The Suicide Squad is going to space. Now that Waller is no longer possessed and the Squad is all back together, the team needs to investigate what caused the explosion on the moon. So sit back, grab your space suits, and get ready for a bumpy ride with a rocky start of the unveiling of past histories!
Squad #27
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Barnaby Bagenda
Cover Artist: Stjepan Sejic
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Publisher: DC Comics
What You need to know:
Waller was possessed by Gulag (Metahuman of the Annihilation Brigade), and kidnapped by Director Karla. Karla explains to Waller that they are “The People” and that all metahumans good and bad need to be destroyed. Karla then shows his 16 Suicide Squads around the world and tells Waller of his plans for “The People.” Waller escaped from Karla and fell victim to Gulag. Gulag made Waller and the Suicide Squad go after Killer Frost and Batman; Waller then left a tracking implant in Killer Frost to find her later on.
The squad successfully captured Killer Frost but hurt Batman, who ended up getting away. Batman bandages himself up and goes after Killer Frost to save her. Harley Quinn and Katana, who realize that Waller is not herself, help Batman save Killer Frost, get away, and fight off Waller. Katana with her sword the “Soul Taker” killed Gulag and then unpossessed Waller. Now that Waller is herself, she goes after Karla and his Suicide Squads. upon reaching his base, Waller finds Karla dead. Harley sees the other squads; she doesn’t want the teams to be Waller’s slaves, so she sets off the bombs in their brains, killing all other squads but her own.
Waller meets with Batman and Killer Frost; she says sorry and hands over the Joseph protocols. In the Epilogue, there’s an explosion on the moon and a mysterious ship with two people named Karin Grace and Rick Flag.
What You’ll Find Out:
The Suicide Squad is all back together at Belle Reeve Penitentiary taking a break from missions, except for Rick Flag who died (Earthlings on Fire Suicide Squad #19). Everything has calmed down and Waller is herself again. Captain Boomerang is seen sitting on the toilet, eating chicken, and watching the news of the recent explosion on the moon. The guards come in and tell the squad it is time for lights out. Waller is seen watching from above talking to Katana about Rick Flag being dead, and how she needs a leader she can trust. She appoints Katana as the new leader. Katana looks somewhat shocked, but her sword tells her she is worthy.
As the members of the squad get ready to sleep, a small robot sneaks into the Penitentiary into Waller’s office. Deadshot notices this robot and shoots it down. Deadshot tells Waller that her “security is becoming porous,” and also mentions a deal where he could have a weekend with his daughter if he was Waller’s personal bodyguard. Waller agrees. Deadshot asks ” Who wants you dead this time?” The scene cuts to a lab where the Squad is analyzing the robot. Deadshot notices that there’s a word written on its side saying “Argent”. Waller’s eyes widen and demand to see the trajectory of the robot and where it originated from.
Captain Boomerang looks up the location and finds nothing but space. Katana looked into the robot’s system and found it is dated to the 1960’s and also found a map to an Airfield Nevada test facility. Waller splits the Suicide Squad into two groups. Deadshot, El Diablo, and the Enchantress (Team Beta) go to the Nevada testing facility. Katana, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, and Captain Boomerang (team alpha) hop into a spaceship and go to where the robot came from, possibly a cloaked orbiting station. As team Alpha launches into space, Captain Boomerang screams “Wanker! ” at Killer Croc, who threw up in Boomerang’s space suit.
When the team gets to space, they see an aged, massive space station. Along the side of the station, Team Alpha sees the word Argent again. The team docks and enters the station. We then go to team beta at the Nevada training facility. They enter to what appears to be an airplane boneyard. Deadshot looks around and sees a ghostlike figure in one of the planes.
Back to Team Alpha in space, the team is ambling through the space station with Captain Boomerang leading. He holds his Boomerang out hoping that it’s the secret weakness for any aliens they encounter, but just as he says that they bump right into an extraterrestrial! Harley springs into action to fight the Alien. Killer robots also appear saying that intruders will be “destroyed as per order of President Truman.” The team then realizes how old the station is, and a mysterious figure tells the alien, Argent, to put Harley down. The Alien does so, as two characters emerge identifying themselves as Captain Rick Flag (Rick Flag’s grandfather) and Dr. Karin Grace. Flag and Grace say they are all that’s left of the original Suicide Squad, and it’s up to the current team to finish their last mission for Earth’s safety.
We go back to the Nevada training facility where team beta go into the plane where they saw the light (ghost figure) and survey. Deadshot finds a file that says Task Force X on it. Enchantress see’s pictures of “Old ones, long dead and rotting.” El Diablo finds a diary about what happened to the Suicide Squad, written by King Faraday. Faraday ran the outfit called Argent and implies that he can tell you everything about the “Secret History of Task Force X.”
What Just Happened?
This issue was a very informative piece, and it had quite a bit going on. I had to re-read a few times to piece everything together. It was like a puzzle or mystery novel. The robot was a great way to start things up and introduce the Suicide squad’s next chapter to their story. The “Argent clue” leaves me wondering what exactly is the meaning and its purpose tying into the Suicide Squad. We see the word again on the side of the space station, Captain Rick Flag references it to the Alien as a pet name, and King Faraday calls it an outfit that he runs.
Faraday also mentions the “Secret History of Task Force X.” So many questions run through my head wondering was there more Suicide Squads? If so what happened to them? Why have they kept it a secret? This story is baffling, mystery-genre writing, but I like that. This issue peaks my interest and makes me want to know more. If the writers make this history of the Suicide Squad right, it positively will progress the story along in an exciting way and spark more attention for the readers.
I also enjoy how the writers leave little clues. For example, who is King Faraday and what is his purpose? Are the pictures on the wall that the Enchantress saw the original Suicide Squad? What’s in the Task Force X file that Deadshot found? I feel like all these questions will have some significance later on in future issues.
Katana, as the new leader, is an excellent choice. I feel she will bring much to the table for the Suicide Squad but we will have to see how long her tenure as a leader will last. I can also see Deadshot in a possible leadership role. Overall, this was an excellent story for those who like mystery and unknown pasts.
Additionally, the artwork was great at certain times, but I feel it lacked in The coloring and the facial feature areas. The faces did not seem to have the detail as in previous issues. The space suits remind me of the character Cyborg, but with far less detail. I believe the artist should have capitalized more on the suits and put more detail into them. The cover shows Harley Quinn in a spacesuit colored red, white, and black with Diamond shapes. The spacesuit is more original and embodies Harley. The artists could have done something similar for the rest of Team Alpha.
Rating: 8/10
Final Thought: This issue brought a lot of perspective to the background of the Suicide Squad and showed many potentials. I gave this issue a high rating mainly because of the solid storyline. The rating could have been higher but the art was not the best. I know the artists could do better with detail. Overall, there’s a bright future in this arc.