Suicide Squad New52 #19

June 2013
"Red Rain"

Wow, a Suicide Squad cover that DOESN'T prominently feature Harley Quinn! This issue came out in June 2013 and I am still deeply shocked to this day.

Nevermind. 

The art is definitely improving at times - like here. This opening shot of various emergency services attending the explosion at Red Orchid's penthouse looks really good. Before, we were lucky to get a decent background, but this scene looks REAL.

But, it is still Suicide Squad in the New52 so it just has to do something cringe to ruin it. This time it's Deadshot having a mental whinge about Yo-Yo and everyone else. He especially hates on Voltaic because he wouldn't stay dead. Well.. hate to break it to you buddy but neither did you or Harley, sooo.... maybe ease up on that vitriol, huh?

Anyway Amanda Waller shows up from like nowhere and pulls Deadshot's butt out of the falling rubble. Deadshot reacts the way you would being spooned by a collective of venomous snakes - "I'd feel better if you were a bit further away from me....Thanks for the cuddle, but!"

Turns out Harley is alive, big surprise there. I think I would enjoy this series a LOT more if I just had some explanations about her costume. We never, ever find out what's on her face or why it keeps changing colour and texture. Her colours and the length of her costume change without warning and she seems to wear socks and sandals for the most part but now?



Deadshot sees this, and assumes Harley died in the collapse. Maybe that's an easy mistake to make, seeing as how there is a definite, solid shape to these boots.. like someone's legs are still in them.

 At one point while 'mourning' Harley, Deadshot even lays his hand on the boots and they retain their shape.

Now, it's important to note that in the LAST ISSUE we saw that Harley had thermal knit thigh highs under sneaker looking boots. Like the cover art.

This next panel when Harley's revealed to be alive... well, she's apparently got tights again and they are a'flappin' in the breeze. Is it too much to have a little bit of consistency? A modicum, even? I mean, sure, have your fake out death but do it without sacrificing continuity! Hmm... probably asking too much there.

Anyway, like I said, Harley's totally alive and still fixated on literally everything being boring to her. For someone who revels in crazy, she sure gets bored a lot. Me thinks she doth protest too much!

Plus what's this mushy ass smile Deadshot's got going on!
No! Bad ship! Bad ship! Stop!
Impure! 

Impure!!!

After Waller helps them escape via the garbage chute (and we sort of skip over everyone else we thought was dead having their own fake out reveals) Deadshot realises he missed his afternoon nap so him and his shiny codpiece have a tantrum at Waller seemingly out of the blue.

He dares her to kill him, so Waller presses her garage fob and scares the absolute poop out of him.









No, wait, she turned their pagers off. Waller requests the team's help with a personal vendetta. She reveals she was in a similar squad back in the day and boy howdy, she turned out fine and well adjusted. ................. Um, anyway, she needs to get that Kurt Russel.

Don't we all? Wait, this is Marvel! 

We mean Kurt Lance.. who's a thing in DC apparently. Well, we spent all of last issue pretending he wasn't important, didn't we Waller? Now all of that pretence is out the proverbial window, and splashing into the sewer along with the rest of the Squad who find themselves guilt tripped into helping Waller out. Betcha regretting not having those boots now, aren't ya, Harley?

Speaking of, Harley and Waller have a really awkward woman-talk bonding session. Or, at least what passes for it in DC.
Attempted conversation about torture talk.... wait, that's actually just like what me and my bestie talk about all the time. Okay, scrap that.

Let's just be glad they aren't discussing their complexions or anything. Waller isn't bad but Harley has the same blue tinge that the Corpse Bride had.
Actually, there could be a few comparisons made between those two.. tattered outfit, deathly pallor, bad taste in lovers, obsession with romance, being a bit more liberated than other girls.... I guess the comparisons end at being buried in the woods versus walking through the shit of Gotham City. Eurgh.






Oh look, after Waller and Harley struggle through their awkward conversation, Harleen decides to butt in and have an equally awkward conversation (monologue?) with Harley. Now I'm not going to harp on about how I think this whole voices in my head thing is a bullshit concept - but this irks me. We've already established that Harley hears Harleen in her head. So, when she hears this voice in the sewer she's like 'who are you?' like she's not only got voices, murderin' and stereotypical 'crazy' antics but she's also got shit for a memory.

Or does she? Does that last little bit from Harleen mean that Harley was just joking about having the voices in her head? Acting? But the whole time she did have Harleen in there?

That actually makes the whole thing more interesting about Harley's character. If she was having it on and manipulating the people around her and what they perceive of her.. well, that's so much more fun and in character for her. On the other hand, if it's just shitty writing and poor continuity, lack of understanding about mental conditions... that puts it in severe lamo territory.

So, back in issue #9 we had Harley come back from near death, and telling the psychiatrist that she was now Harleen - that Harley was out of action temporarily. She acted more sane then.


Later in issue #11, Harley tells Deadshot that there are three personalities.. herself and two others - and that Harleen was not fully in control..... "yet".

 







She goes on to say 'we both' - as in it's just her (Harley) and Harleen... or else she means just them talking about agreeing on who uses what limbs or I may have misunderstood the whole thing, maybe she meant her physical self, and her two internal voices of Harley and Harleen were the ones who needed rest.

That makes more sense. But then less sense as to why she's surprised that Harleen shows up again. Is this the ultimate comic version of the Unreliable Narrator? Not fair to show us internal monologue from a voice if it is.

I don't know, I don't think anyone really knows. After all times these voices come out, Harley's been through some trauma - Joker's 'death', being shot, being tortured by Joker and now, being reminded of that torture by Waller.. who watched and did nothing. Plus now she's like.. chilling in the sewers. That's a bit traumatic. So maybe it's a coping mechanism, like if she needs someone stronger to take the reins she can fall back on Harleen. Although, it may not be a voice, it could just be something that she wants to believe in, that she's not entirely alone. Besides, doesn't 'Harleen's' voice remind you a bit of the Joker?

They're both fighting over who 'made' Harley - could it be that 'Harleen' is a way of getting some independence from Joker's hold now they've broken up? A way to assert her own personality?
That's actually a buttload more interesting now. This Harley would definitely have issues finding her own identity post-Joker, because Joker literally did make her. We've already seen Classic Harley use shoulder devil Joker as a coping mechanism or crutch, ignoring shoulder angel Harleen back in her series. This is just kinda, a weird, not as obvious or clear version of that.

Here 'Joker' is an excuse to get back into the life she loves. 

Anyway, let's get back into the plot, or what passes for it. Harley stops and freaks out in the sewer and everyone abandons her apart from Deadshot who comes back for her and almost gets punched in the face. A very similar thing happened way back at the start of the series.

They hear a 'bam bam bam' noise and rush down the sewer to find their comrades... instead coming across the next big villain....

Duhn duhn duhhhhn! Uh, I mean, Bam Bam Baaaaaaaammmm!

.................Just kidding, it's some sewer guy named Trench belonging to a gang called the Swamp Angels. Aaaaand none of those names match up for a guy living in the SEWER. It's like a guy living in a toxic wasteland calling himself Lake and hanging out with the Meadow Angels. I kinda like Trench not having the super convenient villain name but at the same time, it's stupid. Like if he was called Bob or something. Takes the magic out.

Harley's Bar Mitzvah joke and business card is kind of funny.. unless you try to figure out when she had them made, how long she's been carrying them around.. WHERE she's been keeping them and when she expects to actually get out from the Squad/imprisonment to attend a celebration anyway. 

Also, we don't really find out what Trench did to Waller/King Shark/Voltaic - they're just sort of lying there on a platform. Trench appears later, and must have been swimming behind Harley and Deadshot.. not sure why they weren't attacked but whatever, main character armour I guess. 

Now, Deadshot says 'NO, YOU SWAMP ANGELS CAN'T BE ALIVE, BLACK SPIDER SAID REGULUS KILLED YOU, SO NYEHHHH' 

Gosh, for a world weary, know it all assassin, Deadshot sure is naive enough to believe everything he's told. It's pretty outrageous to believe that the guy that can turn into sewer material could escape being murdered in a sewer? Especially when the guy who told you was a brainwashed traitor, and there are two people on your team that came back from the dead. But yeah, you just believe anything you hear, buddy. 

I couldn't remember what Black Spider was saying anyway, so I went back and read the relevant part of issue #10 and it was as clear as the vaguely water like material the Squad's been dancing around in for the last hour or so.

Black Spider says he's been hunting drug peddlers, finding out they were hiding in the sewers. Some random, smoky, Clayface blob thing appears and tries to kill Black Spider, but Gotham as a whole flushes it's toilet and the incy wincy spider got blasted away into a side tunnel where he found a bunch of dead guys on meat hooks and shit.

Now..... Black Spider says 'someone beat him there' - making us think that it was someone from Regulus' side, but it sure looks like a Swamp Angel - by definition - a super powered outcast who lives in the sewers and not a.... not a swamp. We're not sure if this blob thing is defending the drug smuggler or fighting Spider for murder rights. We also aren't sure if the dead guys were Swamp Angels or rival gangs or what. Hell, we don't even know if Regulus murdered them. Again - Black Spider and his purple prose may not be reliable at all. It's also in Gotham City - so it was probably the gosh darned Killer Croc at it again. 

Augh, who knows. Anyway, the Swamp Angels plan to use Waller as a bargaining chip with Regulus and tries to drown the others. Harley blames Mercury in retrograde, but it's probably just her lifestyle choices. Like Voltaic's lifestyle choice of being a zombie, but it comes in handy by saving the team and .. inhaling Trench? I think?

WTF did I just read?

Which just goes to show that if Waller really did kill people when she said she was going to, revived them like we know she can - she'd had a squad that was just as skilled and capable on missions but with less backchat. Food for thought. 

Deadshot - first happy to help Waller even though he bitched about it all the time, now wants to leave her unconscious in a pile of .... you can guess. Heck, even King Shark and Harley are like 'you gave your word and stuff' and then The Unknown Soldier appears... 

Look, how damn popular is this friggin' sewer? Deadshot tells him that he's a ghost story and not real - again showing his naivete and unhelpful side and then he gets shot for it. Fair enough. 

I don't know if 'being on turbo' means he's on a super soldier drug or if he's like, really good at Sonic the Hedgehog or what but he's apparently the new leader of the squad. Voltaic even shows emotion on the last panel, so... what's with that?

 The Short End of the Jester Schtick 

Well, this issue is a mixed bag. I feel like it is trying to tie up loose ends but the loose ends are all ambiguous and people like me forget they were even a thing. Harley was nowhere near as annoying as she usually is. I really wanted to see more of Trench, that guy seemed pretty cool for someone forced to live out under the cesspit that is Gotham City.

The art is a lot better and more consistent here but you can still tell where the artist just can't be arsed remembering the right order for Harley's colours.

Wotta Comedian!

Deadshot: Amanda Waller. I never thought I'd be happy to see you.
Waller: Don't worry, Deadshot. That'll change quickly.

Harley: Why? The worst part's over. Right?
(later after climbing out of a garbage chute..)
Harley: I have to stop saying that.

Waller: No! I like riding down garbage chutes and smelling like King Shark.
King Shark: I smell?

(walking through Gotham's sewer system)
Harley: You take us to all the nicest places.

Harley: Nothing says L'Chaim like a girl dressed in a stripper clown outfit wielding a hundred-pound mallet. 

Trench: No one comes down here with good intentions, Clown Princess of Crime and Mayhem.
Harley: I really need to shorten that.

Bonus Panel!

The government issued a statement saying "No, we totally wouldn't make a villain team-up and release them into the populace! And here's a mugshot of a crim that we ABSOLUTELY aren't using at all, no, no sir. Hey, let's show some respect for the Unknown Soldiers!" *winks at camera*