You want to be good at this? Learn to enjoy it.
Fury: Peacemaker is a 6-issue miniseries published in 2006 for the Marvel Knights imprint. A Stealth Prequel to the earlier Fury (MAX) that tones down the blood and gore, it was written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Darrick Robertson. The story follows Nick Fury as a young soldier in World War II.
Fury: Peacemaker contains examples of the following tropes:
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Colonel von Stehle is from a noble family. While he's involved in a plot to kill Hitler, it isn't out of moral outrage, but to keep the Soviets from seizing his fortune.
- Blood Knight: Kynaston, and Fury starts becoming one after meeting Barkhorn.Barkhorn: A word of advice, Sergeant. If you want to be good at this? Learn to enjoy it.
- The Cameo: Surprisingly for such a grounded universe, Captain America is seen in the crowd celebrating the end of the war in Europe.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Fury's unnamed Lieutenant seems modeled after Charles Bronson. An interesting case, as there is already another comic character with strong connections to Fury modeled after Bronson; Pvt. Izzy Cohen of the Howling Commandos.
- Continuity Nod: Kynaston shows Fury a newspaper clipping to demonstrate the ferociousness of the Soviets destined to be their enemy, one of a young Rudi Gagarin being decorated for actions in the battle of Stalingrad.
- Death by Adaptation: Usually, the Howling Commandos survive the war with some continuing to serve with Fury in SHIELD. Here, Fury says they've dwindled to Fury and two other men by the end of the Normandy campaign.
- Irony: Fury and Kynaston's intention is to keep the war going, but they get captured and miss the last six months of it.
- Desert Warfare: The series kicks off in early 1943 North Africa, with Fury fighting in the battle of Kasserine Pass.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Fury starts off as an average grunt, but soon joins the OSS. His British friends are SAS, and the team they join for the titular operation also includes Royal Marine and SOE commandos, and are lead by a Ranger. Ultimately, their elite cred doesn't stop half the team, leader included, from getting killed before they make it off their transport.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: Fury and Kynaston survive, but that's it.
- Lighter and Softer: Peacemaker acts as a prequel to Ennis' 2001 edgy action-packed Fury miniseries and also shares universe with his iconic The Punisher MAX run, but it's waaaaay family-friendlier than its predecessor and other Earth-200111 titles, as it was published in the Marvel Knights line instead of MAX.
- Moe Greene Special: How Fury loses his eye.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Field Marshel Barkhorn is one for Erwin Rommel, or at least the popular depiction of the man; an honorable, brilliant general with the bad luck of having to work for the Nazi regime, who is linked to a plot to assassinate the Führer and has to take his own life.
- Officer and a Gentleman: Barkhorn may be working for a monster, but he's an honorable man and a brilliant commander.
- Operation: [Blank]: Peacemaker is the name of the allied plan to assassinate a Wehrmacht general who jeopardizes the success of an upcoming offensive.
- Start of Darkness: For Fury. He starts out as a soldier trying to do his job correctly, but ends up as a war junkie planning wars just to have something to do.
- Tank Goodness: The commando team has their position threatened by a German King Tiger. No sooner do they take care of it do two more arrive.
- Tiger by the Tail: Barkhorn's position regarding the war. While he is appalled at learning of the ethnic cleansing on the Eastern Front, he is determined to fight to the bitter end because of what will happen to Germany if they don't.
- Too Dumb to Live: Major McNeal, who is in charge of the mission, reacts to the plane carrying him and the team getting straffed by opening the door and shooting at the pursuing German aircraft. It doesn't end well for him, and the survivors are bewildered at his behavior.
- Unfriendly Fire: Implied. Fury holds a gun to his superior officer, demanding he stop panicking and start leading his men. Fury is shortly seen informing his men that the officer didn't make it.
