Suicide Squad #20

Y'know, I used to review these all the time before it became way too hard - it's a whole new level trying to type something when your arms keep getting thrown up in the air and my typist left because she thought I was swearing at her when I read this stuff. However, now there's a new brain-head doing the series I thought I'd give it another go. 

The cover art here shows some wannabe flesh, a sad little skeleton still holding on to the freaking grenade. There are times in life where it pays to drop the ball. Or pear shaped object with a pin. 

Around Skeletor is little photos of the Squad, in case we forget who they are. For a 'secret' team, there sure is a lot of this photo stuff going on. That's a problem for another day. Me? I can't get past Hardly Quinn's ugly piggy nose and the fact that Deadshot looks like a scrapped plan for a robot in a third rate sci fi show. 

This volume opens up to a variety of views of the squad just doing their thing. 

Deadshot being restrained Clockwork Orange style, the electric zombie and Hardly Quinn forgetting how to sit down properly, some guy who's probably a throwback to the original, classic Suicide Squad but just looks like a Hush knock-off to me, King Shark eating about a dozen Subways before dinner and someone named 'Classified.' As if his profile didn't give anything away. 

Joy of all joys! Harley Quinn is wearing pants! And... oh my word, possibly in the right freaking colours!!

We see two options for future or current team members - some Charles Xavier knock off writer villain and Cheetah. Another apparent super villain who stands around monologuing and taking forever to carry out the plans has a companion this time round to discuss how evil they are and how inevitable things are.... blah blah blah. You know, back in MY day Amanda Waller got shit DONE!

King Shark orders goofy sounding takeout but receives a delivery of evil-Waller hologram woman. Harley the chair-less one and Hush Mark 2 play angry German scrabble with a zombie and start a smack down. So basically, this team can't work as a team, so Waller brings in Hush PT 2 to encourage team work.... by... breaking their spirits and bones.

Huh. Sounds a lot like some of my old workplaces/educational facilities. Hey, I turned out fine! Fine meaning I hate people and resent authority in a way which can never be defined without yelling and or spitting uncontrollably.
..................Cool.

The art work seems to be fairly steady here, I like how Harley has a fairly healthy looking body. Although, now that her breasts aren't in our faces like ghastly ghost watermelons - it goes without saying that she has to be draped over something showing off her legs. These legs are thankfully covered so she looks a lot more like her Arkham City counterpart and someone figured out that she's supposed to be red and black not stupid colours. I see she has a cape, yet I cannot see it draping down her back. Has it shrunk?

So Hush II tried to kill the zombie, Harley stares blankly. For some reason her nails and gauntlets are both red instead of the alternating colours. Still no sign of a cape in any of the frames and she's probably even eaten her gum. Or, stuck it under the table which she will also refuse to clean up.

Deadshot's recovering from being shot - again. What is he, a one trick pony now? Waller delivers a devastating revelation - duhn duhn duhn.... we bring you back from the deads!
Which would be shocking, but I'm pretty sure he already knew. Just like Harley in the last issue knew/forgot that Waller had super duper contacts in their eyes. As if you wouldn't know if you had contacts in your eyes either! 

I'm picturing all the super deadly Suicide Squad team being tended to by Waller, putting in their contacts and plucking them out on a daily basis, picking up their prescriptions, taking them to the eye care clinic, putting in the eye drops... ahh, home sweet home. 

Hey, maybe that's what the torture chair is really for.

Harley Quinn has her chance to break, with some weird Joker knock off thing. I like the kitty jammies. Seems very Harley and better than seeing her in her stupid action suit all the time. She looks like she's going to bed though, after a quick 'read me and I'll kill you' diary doodle - so not sure why she wants to sleep in her stupid latex eye makeup...things.. but anyway.

Pictures on the wall kinda remind me of Batwoman and her evil cult twin sister, or something. 

'How did you know. How.' Harley questions without questioning. Good sort of question, sort of Harley. Well, as we've seen over several comics - like Mad Love, and the Harley Quinn original run - doctor and patient chit chats be recorded. Waller nicked them, like DC nicks stuff from it's back catalogue. You're not that special, Hardly Quinn.

Waller lays down some ground rules.. which would have been a better idea round about issue one but ya know.. 

She flat out tells them that the team sucks - finally! And like any bad manager attempting incentive, tells them there's no way out and they'll be here for a long time, dying and being revived to work in a shit hole. 

Again, sounds like my last workplace. Ick. 

Hush-bot acknowledges that it's time to strike at Harley Quinn. Fake-Joker has a much less imaginative and un-Joker-like was to kill Harley Quinn. Previous uses of flowers have included much more manipulative tricks like a hidden bomb in the bunch or a much more elaborate dance including the modelling of a chequerboard, leading Harley to believe they were killing Batman but the dance ended in her death. See? Joker can be fickle and kill on a whim but someone important to him has to be offed in a elaborate and more importantly FUNNY way. 

Harley Quinn once asked Joker why he didn't just shoot Batman and the Joker couldn't comprehend it. Of course it'd be simpler, cheaper and more effective to do it that way but it doesn't meet the Joker's theatrical need to be seen, and to be hilarious. Obviously this isn't the Joker but it's still a disappointment. 

'I've been in this room with you for like, two seconds but you're so cooool! Squeee!!'
...barf.
Meanwhile, things turn ugly in King Shark's cell when a bitch slappin' goes down. 

So the slappin' hoe was just a meat bag on a robo body mixed with pheromones and blood pissin' electricity. Man, Waller really has it in for King Shark. Well, at least he chomped the hell out of that random whore-bot. Harley gets the knife and prepares to sign Joker-wannabes man boobies when blammo! Hush II takes him out - you gotta keep 'em separated! Hey!

Waller has a migraine over her staff being so stupid. Well, for argument's sake you could say that he is definitely incapacitated now.

Action hero blah-dom ensues.
'I saved you.' 'Oh, my hero!' chirps Harley playing along as she stashes the knife in or around her pussy. Cat. Romper suit. Heh. 

Deadshot watches Voltaic bleed out and then explode electrically on the operating table and promises and/or states to 'kill Waller.' Please! Do so!! 

Just a side note, Deadshot was actually good in the Secret Six and SHOT Waller because he was bad ass and didn't give a crap bout being on her team. Just sayin'. 

Shock twist! Another Gotham goofball has ended up against his will in Belle Reeve, this one with a mummy complex and a hard on for Waller and also the Bat Family. But again, no ones really surprised. At least Batgirl's free of him now, which is something.