Secret Six #5: Hitting the Wall

Amanda Waller gets the character oriented Secret Six treatment in Secret Six #5. The tenor of the series until this issue suggested that the team’s search for Waller would fail–that the series’ real focus was on the characters’ Waller-related trauma and whether it would heal or not. In that sense, Waller’s actual presence is almost a surprise, despite the fact that her appearance makes total sense. In some ways Maines does treat Waller like a plot point, especially on the issue’s final page. But before the story gets to that point, Maines evaluates her with as keen an eye as she has Secret Six’s other characters.

A big part of how Secret Six #5 gets to its examination of Amanda Waller is via Dreamer. She comes face to face with the effects of the memory wards she placed on Waller to keep her from remembering what she learned before and during Absolute Power. Maines makes no effort to rehabilitate Waller. Nor does she try to make her necessarily sympathetic. But it’s hard not to pity Waller when Maines reveals that Dreamer’s wards resulted in Waller injuring herself trying to claw into her head to get at memories she knows she had. But it’s nothing more than a reflexive pity. Maines even has Dreamer express it which creates a sense of tragedy despite how horrible Amanda Waller is.

Cruz helps this reflexive pity along by drawing Waller slouched over as she sits. The scrubs she wears are ill fitting and baggy. As Waller looks down at a table, her brow casts a black shadow over her eyes. Cruz depicts an Amanda Waller lower than perhaps she has ever been–and certainly little more than a shadow of herself during Absolute Power.

Related to Waller’s story in Secret Six #5 is the continuation of Jay’s arc. After splitting off from his teammates in Secret Six #4, he hacked into computer files trying to find out anything he could about Waller’s involvement with Gamorra. Maines keeps the sense of tragedy going when Jay finds out the truth and it’s not as deeply personal as he expected it to be.

Jay looks more powerful in Secret Six #5 than he has at any point in the series. Cruz makes him look particularly sinister in an early dream sequence splash page. Jay stands against a black background, fully black shading under his brow over his eyes as well as black outlining his face in place of his usual colored costume headpiece. The rest of his body is excessively shaded. Beredo reinforces this sinister appearance further by dulling the blues of Jay’s costume. That sinister look is gone when Jay appears in the real world later in the issue. But even there Cruz hardens his emotions with short, thin lines emphasizing his cheekbones with a clenched jaw as well as a tightened brow.

Beredo’s subtle work certainly enhances Jay in the dream sequence, but the more attention grabbing work is every bright bolt of energy and every gunshot. Indeed, in that opening dream sequence where Beredo helps Jay look sinister, an electric blue lightning bolt seems to provide actual illumination. These bright colors and contrast moments are common in Secret Six #5.

Wands’ bubble and caption organization skills are on display late in Secret Six #5. The issue speeds up after Waller is revealed. Paradoxically, during this faster climactic sequence, the issue gets much more text heavy. Wands handles this well, largely staying out of the way of the visual story progression.