Review Shooter: Suicide Squad 2

Writer: Adam Glass 
Artist: Federico Dallocchio & Andrei Bressan

Making a villain-centric project is always a tough endeavor. You risk losing your audience if the characters are completely irredeemable and unrelatable, but at the same time, you risk softening them up too much to the point they are no longer villains. Gail Simone’s Secret Six was a perfectly balanced series that allowed us to grow and like the characters, while constantly reminding us these aren’t good people. Suicide Squad attempts to follow in that book’s footsteps with a different set of characters, and not always playing for themselves. How does the second issue fare, let’s find out!

Suicide Squad 2 joins us in progress as the newly recruited, and trained, and bomb collared, soldiers are dropped into a quarantine zone. We are given some orders by Amanda Waller and the team is off to do their thing. The bulk of the story revolves around a football stadium that has contracted some form of nano-virus (why is it always nanos!). The team is tasked with retrieving a “package” by any means necessary, which involves them killing a lot of half human/half-robotic people along the way.

While that is the story on the surface, this comic serves more as a team-building/getting-to-know each other comic for both the Suicide Squad and for the reader. While, some readers may be familiar with some characters (I feel like Harley is perhaps the most famous of the Squad), we are introduced to them and their personality. We even find that two members have crossed paths before, as The Black Spider is responsible for putting Voltaic behind bars, which of course eventually led to him being recruited for this team.

We learn about the team’s powers, and even their limits. Deadshot, as his name would imply, is willing to kill any and everything he has to. While El Diablo is a lot more held back on fighting especially for those he feel are innocent as we find out in the comic’s conclusion.

Speaking of the comic’s climax, we learn that the expression, “There’s no honor among thieves.” holds true in this universe as well.

Before, I mention the art, a lot has been made of Amanda Waller’s redesign in the new DC universe, and I won’t argue with it one way or another. I will like to say, I don’t get DC and artists’ intentions to turn Harley’s outfit into a skimpier and skimpier affair. I mean I thought Arkham City/Asylum’s design was skimpy, but it gets even worse in Suicide Squad. Also the blue and red is an interesting color choice.

The art in the book is pretty gruesome, as we see a lot of human bodies being destroyed in various ways in this book. In other DC titles that may be a problem, but this is a book called Suicide Squad, I don’t expect it to be roses and unicorns. The colors on display are really nice, and I’m partial to the panels in which El Diablo and Voltiac use their powers.

New Reader Accessibility: 5– Even though this is the second issue of the series, it is fairly self-contained. Nothing is really needed to read this book since you are kind of introduced to the characters and their situation in better detail. The only thing that may be questionable is Waller’s appearance and why she formed the team.

Recommendation: Read It-I’m not entirely sure if its worth a purchase, but it is worth a read. Solid dialog and good art carry it far.

Earl Rufus

The owner of this little chunk of the internet. Enjoys having a good time and being rather snarky!

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