Suicide Squad: Difference between revisions

A team of expendable criminals and damaged heroes in [[The DCU]] who are sent on missions expected to have a very high mortality rate.

 

 

There was also a [[World War II]] team called the Suicide Squad, or possibly two of them. One was a feature in ''Star-Spangled War Stories'' from `1963-1966 fighting "The War That Time Forgot"; it was a top secret Ranger outfit trained to handle missions ordinary volunteers would not survive. The other was a [[The Dirty Dozen]]-style collection of military riff-raff and criminals assembled to handle [[Suicide Mission|Suicide Missions]]. It was retconned into existence to provide a through line from the World War Two version, through the Fifties version to the new [[Suicide Squad]] debuting in the 1980s.

The Squad has since been reformed under Amanda Waller's leadership, appearing in ''[[Fifty Two|52]]'', ''[[Checkmate]]'' and the limited series ''Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag'', which brought back Rick Flagg Jr. as a brainwashed pawn of General Eiling.

 

 

The Suicide Squad made an appearance on ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' under its original name of Task Force X, as the word "suicide" was considered off limits for the young audience. Therein the team consisted of [[Adam Baldwin|Rick Flagg]], Deadshot, Plastique, Captain Boomerang, and Clock King, working under the purview of Amanda Waller.

It has also been mentioned on [[Smallville]] as part of their version of [[Checkmate]]. Allegedly a movie of the concept is in production over at Warner.

 

 

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* [[Black and Gray Morality]]

* [[Black Helicopter]]: Sheba

* [[Boomerang Comeback]]: Captain Boomerang does it to Jaculi of the Jihad in the second issue. Surprsingly badass.

* [[Boxed Crook]]: The criminals were offered shorter sentences in exchange for their services--the "stick" was an explosive bracelet that would go off if the wearer got too far from the team leader, or at the leader's discretion.

* [[Clingy MacGuffin]] / [[Instant Allegiance Artifact]]: The Thinker helmet. It has no will of its own, but it's suggested it amplifies the negative aspects of the personality of the wearer. Combined with the massive intellect boost, most people are likely to get very easily hooked. Amanda herself, not the most shining example of morality, wore it briefly to locate the second Thinker and began developing the addiction, and proposed using it as a piece of her personal arsenal. However, she was broken out of it by an old friend, who asked whether he was speaking to Amanda... or to the helmet. She was so ''pissed'' at being ''manipulated'' by a non-sentient ''thing'', [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|she shatters the helmet]], [[This Is Sparta|screaming]] ''[[This Is Sparta|SHE'S]]'' [[This Is Sparta|in charge]]. She ''very'' briefly regrets doing so.

{{quote| ''Amanda Waller'': [[This Is Sparta|I AM IN CHARGE HERE!]]}}

** Even then, nobody was safe. One arc memorably ended with the bulk of the supporting cast dead in a mission that was suicidal, even for the squad. {{spoiler|Only the goddamn Batman should try pulling a gun on Darkseid.}}

* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Right around the time the 90s [[Dork Age]] was starting up, with overstylized costumes and ridiculous storylines, the book took this approach and made it work. The team became mercenaries for hire, saboteurs and spies, and lost the costumes entirely for upwards of 20 issues. The body count got higher, the crazy people got crazier, and none of it felt gratuitous.

* [[Only I Can Make It Go]]: Briscoe and Sheba

* [[Outlaw Couple]]: Punch and Jewelee

* [[Pregnant Hostage]]: In the second issue of the 2011 series, it is revealed that the [[MacGuffin]] the Squad is sent into the stadium to retrieve is a preganant woman. Although, this being ''Suicide Squad'', all is not as it seems.

* [[Psychic Nosebleed]]: Amanda gets one when wearing the Thinker helmet.