Review – Suicide Squad #1

Review – Suicide Squad #1

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Robbie Thompson

Artist: Eduardo Pansica

Inker: Julio Ferreira

Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo

Letterist: Wes Abbott

Release Date: March 2021

Let’s Begin:

Ever since the feature film released in 2016, The Suicide Squad has changed into a completely new beast. The past 5 years has (for better or worse) been a unique half-decade for the team becoming more mainstream and emphasizing the importance of many crucial members of the team. Clearly, the series about a group of expendable D-list villains forced to work together on a covert black ops mission without knowing who would live or die at any moment had changed into something new. While Amanda Waller was still calling the shots, the members of the team seemed to become less and less expendable as they cemented themselves as permanent members of the team who were mainstream characters in the DC universe. Unlike the original conception of the series, there are clearly some characters that are untouchable. Everyone knows that Harley Quinn is going to make it to the end of the series…whether this is a negative thing or not depends on who you ask. However, one thing is for certain; The Suicide Squad has been something different. With a brand new movie by James Gunn coming this year, the Suicide Squad has the potential to enter a brand new era, and Robbie Thompson is looking to help make that happen.

Guess Who’s Back:

Waller’s back. And much to the dismay of Rick Flag, she has a crazy plan to turn the Suicide Squad into it’s most absolute form, Task Force Z. Amanda Waller sends Peacemaker and a few other obscure villains like Film Freak (yes, Film Freak) on a mission in Arkham Asylum to retrieve William Cobb, the Talon himself. While the Squad makes light work of the officers guarding the Asylum, Talon himself proves to be enough of a challenge on his own, as he seems to have forgotten who he is and is immediately hostile toward the team. Meanwhile, Rick Flag is clearly not a big fan of Waller’s secret plan, but Amanda isn’t having it so she electrocutes him and throws him in chains. It quickly becomes clear though that Flag isn’t the only one Waller has locked away, and the chains on this surprise prisoner definitely aren’t gonna be staying on for long. As we cut back to the Squad in Arkham Asylum, each member is dispatched one after the other by a release of Joker gas in the vicinity and the overflow of expendable guards trying to subdue them until only 2 remained. With Peacemaker and Talon retreating up flights of stairs with Asylum guards gaining from below and green toxins filling their only escape route, the two prepare to fight off the horde of officers quickly approaching as the issue comes to a close.

Not Here To Show Off:

The art in this book done by Eduardo Pansica is very good. The style complements the action focused storytelling by providing dynamic scenes that show the ability of the characters skills. The obscure villains utilized within are made to look powerful and cool despite their obscurity and quirkiness. The characters specifically are drawn with great detail and full page spreads are done very well. Overall, this is a clean art style for such a muddy and murky cast of characters.

Some Kind Of Suicide Squad:

Ultimately, this new Suicide Squad team is refreshing and intriguing enough to warrant your attention. I wasn’t going into this issue with much of any expectations, but this new set of squad members and whatever Waller has planned got me invested enough to want to continue reading the series. All of the characters seem like unique and sensible fits for the Squad with Peacemaker and Talon specifically peaking my interest to see where these characters are taken. The lack of any mainstay Suicide Squad members may throw off some fans of the series, but I think that is exactly what this series needed. The uniqueness of this story in comparison to recent storylines gives it a sense of unpredictability that a title like the Suicide Squad greatly benefits from. Every aspect of this issue seems to give off a unique energy different than what this title has had before. This year seems to be a big one for the Suicide Squad, and if you are looking forward to the upcoming movie or looking for a unique new title, this is a really solid first issue that should at least warrant picking up the next issue to see what happens next.

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Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below for our Review of Suicide Squad #1 and give us your rating of the comic if you’ve also read it.

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