[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Rob Williams
Artists: Barnaby Bagenda, Jay Leisten, Wilfredo Torres, Adriano Lucas
Covers: Stjepan Sejic, Whilce Portacio, & Alex Sinclair
Summary
The squad goes on a mission to find out who’s trying to kill Amanda Waller.
Positives
One of the most interesting things to come out of this issue was the story, and the premise of the original Suicide Squad. It’s still a bit early to figure out where the story is going, but it seems that a team up between some of the original and current Suicide Squad members is imperative.
Killer Croc’s comic relief was a saving grace in this issue. It made up for at least some of the tired and boring writing.
Negatives
I wasn’t too keen on some of the writing in this issue, Harley Quinn’s in particular. Up to now, her character has had a genuine progression, going from criminally insane, to being romantically involved with Rick Flag, to being the leader of the Suicide Squad. Even single handedly saving the day countless times. She has really grown into a deep rich character. That being said, Williams seems to have reverted Harley’s character back to simply being criminally insane, rather then a sort of hero with a very unique personality. Not very consistent at all with the Harley we saw during the last story arc.
Speaking of Harley, Waller seems to have stripped her of squad leader status in this issue, stating that she was under Gulag’s influence. However, Harley’s promotion happened well before Gulag got a hold of Waller, so the time frame doesn’t make much sense.
Another piece of the story that seems to be strange is that Waller has the complete backing and confidence of the US President, which, let’s be honest, would never really happen seeing as Waller was under Gulag’s influence for a while and there’s no telling what Waller might do now. Katana even mentions that in the beginning of the issue.
The art in this issue was very average at best. It’s been so much better in previous issues, and simply made the plot holes a little harder to handle. No consistency between panels, and there were some in particular where Harley’s face and body were down right horrible.
Verdict
Not a very strong issue at all. Writing could have been much better, and art was inconsistent with some panels being strange and not very well drawn. Hopefully the rest of the story arc will be better.
