Suicide Squad #5
Written by Rob Williams
Art by Jim Lee
Colors by Alex Sinclair
Back within the safe confines of Belle Reve penitentiary, the Suicide Squad is able to catch their breath and begin the debrief of their most recent mission. By opening the issue with paraphrases of Oppenheimer’s reaction to the atomic bomb and then quickly cutting to the black vault, now in the care of the U.S. Government, it is clear what kind of threat Rob Williams is setting up in his next arc. Although Amanda Waller, Harcourt, and the U.S. Government see Zod as an asset to be controlled and used, to say the rest of Task Force X is a litter wary would be an understatement. The question this issue is, “What is more likely? A crazed Kryptonian is turned into loyal lapdog or a bunch of super villains ignore the bombs in their head in for the sake of the greater good”. Unfortunately for humanity, neither seems very likely.
The issue opens with Flag, Deadshot, and Harley Quinn recounting their latest mission to Amanda Waller as scientist in the background work on analyzing the black vault, and Zod within. Although the Squad’s hesitance to attempt an exploitation of the monster within the black vault is no surprise, what is vocalized for the first time in this series is how Rick Flag’s feelings of disgust toward the entire idea of a Suicide Squad, mocking the very idea when he mentions that the mysterious Karla tried to create his own with the Annihilation Brigade. It will be interesting to see how Flag’s feelings about the Squad and their missions are explored in the coming issues and whether or not it means that he will be the next member to fall. Undeterred by Flag’s misgivings, Waller orders the scientist to continue their investigation into the black vault and even Harley’ near hypnotic pull to the fracture in the multi-verse cannot convince her that this may not be the wisest of pans. After a few panels exploring what each squad member does during their down time it is back to the action as Flag, Katanna, Harcourt, and Waller observe the experiment on and extraction of Zod from the black vault. It is here that the plan to add Zod to the roster of the Suicide Squad is met with less than a ringing endorsement from Flag and his actions at the end of this issue will no doubt reverberate for issues to come.
Although not as action packed as the issues in the first arc, Suicide Squad #5 makes it clear that Rob Williams is trying to tell stories that focus as much on the characters has the explosions they cause. Often an with team book the “headline” characters can pull focus at the expense of supporting players but that is not an issue in this book, with each character getting an opportunity to express their own voice. While Rob Williams writing alone would make this a great book, the addition of Jim Lee’s art makes it one of the top books on the shelf today.
Art by Jim Lee
Colors by Alex Sinclair
Back within the safe confines of Belle Reve penitentiary, the Suicide Squad is able to catch their breath and begin the debrief of their most recent mission. By opening the issue with paraphrases of Oppenheimer’s reaction to the atomic bomb and then quickly cutting to the black vault, now in the care of the U.S. Government, it is clear what kind of threat Rob Williams is setting up in his next arc. Although Amanda Waller, Harcourt, and the U.S. Government see Zod as an asset to be controlled and used, to say the rest of Task Force X is a litter wary would be an understatement. The question this issue is, “What is more likely? A crazed Kryptonian is turned into loyal lapdog or a bunch of super villains ignore the bombs in their head in for the sake of the greater good”. Unfortunately for humanity, neither seems very likely.
The issue opens with Flag, Deadshot, and Harley Quinn recounting their latest mission to Amanda Waller as scientist in the background work on analyzing the black vault, and Zod within. Although the Squad’s hesitance to attempt an exploitation of the monster within the black vault is no surprise, what is vocalized for the first time in this series is how Rick Flag’s feelings of disgust toward the entire idea of a Suicide Squad, mocking the very idea when he mentions that the mysterious Karla tried to create his own with the Annihilation Brigade. It will be interesting to see how Flag’s feelings about the Squad and their missions are explored in the coming issues and whether or not it means that he will be the next member to fall. Undeterred by Flag’s misgivings, Waller orders the scientist to continue their investigation into the black vault and even Harley’ near hypnotic pull to the fracture in the multi-verse cannot convince her that this may not be the wisest of pans. After a few panels exploring what each squad member does during their down time it is back to the action as Flag, Katanna, Harcourt, and Waller observe the experiment on and extraction of Zod from the black vault. It is here that the plan to add Zod to the roster of the Suicide Squad is met with less than a ringing endorsement from Flag and his actions at the end of this issue will no doubt reverberate for issues to come.
Although not as action packed as the issues in the first arc, Suicide Squad #5 makes it clear that Rob Williams is trying to tell stories that focus as much on the characters has the explosions they cause. Often an with team book the “headline” characters can pull focus at the expense of supporting players but that is not an issue in this book, with each character getting an opportunity to express their own voice. While Rob Williams writing alone would make this a great book, the addition of Jim Lee’s art makes it one of the top books on the shelf today.
A Look Inside
