Time to get my Suicide Squad reactions in before the end of the week. So… in my first post about this volume of the Suicide Squad, I was pretty negative. As I read through more of the series, I softened up on it a bit. I still think there are some issues with the series, but there are some good things that are happening here.
First, I like how Harley and Deadshot have partnered up to be a check against Amanda Waller. I’m still not convinced by the Harley/Deadshot ship (I just don’t see it). But it makes sense to have them be partners in crime against Waller’s control. I liked seeing Harley get a big win against The Wall here.
I’ve also really enjoyed some of the newer additions to the team. The Unknown Soldier should be an example of a hero balancing out the villains on the team. Yet, he’s so brutal and uncompromising that he’s maybe worse than the villains, so there goes that. I’m glad that Cheetah made some appearances here. She’s the perfect kind of villain for the team. My favorite newbie, though, is James Gordon, Jr. He’s a definite wild card and his infatuation with Waller is creepy in the most interesting way. Gordo, Jr. is the weirdly charismatic presence the book needed.
In my first post about this series I also (sort of) complained that the Squad wasn’t being sent on foreign, socio-political missions. We kind of get that in issue #23 which was a fun story. I say “kind of” because the mission was treated as an extended joke. That made it fun to read, but created some characterization issues (Deadshot using pheromones to seduce an opponent?). It was also not the end I pictured for long-time Wildstorm presence John Lynch. But, again, it was a lot of fun.
I think the biggest problems I had with these issues connects with the biggest problem The New 52 had overall: Editorial inconsistency. This book and many others during The New 52 had major, sudden shifts in plot and tone as editorial changes, creative changes, and direction changes would happen on the fly in this era to try to drive sales. I felt that pretty strongly in these issues especially as we got into the Forever Evil Tie-Ins. Again, this was a New 52 problem and not just a Suicide Squad problem, but it’s there.
Last word: Harley betrays the Suicide Squad!.. Again! Our girl is becoming a more troublesome Squad member than Captain Boomerang (and that’s saying something). But… it’s the Squad, so Harls could be a double-agent for Waller here. Time will tell…