Amanda Waller’s been shot!
Hold on just a moment because I’m not quite sure the significance of what I said there has struck you. Or maybe you’re all just in shock. But either way, go on ahead and read it again…
AMANDA WALLER HAS BEEN GUNNED DOWN!
She was shot point blank in the chest, down a shadowy alley in New Orleans. In this week’s SUICIDE SQUAD #12, written by Rob Williams and drawn by John Romita Jr. and Eddy Barrows, we find that the strong-willed director of Task Force X has been rushed to a hospital…and that she’s no less strong-willed in death. In fact, it almost seems like she’s determined to die, or at least, determined to do it on her terms.
News of Waller’s death spreads quickly to the Suicide Squad, who are busy confronting the team of powerful baddies that Rustam—the former Task Force X second-in-command—freed from Blackgate. This group of villains, known as “The Burning World,” seems pretty well matched to take down the Suicide Squad (it even includes a digitized man who makes short work of Hack). However, Rustam doesn’t seem interested in that, seeing the Squad as kindred spirits and promising to rid them of their captors. To that end, he teleports Rick Flag and Katana out of the prison to parts unknown before making a shocking revelation concerning Waller.
If Rustam didn’t kill Waller, who did?
It’s a question the new Task Force X leader, Emilia Harcourt, is determined to answer. With all of Task Force X in New Orleans the night of Waller’s murder, they’re all suspects, and Harcourt questions them one by one.
It goes about as well as you’d expect…
Of course, the person who benefitted the most from Waller’s death is probably Harcourt herself, something the young Hack points out to her afterward. However, Harcourt denies it, saying that if she wanted control of Task Force X, she could have taken it from the start. Still, something isn’t right about the situation, and Hack senses it.
Later that evening, the digital dynamo meets up (in a manner of speaking) with her favorite Squad member, who shows both interest and surprising insight in regards to the situation…
Harley Quinn…scared?!? Deadshot…guilty?!? Can this be true? What does this mean for the Suicide Squad, especially now that Flag and Katana have disappeared? And can we PLEASE get a remake of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Harley Quinn?!?
With the exception of the last question, I suspect we’ll get answers when the next bullet-riddled issue of Suicide Squad hits the stands on March 8th.
