The Suicide Squad’s new mission operandi leaves them more chaotic than ever — and it’s a great direction for the series.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Suicide Squad #14, now on sale from DC Comics
The Suicide Squad has been increasingly hectic in recent years, utilizing their powers at the behest of increasingly dark missions for Amanda Waller. But without her leadership, the team is poised to become an even more destructive and chaotic group.
Suicide Squad #14 by Dennis Hopeless, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Dexter Soy, Jeremiah Skipper, Peter Pantazis, and Wes Abbott pushes the team down an even more chaotic path forward — and it’s a great direction for the team to go.
The Suicide Squad is in a odd place in the DC Universe at the moment. Following the conclusion of the War for Earth-3 storyline, Amanda Waller is considered MIA from the core-DC Universe. Having relocated to the Crime Syndicate’s reality, Waller has removed herself and her newly established Justice League from the overt effects of the multiverse. This initially seems to leave Rick Flagg in control of the Suicide Squad — only for the United States government to enact the “Waller Contingency” — which seems to try to try and cover up Waller’s actions in case she goes missing in action by destroying Belle Reve Prison and officially declaring Task Force X disbanded. However, the Squad largely survives this attack — albeit left in far worse shape than where they were beforehand.
Flagg — left severely injured in the attack — does take command of the team, and refuses to utilize the same methods of control that Waller called upon. His team — Ambush Bug, Peacemaker, Mirror-Master, Culebra, and Dr. Rodriguez — are fairly undisciplined in their field, with their mission to recover a new clone of Superboy. The US Government and military openly fires on the Squad, suggesting they’re officially enemies of the state, turning the Squad into genuine wildcards — and it’s great.
The Suicide Squad has always, by design, been a bit of an anomaly in the DC Universe. Under the command of Amanda Waller, the team became brutal operatives who would use their dark methods to complete missions that (on paper) at least had a positive effect on the world. The team has been manipulated in the past, and their methods have always put them at odds with the superheroes of the DCU, but they’ve been largely defined by that mission statement. But in recent years, the Squad going effectively rogue has been a good showcase for storytelling — with the team’s recent iterations indulging a rogue roster of international freedom fighters as well as Flagg’s rebellious team against Waller. It repositions the Suicide Squad as genuine wildcards, easily able to cause massive chaos in their pursuit to do something heroic.
It’s an interesting team to see in action, especially during such a tumultuous time for the DC Universe. With the Dark Crisis looming, a wild and largely uncontrollable team attempting to take someone like Lex Luthor hostage for cash could be a recipe for disaster. It promises to position the title with some of the most exciting storytelling possibilities, with the rogue Squadron from before the current iteration also infusing the formerly villainous team with some fresh life. Suicide Squad as a title works best when it indulges in the inherent chaos of the concept, forcing the anti-heroes and former villains into wild situations. With that in mind, Flagg’s leadership — which is already being called into question — helps highlight what makes the Squad an exciting addition to any DC event, especially with Waller not in control.
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