Is White Dragon The Father Of Peacemaker & 9 Other Questions About William Heller Answered

Is White Dragon The Father Of Peacemaker? & 9 Other Questions About William Heller, Answered

Since making his live-action debut in Peacemaker, fans have a lot of questions about the comic book origins of DC’s White Dragon.

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William Heller, A.K.A. White Dragon, is one of DC’s more obscure supervillains. Being a Neo-Nazi white supremacist, it makes sense that writers would be less than keen on tackling such a controversial topic. Created in the 1980s he’s made only a few scant appearances in the proceeding decades.

However, that hasn’t stopped him from appearing in some recent media from Warner Bros. Thankfully, this new depiction of the character seems to be tackling the issues brought up by his inclusion head-on. For fans eager to learn more, the following is a quick checklist of some basic questions viewers may have about the armor-clad bigot.

SPOILERS: Peacemaker Episode 2 “Best Friends, For Never”

CW: Racism, Nazism, and Race Related Violence.

10 Who Created White Dragon?

William Heller first appeared in 1987’s Suicide Squad #4 by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell. Operating under the ingenious alias of William Hell, the radical racist focused on assaulting and apprehending Black and Asian criminals while directing white crooks to nearby supremacist chapters. This was early on in Ostrander’s legendary reinvention of the titular Squad as a team of villains tasked with black ops missions by the cold and intimidating Amanda Waller.

A second White Dragon named Daniel William Ducannon would appear a few years later in Hawkworld #27 by Ostrander and Jan Duursema. This incarnation was a meta-human granted powers during the 1988 event Invasion! and supported by the MetaTech Corporation.

9 How Did White Dragon Become A Nazi?

William Heller was the son of two wealthy parents that would die during the outbreak of a race riot when he was young. Heller came into the care of his grandfather who had previously been an ardent supporter of the Nazis during World War II and thus turned the boy into a full-blown white supremacist. After his grandfather passed away, Heller was left with immense wealth that he used to support other Neo-Nazi groups as well as his own organization titled the Aryan Empire. The Ducannon version is given no such backstory and is purely presented as a representation of general racism and bigotry.

8 What Are White Dragon’s Abilities?

William Heller is an expert marksman with very capable hand-to-hand combat skills. His most notable piece of equipment is the White Dragon armor. Packed with ’90s excess and edge, the White Dragon armor protects Heller from basic weapons and allows him enhanced durability.

The Daniel Ducannon incarnation of the character was a pyrokinetic and super genius who could use his flame abilities to fly. Much later in 2007’s Justice Society of America #4 by Geoff Johns, with Dale Eaglesham, readers would see Ducannon riding atop a literal white dragon. Despite his new steed, he didn’t fare well against the original super team.

7 Who Are White Dragon’s Enemies?

As previously mentioned, the Heller version went up against Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad whereas the Ducannon version fought all four Post-Crisis Hawk-People as well as the Justice Society of America. On top of that lofty resume for villainy, the Ducannon incarnation was also “Jokerized” in Joker: Last Laugh #4 and was defeated by an obscure edge lord mercenary named Militia. Overall the White Dragon’s most personal nemesis is Deadshot. The world’s greatest marksman was familiar with Heller as a child and the two would later compete in a competition of aim in White Dragon’s first appearance back in Suicide Squad #4.

6 Who Are White Dragon’s Allies?

As one would expect, it’s a lot of Nazis. Heller and Ducannon were not only supported by white supremacist organizations but also formed many of their own. Despite this, both White Dragons generally fail to maintain a consistent set of allies or even friends. Most of his allegiances barely last an issue such as in Suicide Squad #8 when he sided with General Wade Eiling in his attempt to overthrow Amanda Waller and assume command of Task Force X. This choice would actually result in the death of William Heller as the villain Plastique would create an explosion inside his suit of armor as revenge for the death of her friend Twister.

5 What Teams Has White Dragon Been On?

Likely the most notable group both White Dragons have been a part of is the Fourth Reich. Made up of several Nazi-themed supervillains, many of whom date back to the Golden Age of comics, this racist group was formed to murder several founding members of the JSA as well as their descendants.

Other than the Fourth Reich the William Heller version would also be recruited to join Task Force X. This would inevitably lead to his death, as previously mentioned.

4 Have There Been Other White Dragons?

Outside of William Heller and Daniel Ducannon there have been several other characters in comics to use the name White Dragon. The earliest White Dragon appeared in Flash Comics #23 way back in 1941. Opposing the masked vigilante known as Whip, this version kidnapped Asian-Americans off the street to perform forced labor. He was swiftly defeated by the Whip and was never seen again. Ironically, for a comic where white supremacists are the bad guys, Flash Comics #23 is a microcosm of racial stereotypes and offensive caricatures of the era. Wu Cheng, a member of the Blackhawk Squadron, also donned a White Dragon costume in the 1950s. Philip Chang from Marvel Comics may be the most noteworthy version of the White Dragon. The Marvel mantle of villainy has been held by three different people and continues to be used today.

3 What Media Outside Of Comics Has White Dragon Appeared In?

White Dragon has yet to appear in animation, video games, or film, but he has officially made his debut on television in the DCEU played by the T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick, in HBO Max’s Peacemaker series.

In episode two, titled “Best Friends, For Never”, Peacemaker’s father is imprisoned for crimes he didn’t commit due to shenanigans involving Operation Butterfly. Upon arriving he is literally heil’ed by his fellow inmates as the White Dragon. His armor later makes an appearance in episode four “The Choad Less Traveled” and is explicitly referred to as the White Dragon by Adrian Chase A.K.A. Vigilante.

2 Is White Dragon The Father Of Peacemaker?

In the aforementioned HBO Max series, White Dragon’s real name is August “Auggie” Smith. He is depicted as the abusive father of Christopher Smith the titular Peacemaker played by John Cena. While no version of White Dragon has been presented as Peacemaker’s father in the comics, it does tie in and adapt the relationship Smith has with his father in the 1988 mini-series Peacemaker. Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Smith was rebooted as a lunatic who was haunted by hallucinations of his dead Nazi father who drove him to be more violent in his war against war.

1 What Is White Dragon Up To Now?

Most versions of White Dragon are very much dead at the moment. Heller, as mentioned before, died while trying to help overthrow Amanda Waller. The Ducannon incarnation was last seen over a decade ago in Justice Society of America being defeated along with the Fourth Reich by the titular super team. It’s safe to assume that at some point a new Infinite Frontier version of the character may appear following his substantial role in Peacemaker. Until then the best places to read about the character are the aforementioned Ostrander run of Suicide Squad.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/dc-comics-white-dragon-trivia/

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