Suicide Squad #2 – Robbie Thompson, Writer; Eduardo Pansica, Penciller; Julio Ferreira, Inker; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: Robbie Thompson has brought the Suicide Squad back to its roots, and that’s a mixed bag. Gone are the character-driven global adventures of the Tom Taylor run, replaced with a brutal grindhouse tone where almost everyone can die. When we last left off, the Squad was sent on a mission into Arkham to retrieve William Cobb alongside their newest member—Conner Kent, being held against his will. That mission into Arkham then went very wrong when they were caught inside the building during A-Day. The field leader, Peacemaker, was deployed into the building to complete the mission, and that gives us a decent look into the character’s mind. The idea of a brutal warrior who is determined to enforce peace at any cost is pretty clever, but while the character is a nuanced figure in other runs, here the creative team seems to embrace his more extreme traits.
The escape from Arkham is action-packed and brutal with some great action scenes, although it suffers from a little too much chaos and too little characterization for the new players. It’s not a surprise that two of them don’t make it out—one of them might as well have been two days from retirement when he was introduced. The biggest problem is the presence of Superboy—his sudden trapping by Waller, complete with a Kryptonite collar designed to neutralize him, doesn’t really make sense given how many friends he has in the most powerful corners of the hero world. Watching him spar with Peacemaker at the end is interesting, but this isn’t particularly where I want to see the character and I have yet to be convinced. It seems like the team will have a lot of character turnover in the coming months, starting with the addition of a surprising new player from Future State. I’m willing to give it a chance, but there are some kinks to work out.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
