DC’s New Suicide Squad team is about to get shaken up yet again. In the aftermath of Convergence, DC is rebranding the team with an all-new set of villains. No, the comic will not renumbered, but will see a roster change. The news was announced in the Channel 52 backmatter page on this week’s releases from DC. Sean Ryan is still on the writing duties of the comic when the title shifts cast with issue #9, with Carlos D’Anda tackling the pencils on the comic.
This cast is really strange, as we have Reverse-Flash hot off the fame from the brand new tv show and his guest appearance from New Suicide Squad #5. Poison Ivy joins the fray who’s seen some interest in her exploits with Harley Quinn. Black Hand is an important character, but not someone who would usually be associated with the Suicide Squad meeting. Cheetah is a villain getting some play thanks to Wonder Woman. Seeing a Talon added to the full team is a great way to up the popularity of the infamous new Batman rogue. The only true question mark is Parasite, a Superman villain that DC is trying to push as much as possible as of late.
Group Desk Sergeant/Editor Brian Cunningham chimed in on some mission orders for the New Suicide Squad team:
Parasite will be the team’s secret weapon against ISIS in the next arc beginning in June’s issue #9. Black Hand has a power that Squad taskmaster Amanda Waller might covet for a team that can go boom on any given mission–he can resurrect the dead!
Look out for the comic in June, featuring the new team roster in New Suicide Squad #9.
Last I checked, Talon was good guy in his (now cancelled) series.
While I love villain stories, this book still lacks the magic that makes Suicide Squad great – that is, making me care about about the characters knowing they might bite it at any time. Are any of these villains going anywhere? No. It could still be a solid book but it’s difficult not to meet this revamp without a level of skepticism.
I’ve been with the Squad since their beginnings in the Legends miniseries from the mid 80s. This looks promising, at least different. Count me as one of the six or seven readers who does not care for Harley Quinn. I’m glad to see her gone from SS. However, I do feel that the Squad needs Captain Boomerang and Deadshot. To me, those two are and will always be the heart and soul of SS.