Welcome to Suicide Squad #04 , another issue of what is becoming my favorite ongoing series. Manta and Harley break into a secure facility to break out Deadshot, and Vic fights the bureaucracy to wrestle control from an ever more awesome Amanda Waller.
Suicide Squad #04 starts with Vic finding out that Amanda’s power comes from the President himself, and there is nothing he can do. After finding this out he goes into a rage and storms off seeking Amanda Waller. Meanwhile, Harley and Manta execute their rescue mission of Deadshot, but quickly get ambushed by Deathstroke. Deathstroke quickly wipes the floor with Manta and Harley, but an injured Deadshot gets in a lucky shot and puts Deathstroke down.
In the next frame Vic confronts Amanda and tries to enforce his control more directly and is instantly shut down by the human bad-ass that is Amanda Waller.
POSITIVES:
I am still pissed about the slimming down of Amanda Waller (check out my earlier article here) but her attitude is as amazing as ever. It was great watching her calmly matching wills against her pissed of superior Vic, and eventually taking him down physically. The comeback “and you’re a powerless child”, was about the most bad-ass thing I have ever read.
I have no idea why, but I love watching Deadshot getting pissed off when he misses. It usually has something to do with a lucky superhero but being just generally beat up is just as good. In fact it is somewhat refreshing to see a hero (or antihero) actually being effected by injuries. We have seen hundreds of costumed heroes shrugging off gunfire and it is really interesting to see one actually thrown off his game.
The art in this issue is awesome. Every frame is dynamic and well designed and I was especially impressed by the way that Deadshot legitimately looked like he was about to collapse.
NEGATIVES:
The background in the issue looked pretty superfluous. The background could make all the difference in setting a scene, and this issue fell short. They are fighting in a dungeon and all you can see is flashes and lens flares. The scene could really have benefited from some updates. Dodging around an actual torture chamber could have been something really interesting to see.
On the subject of art, there were the odd character design issue. Some of the frames in the Deadshot/Manta fight left me scratching my head about how their bodies were actually oriented.
Another problem I had with this particular fight scene is that Harley was right there with a gun the whole time, but she only pops in at the end with a headlock. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? You can chalk this up to Harley craziness but it just comes off as lazy writing.
CONCLUSION:
There were some minor plot and artistic issues with Suicide Squad #04 , and there were some missed opportunities, but that is mostly nit-picky. This comic lives up to expectations every issue and it is definitely worth a read.
RATING:
