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Since Suicide Squad is coming out this I have decided to do something I like to call Suicide Squad week on my YouTube channel where all my videos this week will be about Suicide Squad.
Today we talked about the origins of the team: [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzXCyeH0Jew[/url]
If you are going to discuss the origins of the a comic book, it's usually a good idea to give credit to the creators behind the book. In this case John Ostrander, who came up with the idea of "The Dirty Dozen, with super-villains".
Also, in the original series, the threat to the villains was a wristband which would blow their arm off, if they disobeyed or tried to remove it, rather than blow their heads off. Ostrander wasn't that bloodthirsty. The later idea probably had its origins in The Running Man, where that method kept prisoners in line; an idea picked up by the Japanese Battle Royale (it's in the movie; don't know about the novel or manga).
This says it better than me:
[I]Suicide Squad The Silver Age Omnibus
The original 1960s missions of the Suicide Squad are collected at last, including stories from [B]THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD[/B] #25-27 and 37-39, plus STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES #110-111, 116-121, 125, 127 and 128. When all other options are exhausted, the U.S. calls in their new team, Task Force X, led by Rick Flag! Whether a scientist is missing, a dangerous serum is in the wrong hands, or dinosaurs threaten our fighting forces, the Suicide Squad is ready for action!
[/I]
Yep, CodyStarbuck is right. Ostrander takes over during the 80s and makes the concept shine. Initially I wasn't a fan of Harley and Joker in the upcoming movie but during Ostrander's run there already are Punch and Jubilee, in almost identical roles, just less known.
DC really needs a monthly try-out title like the Brave and the Bold back imho.
[QUOTE=codystarbuck;2206457]If you are going to discuss the origins of the a comic book, it's usually a good idea to give credit to the creators behind the book. In this case John Ostrander, who came up with the idea of "The Dirty Dozen, with super-villains".[/QUOTE]
A little behind the scenes information. Before Suicide Squad came out, Kurt Busieck and James Fry came to DC with the idea of a team of super villains who worked for the government in order to work off their sentences. DC was interested, but wanted to use established DC villains rather than the new characters that Kurt and James had presented. Kurt and James decided not to take DC's suggestion, and took their project -- the Liberty Project -- elsewhere.
The Liberty Project and the Suicide Squad are quite different in tone, but I think it is highly likely that the idea for a group of super villains working off their sentences by working for the government found its origin with Kurt and James. That is not to denigrate John Ostrander, who, working with different pieces, put together his team.
I am looking forward to the movie.
Sandy Hausler