Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1 – Nicole Maines, Writer; Eddy Barrows, Penciller; Eber Ferreira, Inker; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Amanda Waller is now firmly ensconced as the main villain of the DCU, leading up to the Absolute Power event this summer showrun by Mark Waid. But until then, she’s consolidating her power—and that includes turning the Suicide Squad into more of a global power. She’s gone far beyond plucking villains from Belle Reve and forcing them to serve her as cannon fodder, as her new squad seems to have been straight-up kidnapped. Harley Quinn and Bizarro weren’t currently imprisoned, Deadeye is family, Black Alice is a minor, Clock King is… well, he probably fits, and Dreamer is a hero being blackmailed into this. But Waller has the power, and she’s using it—and she plans to use this new team to infiltrate Gammora and keep powerful weapons from falling into the hands of insurgents. And to get there, she needs Dreamer to use her access to the Dream realm to transport the rest of the team.
On some levels, this is a really good book. Dreamer is a great POV character, the plot is strong, and her interaction with Harley is top-notch—especially in an emotionally powerful segment after an unexpected casualty to the mission. Other characters, like Black Alice and Clock King, are appealingly creepy, and it’s great to see the Gammora plots followed up on from Superman: Son of Kal-El (which Maines had some involvement in). But other characters feel a little more flawed, which is common in a large ensemble cast. Bizarro isn’t portrayed very clearly—he’s not smart or dangerous enough to be the Bizarro World version, and seems too aggressive and dumb to be Jason Todd’s friend. And then, of course, there’s Amanda Waller, who hasn’t so much jumped off the slippery slope as strapped on a jetpack. Still, as a continued spotlight for Dreamer and especially as a series debut for Maines, it’s a very strong start.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
