In the old days, the Suicide Squad was full of malcontents, third-stringers and lost souls, consisting of characters who had never really had any characterization to speak of, who were given compelling backstories… and then killed off. Anyone could die, including leader Rick Flagg, and the only irreplaceable component was Amanda Waller (and even she had her position usurped more than once.) The newest incarnation of the Squad features fan-favorite Harley Quinn front and center, even though there’s less than zero chance of her being even injured for a long period of time, changing the dynamic of the team drastically. Add characters like Deadshot (who has been on a team about death, with a death wish, for THREE DECADES) and the new incarnation seems a bit short on the fatal consequences of yore, leading to today’s incarcerated query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) prefers a Squad made of lower tier villains, any of whom could get squished at any moment, asking: Is it an issue when the Suicide Squad contains popular characters that we are all certain won’t die?
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It is. Otherwise, the title ought to be Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad.
It kinda is if they insist playing that “everybody’s at risk” card. Otherwise, its not any more so than other popular characters without major powers, like Batman. He should be dead in every fight Justice League takes part in.
That is like having a team called “Justice League of America”, but they only fight non-powered bank robbers in a small town somewhere in Brazil between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. on Wednesdays. I get having some big names involved, but it loses a lot of the fun when the only danger a character is going to be in is likely losing a limb that will be replaced in the next issue by some snazzy new ultra-super-mecha limb making them even more powerful.
But then again, I’m nearing 40 and am seeing the team name for what it used to be. Maybe I just don’t “get it” or whatever the kids these days say.