John Economos

Another member of Waller’s Task Force X team, **John Economos** serves as the new team’s expert on tech and tactics. Smart – but not half as smart as he thinks he is – he’s the go-to guy for all the team’s PowerPoint presentations. Self-conscious about his operative skills and appearance, he starts out with an antagonistic relationship with Peacemaker who delights in playfully bullying his teammate and getting under his skin (or poorly dyed beard!)

## Throughout the Series

### Season 1

In A Whole New Whirled, some time after Peacemaker gets out of the hospital, he along with Emilia Harcourt, and Leota Adebayo target Peacemaker from all sides, with their weapons brandished. Clemson Murn then approaches Chris from inside his trailer. Murn proceeds to inform Chris that he reports directly to Amanda Waller. Later, Chris meets with his new task force team for dinner as agreed upon. Harcourt, Murn, Leota and Economos poke fun at Peacemaker for arriving in full costume with Eagly in the backseat of his car.

In Best Friends, For Never, while Peacemaker escapes alongside Harcourt, Adebayo and Eagly, Economos changes Smith's car registration on the order of their team leader Clemson Murn. The tech wizz however gets a little too ahead of himself, though, because he changes Peacemaker's registration and his fingerprints in the system to point to his father Auggie. Murn is, understandably, not too pleased by Economos' decision to put the blame on Peacemaker's father because it will likely still lead back to Peacemaker one way or another. After annoying his colleagues once more with his bullish personality and bullying-like remarks, such as calling Economos "dye-beard".

In Better Goff Dead, Economos t-bones an escaping Judomaster and is forced to hesitantly beat him up with a tire iron.

In The Choad Less Traveled, at their headquarters, Murn delegates tasks; ordering Leota and Harcourt to search important files while Economos watches over the unconscious Judomaster. Murn then ushers Chris into his office for a private chat. For a while, he watches Judomaster who is still unconcious on a couch while hooked to an IV. Economos calls Leota and Chris while they’re on the road to inform them of Judomaster’s escape. Suddenly, Judomaster attacks Economos. When Peacemaker and Leota finally arrive, they find Economos on the floor, gasping for air. Peacemaker then chases Judomaster outside, and the pair duke it out. Eventually, Economos looks up Vigilante to uncover his civilian identity.

In Monkey Dory, Murn briefs the team about the Butterflies. However, no one seems to be paying attention since eventually Peacemaker lets his anger get the best of him, as he confronts Economos over putting his dad in jail. While prepping their gear, Leota arrives and encourages Peacemaker to go easy on Economos and not be so harsh on him all the time. Just as it looks like the escaped gorilla Chris saw on the news earlier looks set to kill him, Economos jumps in with a chainsaw and slices it to bits.

In Murn After Reading, Economos confirms that he’s found where the amber that the butterflies originates from and it turns out to be Coverdale Ranch.

In Stop Dragon My Heart Around, he along with Vigilante and Peacemaker collect their gear and prepare to go after Locke as he drives them to their destination. Later, Economos uses a machine gun, killing all of White Dragon's racist fanatics alongside him.

In It's Cow or Never, When the gang arrives outside the ranch, Leota calls Amanda Waller for further assistance. Her mother stresses the importance of working quickly as the butterflies prepare to teleport the cow off the planet. Waller dubs Harcourt the leader while Economos and Leota stay behind if the team needs backup. After killing one of the butterflies standing guard some distance outside the barn, the group persuades Economos to disguise himself with a police uniform and deposit the helmet inside the barn. Economos reluctantly leaves the safety of the forest to execute the task at hand. Butterfly Fitz stops Economos before the latter enters the barn, asking him why he’s going inside. Economos shows him the duffel bag (the helmet’s inside it), and that’s all Butterfly Fitz needs to see to grant Economos access. Economos descends the wooden stairs to the lower level, wherein the butterflies hold the cow captive. The alien creatures then secure the cow with harnesses as they prepare to teleport it. Economos, flustered, tosses the duffel bag with the helmet on the staircase and flees. Butterfly Fitz stops Economos again once the latter emerges from the barn. Fitz then asks Economos about his beard and why his human husk dye it so strangely. Economos goes onto explain why he dyes his beard and Peacemaker looks remorseful out in the woods while listening to Economos. Suddenly, one of the butterflies finds the duffel bag, and not long after, a horde of butterflies, including Butterfly Song descend upon Economos.
Leota watches Harcourt fall and decides to barrel headfirst into the action. Economos follows suit, but he trips over a wooden fence and injures his leg severely. Later, Chris and Leota emerge from the barn wreckage to find Vigilante alive and Economos sitting with Harcourt. It looks like Harcourt might be dead, but Chris cradles her in his arms, and the gang takes her to a hospital. While at the hospital, the staff wheels Harcourt and Economos away. After some time has passed, Economos returns to work at Belle Reve, and on his desk is a framed picture of the 11th Street Kids, and upon seeing it, he smiles warmly at it.

## Trivia

* On February 27, 2022, it was mentioned how the Peacemaker's John Economos is a lot different in the comics, especially when it came to his relationship with Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad
	+ As opposed to being a general support staff member in the comics, John Economos is actually the warden of Belle Reve prison, home of the super criminals that the Suicide Squad uses for its membership and also the secret home of the Squad itself.
	+ We first meet John in *Suicide Squad #1* (by John Ostrander, Luke McDonnell and Karl Kesel) giving a spiel to reporter Vicki Vale, while of course hiding the Squad's secrets...
	+ Economos' state as "just a regular guy" in the middle of all of this craziness was often used to have him be comic relief.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Peacemaker's John Economos Was One of the Few Waller Trusted in the Comics - CBR