According to Comicbook.com, in an unexpected yet thrilling development for fans of the Max series Peacemaker, Robert Patrick (Reacher, The X Files, Fire In The Sky) is set to return in the show’s upcoming second season to reprise his role as Auggie Smith, the father of the titular character, Christopher Smith. This news may come as a surprise to viewers who recall that (Spoiler Alert!) Auggie met a definitive end in the first season, but it aligns with some of the deeper lore surrounding Peacemaker in the original comics.

For those unfamiliar with the Peacemaker comics, the TV show takes some liberties with the character’s backstory. In the source material, Peacemaker’s father wasn’t a supervillain like Auggie is portrayed in the series. Instead, he was an Army officer who later became a politician, imparting many of the skills that Christopher would use in his life. However, the concept of Auggie haunting his son, even after death, is very much rooted in the character’s comic book origins.

As mentioned by Comicbook.com, in the first season of Peacemaker, Auggie’s death didn’t mark the end of his influence on Christopher. The character reappeared in the season finale as a ghost, continuing to berate and haunt his son from beyond the grave. This haunting is reminiscent of a dynamic from the 1980s Peacemaker comics, where Christopher frequently conversed and argued with the ghost of his father. In those comics, however, his father was revealed to be a Nazi who took his own life after his war crimes were exposed—a backstory that adds layers of psychological torment to the Peacemaker character.

According to Comicbook.com, Patrick recently confirmed his involvement in season two during an interview, saying, “I was with John [Cena] on Friday. We’re filming season two.” He went on to praise series creator James Gunn (Superman, The Suicide Squad, Guardians Of The Galaxy), stating, “James is amazing. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve met in my life. Incredible mind and just a wonderful human being. I love him and his wife Jennifer Holland (Brightburn, Zombie Strippers, Black Adam). We were doing a big scene for the second season of Peacemaker on Friday right before I came here.” This confirmation has fueled excitement and speculation among fans about what Auggie’s return could mean for the story.

Also mentioned by Comicbook.com, the character of Peacemaker, created for Charlton Comics before being acquired by DC, has always been steeped in irony—a pacifist willing to kill to achieve peace. This inherent contradiction has led to the character’s gradual unraveling. This theme was explored more deeply when Paul Kupperberg (Ragnarok, Life With Archie) brought Peacemaker into the DC Universe in the 1980s. It was in this era that the character’s troubled relationship with his father became a focal point, setting the stage for the complex, haunted figure that Patrick portrays in the TV adaptation.

While some fans of the show may find the return of Auggie Smith surprising, for longtime comics readers, it’s a logical continuation of Peacemaker’s troubled psyche. Patrick’s return to the series hints at a season full of psychological tension and unresolved issues between father and son, promising to delve even deeper into the dark humor and complex storytelling that made the first season a hit.