parents, and the Butterfly inside Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) is exploring a similar story as he pushes back against his whole species.
The “fourteen words” license plate in Peacemaker is the most public white supremacist easter egg, but there are others that are worth noting. White Dragon flies his United States flag upside down, showing that he believes that the country is in a state of emergency, common among white supremacists who view equal rights as a threat to the country. The gun that Peacemaker takes from one of the white supremacists and uses to kill White Dragon appears to be a Luger pistol, which was a weapon commonly used by the Nazis. Finally, the code to White Dragon’s closet is 261011, which is likely intended as a reference to the Bible verse Isaiah 26:10-11. This verse can be interpreted as meaning that violent methods need to be used against those you think are evil, and is likely the justification that White Dragon uses for violently enacting his white supremacist ideals in Peacemaker.
Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO.