Task Force X is back for a new mission but Harley Quinn and Deadshot are uncertain about the new leadership. Can they band together to stop The Revolutionaries or are they doomed to fail! Find out in Suicide Squad #1 by DC Comics!
SUICIDE SQUAD #1
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Editor: Andrea Shea and Brian Cunningham
Publisher: DC
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: December 18th, 2019
Previously on Suicide Squad: Task Force X takes the worst of the worst villains and gives them the option to reduce their sentence. In return, they must go on missions that most certainly mean certain death. If they disobey, the bombs in their heads will explode. When the world needs them most however, the Suicide Squad will band together to do the impossible missions.
CANON FODDER
Deadshot and Harley Quinn are once again called to be apart of Task Force X. They are partnered with The Shark, Zebra-Man, Cavalier, and Magpie; names that don’t give a vote of confidence. Instead of Amanda Waller calling the shots, it seems that a man known as Lok is the mastermind behind this incarnation. Their target is to bring a group called The Revolutionaries led by Osita. Osita is trying to prevent wars and is planning an attack on three submarines in Australia and one of these submarines houses a nuclear warhead.
When the Suicide Squad engages with the Revolutionaries; both sides take heavy losses. Deadshot realizes that the people Lok chose were simply bait. Additionally, instead of killing or arresting the revolutionaries; he orders Deadshot to shoot them full of bombs and force them to become part of the Suicide Squad. Realizing that there is a new status quo; Deadshot and Quinzel looks towards Waller who reveals that she is no longer in charge.
HUMANIZING THE VILLAINS
Whenever you have a villain team there needs to be someone who is the bigger and eviler villain. In this case, it is this new leader Lok who debuts in this comic. And man does Tom Taylor makes this character an absolute ____ bag. I’m interested to know more about him because he is ruthless and somehow has the authority to bring The Revolutionaries into the Suicide Squad. He is a smart character that doesn’t seem to care about the casualties. I thought Amanda Waller was a hard pill to swallow but I think I like this one even less.
Suicide Squad has always tried to make villains more likable. Take this new character, Osita. She is a terrorist and even if I can agree with some of her ideas, I can’t agree with her actions. Deadshot and Harley Quinn went through the same treatment where you should dislike them but they have qualities that are relatable. The writing team introduced a lot of characters and they did a good job connecting us to them. Take T.N, Teen, a revolutionary with the power to explode. We get a charming scene between him and Osita that attaches us to the character. Although we are attached to the character just for Lok to kill him but that is another point. Controlling this many new characters at once is difficult and Tom Taylor does this with great skill.
DIVERSE CAST
The book also features a diverse group of characters from many different places. The Revolutionaries features characters from South America, Hong Kong, Somalia, Australia, and France. They even have two Atlanteans in their team to round out their representation. The creative team draws and colors each character to be unique. In my opinion, a good creative team is one where you can tell the difference between similar characters and I think they did masterfully here.
BOTTOM LINE: INTRIGUED
I was on board with the book. When searching for books this week, I picked this up because I heard they were featuring new characters. I love new ideas and I think this book’s cast of characters can be a strong foundation to tell unique stories. My only qualm is that the book didn’t seem to set up much for issue #2. This book is a good introduction/prologue but I wanted to see more of Act 1. Strong recommendation from me. 4.5 out of 5 for Suicide Squad #1 by DC Comics!
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Suicide Squad #1
Take this new character, Osita. She is a terrorist and even if I can agree with some of her ideas, I can’t agree with her actions.
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Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com