Suicide Squad Appreciation 2021

[HandofPrometheus]

With The Suicide Squad pretty much being the best adaptation of the team we’ve seen this far. What would you rank as the number two, three and so on?

Suicide Squad (2016)
CW Arrow episodes Suicide Squad (season 2) and Suicidal Tendencies (season 3).
Suicide Squad Hell To Pay
Batman Assault on Arkham
Task For X from Justice League Unlimited

1. TSS
2. Task Force X (JLU)
3. B:AoA = SS: HtP
4. Don't care for the rest

HtP is only equal with AoA because they put my man Bronze Tiger in the film. I only watched HtP for Ben. Other than that, it would be #4. However, I do think the plot for both films was very stupid but the action and the mission scenes in AoA were way better than HtP.

I think the JLU episode would've been #1 if it was a two-part storyline. I really wanted another episode right after. Throw in Ben so he could have a DCAU appearance and have an interaction with Vixen. Oh, that would've been perfect.

[Doctor Know]

IÂ’d actually rate Assault on Arkham as number 2, but otherwise my list is in the same order as yours.

I honestly go back and forth with Assault on Arkham and Hell To Pay. HTP does a lot of things I like. I have to bend things to make it more enjoyable when it comes to certain parts. Chiefly, Vandal Savage and Reverse FlashÂ’s inclusion. HTP works as a sequel to JL Doom and Flashpoint Paradox. Doom showcasing Savage as the big bad, in the previous continuity and Flashpoint being the start of the then, current continuity. The slaughterhouse nature of the final act really fun to watch.

AoA is definitely the better Squad mission and style. Easier to get into as well.

[AJpyro]

With The Suicide Squad pretty much being the best adaptation of the team we’ve seen this far. What would you rank as the number two, three and so on?

Suicide Squad (2016)
CW Arrow episodes Suicide Squad (season 2) and Suicidal Tendencies (season 3).
Suicide Squad Hell To Pay
Batman Assault on Arkham
Task For X from Justice League Unlimited

2. TFX from JLI
3. B:AoA and SS: HTP
4. SS 2016
5. Arrowverse

Never gave Arrowverae much attention so its the lowest.

[Frontier]

Random thoughts about Tom Taylor's The Revolution...I mean, Suicide Squad run:

- I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Tom Taylor takes a team of criminals forced to do government work and instead writes a story about righteous extremists sticking it to the man. Like, in a book titled Suicide Squad barely any name characters die (or at least stays dead), and this isn't like the previous volume where they were keeping everyone alive for movie synergy. The TNTeen character dies so he can get replaced by his sister at the end.

- As someone who actually liked Cavalier and Magpie, their deaths kind of hurt. I guess the Revolutionaries killing them doesn't really matter? Especially Magpie who really didn't need to be there and just wanted out? And Zebra-Man survives for a joke and because his powers are surprisingly versatile.

- Deadshot definitely felt kind of off, writing-wise. It felt like they had to write him in the Rick Flag role of being the only sane man on the Squad there to contrast with who is in charge and trying to take care of everything...which isn't really who Deadshot is. It also felt like Taylor was pacifying him a little too much by making him so agreeable and passive. I can accept him caring so much about Zoe and not wanting her to become like him, but I can't see a guy who is a cold blooded killer like he is earnestly promising his daughter he'll never kill anyone again. I feel like the animated films did a better job of portraying Deadshot as a "main character" without diluting his personality so much.

- I guess I'm glad Taylor didn't write Waller prominently in this run to where he treats her as a horrible monster. Okay, a "monster with a code" but who will still leave some kids high and dry just because they're not criminals. Like, how terrible do writers think Waller is these days? There's no nuance anymore.

- I'm kind of surprised there was no resolution to Boomerang killing Osita's wife, unless that was in the Flash annual crossover...I kind of forget what happened in that.

- I'm glad Taylor has enough self-awareness to have characters react in-universe to how annoying Harley is.

- Deadly Six's powers felt underutilized for how versatile they seem on-paper.

- I get Taylor was going for a low-key vibe with Jog but his reaction to Black Racer's appearance felt kind of...underwhelming for how significant it should be. And then he just says he "got better" when he shows up again, outright acknowledging that trope.

- Is...Taylor really acting like Deadshot has the moral high ground over Batman? Like, Deadshot was kind of in the right there but that doesn't suddenly mean it makes sense for him to act like he's better than Batman. Like...we're talking about Deadshot here, right?

- I can buy that Zoe has inherited Floyd's expert marksmanship but "Liveshot?" "Dogshot? "Maimshot?" He really stretched that kind of thin.

- Does Deadshot not think Superman knows his daughter's name? And, in general, that was kind of a dumb death for Deadshot. "Oh hey, I figured out this thing! How awes...(Gets Shot and Killed)" Like...does that really seem like a fitting death scene for Deadshot? World's greatest sniper? Just gets shot out of nowhere after just noticing something was off? It just didn't really feel earned.

- Deadshot only wears his mask for...one comic page. And then Harley wears it, which looks kind of ridiculous. Although I guess Harley gets a new costume that she only wears for like 2-3 pages.

- I thought the Black Mask reveal was pretty cool, but then he gets taken out not long after and rather unceremoniously. Felt a bit anti-climactic.

- Way to make the Justice League look bad and ineffectual to prop up your new pet characters! People talk about how much Tom Taylor loves Batman but he'll always use Bruce as a stepping stool to show how much more awesome or righteous another character is.

[The Cool Thatguy]

The less said about Tom Taylor's Squad, the better.

The new characters were good, IMO, but not their introduction or anything else

[Doctor Know]

My ranking:

1. The Suicide Squad (2021)
2. Suicide Squad (2016)
3. Assault on Arkham - Hell To Pay
4. Arrowverse episodes
5. Task Force X (JLU)

[The Cool Thatguy]

- Does Deadshot not think Superman knows his daughter's name? And, in general, that was kind of a dumb death for Deadshot. "Oh hey, I figured out this thing! How awes...(Gets Shot and Killed)" Like...does that really seem like a fitting death scene for Deadshot? World's greatest sniper? Just gets shot out of nowhere after just noticing something was off? It just didn't really feel earned.

Seriously.

If Deadshot thought there was something odd with Superman, he wouldn't have done a parlor scene. He simply would have shot him. If he was Superman, he'd be fine.

[Frontier]

Seriously.

If Deadshot thought there was something odd with Superman, he wouldn't have done a parlor scene. He simply would have shot him. If he was Superman, he'd be fine.

Oh yeah, he could have just shot him in the leg.

[Vordan]

SS: GJ #2 probably has the best Joker in ages? He’s actually funny! Making the Squad go attack the tide is so stupid and pointless it’s funny. He’s so petty in how evil he is too, especially with how he treats Harley and Jason. Rest of the Squad have some good interactions, I like Azz’s Silver Banshee in particular. Next issue looks like we’re getting some tie in synergy lol. That B Squad actually would make for a cool SS in its own right.

[atomicskull]

Random thoughts about Tom Taylor's The Revolution...I mean, Suicide Squad run:

- I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Tom Taylor takes a team of criminals forced to do government work and instead writes a story about righteous extremists sticking it to the man. Like, in a book titled Suicide Squad barely any name characters die (or at least stays dead), and this isn't like the previous volume where they were keeping everyone alive for movie synergy. The TNTeen character dies so he can get replaced by his sister at the end.

- As someone who actually liked Cavalier and Magpie, their deaths kind of hurt. I guess the Revolutionaries killing them doesn't really matter? Especially Magpie who really didn't need to be there and just wanted out? And Zebra-Man survives for a joke and because his powers are surprisingly versatile.

- Deadshot definitely felt kind of off, writing-wise. It felt like they had to write him in the Rick Flag role of being the only sane man on the Squad there to contrast with who is in charge and trying to take care of everything...which isn't really who Deadshot is. It also felt like Taylor was pacifying him a little too much by making him so agreeable and passive. I can accept him caring so much about Zoe and not wanting her to become like him, but I can't see a guy who is a cold blooded killer like he is earnestly promising his daughter he'll never kill anyone again. I feel like the animated films did a better job of portraying Deadshot as a "main character" without diluting his personality so much.

- I guess I'm glad Taylor didn't write Waller prominently in this run to where he treats her as a horrible monster. Okay, a "monster with a code" but who will still leave some kids high and dry just because they're not criminals. Like, how terrible do writers think Waller is these days? There's no nuance anymore.

- I'm kind of surprised there was no resolution to Boomerang killing Osita's wife, unless that was in the Flash annual crossover...I kind of forget what happened in that.

- I'm glad Taylor has enough self-awareness to have characters react in-universe to how annoying Harley is.

- Deadly Six's powers felt underutilized for how versatile they seem on-paper.

- I get Taylor was going for a low-key vibe with Jog but his reaction to Black Racer's appearance felt kind of...underwhelming for how significant it should be. And then he just says he "got better" when he shows up again, outright acknowledging that trope.

- Is...Taylor really acting like Deadshot has the moral high ground over Batman? Like, Deadshot was kind of in the right there but that doesn't suddenly mean it makes sense for him to act like he's better than Batman. Like...we're talking about Deadshot here, right?

- I can buy that Zoe has inherited Floyd's expert marksmanship but "Liveshot?" "Dogshot? "Maimshot?" He really stretched that kind of thin.

- Does Deadshot not think Superman knows his daughter's name? And, in general, that was kind of a dumb death for Deadshot. "Oh hey, I figured out this thing! How awes...(Gets Shot and Killed)" Like...does that really seem like a fitting death scene for Deadshot? World's greatest sniper? Just gets shot out of nowhere after just noticing something was off? It just didn't really feel earned.

- Deadshot only wears his mask for...one comic page. And then Harley wears it, which looks kind of ridiculous. Although I guess Harley gets a new costume that she only wears for like 2-3 pages.

- I thought the Black Mask reveal was pretty cool, but then he gets taken out not long after and rather unceremoniously. Felt a bit anti-climactic.

- Way to make the Justice League look bad and ineffectual to prop up your new pet characters! People talk about how much Tom Taylor loves Batman but he'll always use Bruce as a stepping stool to show how much more awesome or righteous another character is.

It sucks that Taylor really had no interest in using Boomerang. I remember him saying he wasn't added b/c the character is an offensive outdated stereotype. But I mean you're the writer, so you can do something different?

[atomicskull]

SS: GJ #2 probably has the best Joker in ages? He’s actually funny! Making the Squad go attack the tide is so stupid and pointless it’s funny. He’s so petty in how evil he is too, especially with how he treats Harley and Jason. Rest of the Squad have some good interactions, I like Azz’s Silver Banshee in particular. Next issue looks like we’re getting some tie in synergy lol. That B Squad actually would make for a cool SS in its own right.

Any idea who that was next to Deadshot in the red?

[Vordan]

Any idea who that was next to Deadshot in the red?

No clue to be honest. Might be an OC or a redesign of a character.

[Zaresh]

Quoting myself from other thread:

I really liked SS: Get Joker #2. It may not be as Jason centric as issue #1 was, yeah, but Jason still makes a lot of (a lot of) observing and reflecting in this issue. And I love it. I also like how Azz treats the other characters, to be honest. Character wise, it's been a solid read, I think. Well, I don't know how much in character they are, but at least, as far as Jason goes, and I guess, Harley and Joker too, which are the ones I'm at least familiar with.

spoilers:

Did Azzarello sort of subtle implied that this Joker has certain dirty fixation on Jason? Also, was Jason offering to dance and strip for Joker? Bold. I suspected Toyman was the mole. It didn't surprise me that Larry called other team to finish Jason's one:; it's a dick move, but it's to be expected, and why Larry said he appreciated Jason's trust on him (because Jason knew that, with them in Joker's hand, they could be turned and used like a weapon of mass murdering easily). Both twists were still good, even if they were somewhat expevcted.

end of spoilers

I feel like dialogue's also a bit weirdly written, but I don't know why it gives me this weird feel. I also love how much... not slowpaced, but, I don't know, maybe... relaxed? their story is. They take a lot of time doing normal stuff and interacting with each other and I love those kinds of moments in a story. And the art; I love the art: but I've always liked Maleev's art, so, again, I was already expecting that. Also, Hollingsworth colours are great.

[Vordan]

Joker just dicking around with them gives lot of time for character building while also still preserving tension because he could kill them at any moment. It works surprisingly well, where was this Azz for Joker and Damned?

[Frontier]

Joker just dicking around with them gives lot of time for character building while also still preserving tension because he could kill them at any moment. It works surprisingly well, where was this Azz for Joker and Damned?

Or the actual Suicide Squad movie .