Wait....Wasn't Amanda Waller always evil? (Spoilers)

[QuinnFillory]

With all of the moves that Amanda Waller has been making in the DC Universe, they seem to be setting her up to be a major villain for the heroes. Yet, based on her history with everyone, she may have always been this way. So, does Amanda Waller deserve to finally be seen as a Big Bad?

https://www.thepopverse.com/amanda-w...F5zb3ndKla9gEY

[batnbreakfast]

John Ostrander started Amanda Waller and ended her. There's no other version

[ducklord]

What an odd question.

Amanda Waller is, when well-written, a spectacular anti-hero - doing murky/grey/bad things for (mostly) good reasons.

Needless to say, she hasn't been well-written for at least a decade.

And don't even get me started on the skinny/hot Waller travesty.

Still holding out hope that the current Waller will turn out to be a Bizarro/Earth-3 doppleganger of some sort. 'Cause this one ain't her.

[Alan2099]

She's not a big bad, she's completley understood, it's just that what she does tends to be questionable and sometimes even unethical, but for good reasons. "Good reasons" not being things like "well, Superman exists. We should probably kill him."

[king81992]

Waller started out 'grey' and became more evil with time. Certain writers and fans have tried to justify her evil by pretending she's still 'morally grey'.

[Rac7d*]

The animated jsutice league series had it perfect

[The Darknight Detective]

The animated jsutice league series had it perfect

The most realistic take, too, since we wouldn't accept superheroes without reservations in reality (at least at first).

[marvelprince]

The animated jsutice league series had it perfect

This! To me the best Waller is when you understand what she's doing even though you don't like it.

[Android 17]

Waller started out 'grey' and became more evil with time. Certain writers and fans have tried to justify her evil by pretending she's still 'morally grey'.

That’s my take on her as well. She falls into the “he who fights monsters…” trope.

[Sandy Hausler]

With all of the moves that Amanda Waller has been making in the DC Universe, they seem to be setting her up to be a major villain for the heroes. Yet, based on her history with everyone, she may have always been this way. So, does Amanda Waller deserve to finally be seen as a Big Bad?

https://www.thepopverse.com/amanda-w...F5zb3ndKla9gEY

This is based on my admittedly hazy memory going back to the beginning of the super villain Suicide Squad, but when she first appeared, Waller was an aide to a liberal senator or congressman. She quickly became the biggest fascist in comics outside the Red Skull.

Am I wrong?

She's not trying to take over the world, but the ends always justify the means, and her ends are not exactly lily white.

Sandy

[ducklord]

This is based on my admittedly hazy memory going back to the beginning of the super villain Suicide Squad, but when she first appeared, Waller was an aide to a liberal senator or congressman. She quickly became the biggest fascist in comics outside the Red Skull.

Am I wrong?

She's not trying to take over the world, but the ends always justify the means, and her ends are not exactly lily white.

Sandy

"Fascist" is a bit of an imprecise word, so let's set that to the side.

Waller has, until the last decade or so, been a classic "willing to get my hands dirty so that the 'good guys' don't have to" kind of character. She's often annoyed by the Pollyannaish nature of super-heroes, but she's never *ever* had a "the world would be in much better shape if we just killed Superman" attitude. That's just a fundamental misread/degradation of the character, and I really hope that someone, somewhere removes the chip in her head that brought her to this point. 'Cause right now she's worse than messed up, she's *boring*.

[Jim Kelly]

It seems to me, as an outsider looking in, that the key to Waller is how people in the U.S. feel about their government--and that includes comic book writers, movie makers and T.V. producers.

It seems at least half think the whole government stinks--not just the houses of power, but the military and even public service workers. Everyone in it is corrupt and up to no good. Waller is a part of that machine, therefore she's bad but everything she's doing is sanctioned by the dark powers that control the U.S.--so her guilt is relative.

The other half believe that the government institutions, while flawed with some bad apples, is ultimately trying to look out for the best interests of its citizens and that serving in the military and public service are a positive expression of duty to ones country. Therefore, Waller must be a bad apple and not representative of the government system as a whole. Her guilt is distinctly on her and no one else.

[Robotman]

I absolutely hate what’s been done to Waller.

One of the more complex characters in the DCU has been turned into a mustache-twirling villain.

[Frontier]

Waller has probably been the most egregiously flanderized character in the entire DCU. And not in a good way.

[JLH]

I don't see an option I can select. The current Waller is completely out of character and doesn't have any depth compared to Ostrander's actual creation. I'm hoping this turns out to be some Earth-whatever version who has the "real" Wall tied up in a closet somewhere...