Vigilante, a.k.a. Adrian Chase, has become one of Peacemaker's breakout characters. Played by Freddie Stroma, Chase is violent and ruthless, but carries out his horrific deeds with a sense of humor and a heavy dose of obliviousness. Recently, a new detail about the antihero came to light, and it will likely bring a smile to bespectacled people's faces who understand the pain of having to wear headgear that requires them to remove their glasses.
In his civilian identity, Chase sports glasses, and observant fans will likely have noticed that he wears his mask without glasses on before almost immediately putting them back on when unmasking. Naturally, the question became: How exactly could Vigilante see in his mask without his specs?
One fan noticed this peculiar detail, and took to Twitter to ask Peacemaker creator James Gunn whether Vigilante's red mask visor was prescription, as opposed to a simple lens. Gunn replied, confirming that Chase's visor is indeed prescription:
With his slim frame and soft voice, Vigilante subverts the classic tough-guy trope. As James Gunn explained during an interview with Polygon:
"I thought, if this guy really existed, there really was a Vigilante, a guy who dresses up in a costume, and goes around and kills people he says are doing something wrong — what would he really be like? [...] And that's where Vigilante came [from]. He's very off, and he's a sociopath, but he's got this sort of sweet aspect to him."
Knowing that Chase built his mask in such a way that it would aid his vision makes him all the more unique. Now, just for fun, there's an important question to address regarding the character's visor: How exactly does it allow him to see?
As those with glasses will probably be aware of, it's not uncommon for people to have different prescriptions on each eye. In those cases, the lenses in glasses have different prescriptions as well. Vigilante's visor is just one piece, which leaves two options: He either has specific spots on the visor that have the correct prescriptions for both eyes, or his eyes have the exact same prescription.
We're overanalyzing here, but it's fun to wonder how the science behind comic-book items works.
Peacemaker is streaming on HBO Max.