Suicide Squad Black Files #4 – Mike W. Barr, Jai Nitz, Writers; Philippe Briones, Artist; Scot Eaton, Penciller; Wayne Faucher, Colorist; Gabe Eltaeb, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 6/10
The main Suicide Squad title has ended for now, but Suicide Squad Black Files #4 is still going with its two stories focused on Katana and El Diablo. The Katana story, written by veteran Squad creator Mike Barr, is the weaker of the two. It had some interesting elements in the early issues, with Katana wandering through the soul realm in her sword accompanied by her late husband. Now, though, it’s turned into a generic bodyswap adventure. Lady Eve, the lover of the leader of Kobra, has stolen Katana’s body and is using it for nefarious purposes. Katana, meanwhile, is in Eve’s body – but the Squad and Amanda Waller don’t believe her and are determined to lock her up, no matter how much information she gives them or how many times she saves their lives. The most interesting part of this segment was Halo’s solo adventures, as she tries to figure out what’s happened to her foster mother.
The Suicide Squad Black story has been the more compelling of the two since the start, with a unique take on a magical squad. But this issue takes a bit of a step back in the aftermath of the seeming death of the Squad. Amanda Waller has been called on the carpet by the government over the disaster that caused the deaths of the team, but she’s able to convince them to give her another chance with the reveal that El Diablo survived. She deputizes the traditional Squad to team up with him, but they quickly get possessed by Faust. No surprise, that leads into the return of Suicide Squad Black.
They’ve been trapped in another dimension, and El Diablo manages to get them back in time for a final battle with Faust. This storyline has had quite a few intriguing characters teased, but it doesn’t really give them enough time or development. Potential, but the execution isn’t quite there yet.
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Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
