Volume 1 of the Suicide Squad caught me off guard. This ragtag group of B-level villains forced to work together made a great first impression on me with an entertaining story line and stand-out appearances from Harley Quinn and Deadshot. This time, the team is after a supervillain whose powers change each time he dies and comes back to life.
While the stakes are higher this time around, Harley Quinn is largely absent from this one as she recovers from the events of the last book. Without her as a contrast to the rest of the team, it becomes a fairly straightforward slog between two sides. Deadshot, who thrived with having to deal with Harley’s shenanigans, doesn’t have her to balance him off, which makes him rather dull.
The story also tries to provide more context for who Amanda Waller is and what motivates her. It establishes her as a capable fighter, though their attempts at making the reader empathize with her fall flat. I see what they were trying to do here, but it could have been done better.
Save for a pivotal moment towards the end, I thought that Suicide Squad Vol. 2: Basilisk Rising was a largely forgettable outing. The primary conflict isn’t that great and the character dynamics are thrown out of wack. I really hope they turn things around with Vol. 3 cause this one was rather disappointing.
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In Third Person 