Right and wrong is something I've often been criticized for when it comes to comics. When it comes to those two concepts I'm fairly unyielding. There is one, there is the other and from some people I expect one, from other people I expect the other. What I will not accept is the concept that the two can be exchanged like dealing cards from a deck. You can't in my opinion say that are one of the good guys, do horrible things to innocent people and then say that you 'had no other choice'.
In a round about way to fill some spoiler space that brings us to Waller and what happens to her in this issue. I don't like Suicide Squad but I was very curious to what happened to Waller so I picked this issue up.
Basically Waller lives in the dark and this is what happens when someone turns on the light. She's been demoted from puppet master to puppet, being treated as she treated so many others. She's yelled at in a televised congressional hearing, then later told by the congressman that 'it was just for show, He has a primary challenge coming up. He just walks away from her like she's not important. Later with the secretary of defense Waller is told that she's no longer head of ARGUS, but she'll still be in charge of Task Force X. Belle Reeve has been rebuilt and Waller is shown into her office, and it's a tiny office. All in all I haven't seen anyone who deserved it treated this badly since Tony Stark told Maria Hill to get him some coffee. The puzzling thing to me is that she seems genuinely surprised at the treatment. Not all of the syndicates invasion was her fault but she and Trevor made it a lot easier for Ultraman and his crew.
Trouble is the writer goes out of his way to show us that Waller is actually not as bad as everyone else in the government who has power. The senator, the secretary of defense... they make her look good or at least a little more human. They are going to expand Task Force X to the international level. proving once again that the US is an evil country willing to do anything to anyone to protect our national interest. The cynicism in this book is thick enough to choke a person.
There were some interesting character moments. Black Manta has found that without Aquaman to hate he's got no life. Even if Aquaman is alive now he's still faced that part of himself and realized that he doesn't have much but the hate. Deadshot is actually happy with the way things have turned out.
Views: 83
You need to be a member of Captain Comics to add comments!
I'm well aware that I'm biased against the concept Cap, and because of that and what I've read with Waller in it I'm biased against her as well. But this issue illustrates a lot of problems with the Task Force X/Suicide concept. I know it's an updated Dirty Dozen. But of the characters in that movie though a few of them were unfairly sentenced some were not, but that was a one time mission. This is a continuing government operation using some of the worst. Take Black Manta. He gets out, he realizes that he has no real life and he wants back in. So he brutally attacks 4 innocent people, a girl behind the counter gets her face mashed into a cash register, a man has his face smashed into a wall, two others are beaten up before he allows two police officers to arrest him. The woman's looking at a few weeks in bandages, maybe more and reconstructive surgery for her and the guy who's face got pushed into the wall, maybe a lot of dental work too. The government approves and Manta gets to find himself while doing what he loves to do. If I were one of his victims how would I feel?
So yes when I see Waller getting some payback for helping to cheat those victims out of justice I'll applaud. Same with the senator or the secretary of defense in this title. It's about all the justice I ever expect the victims to get.
Sadly, I've yet to see a single bit of redeeming value in the current DCU's version of Waller. Prior, there were times you despised her but you knew she was doing what she thought was right, and there were other times when you completely sympathized and felt for her, and there were still other times when you felt "F--- Yeah!". All I'm seeing of what little I've read is a less sympathetic version of Henry Peter Gyrich.
Replies
I think sometimes writers like a character so much they forget to give US any reason to like them. (See: Waller.)
I'm well aware that I'm biased against the concept Cap, and because of that and what I've read with Waller in it I'm biased against her as well. But this issue illustrates a lot of problems with the Task Force X/Suicide concept. I know it's an updated Dirty Dozen. But of the characters in that movie though a few of them were unfairly sentenced some were not, but that was a one time mission. This is a continuing government operation using some of the worst. Take Black Manta. He gets out, he realizes that he has no real life and he wants back in. So he brutally attacks 4 innocent people, a girl behind the counter gets her face mashed into a cash register, a man has his face smashed into a wall, two others are beaten up before he allows two police officers to arrest him. The woman's looking at a few weeks in bandages, maybe more and reconstructive surgery for her and the guy who's face got pushed into the wall, maybe a lot of dental work too. The government approves and Manta gets to find himself while doing what he loves to do. If I were one of his victims how would I feel?
So yes when I see Waller getting some payback for helping to cheat those victims out of justice I'll applaud. Same with the senator or the secretary of defense in this title. It's about all the justice I ever expect the victims to get.
I was agreeing with you.
Sorry, I was just about to delete that. I'm tired and I'm depressed and I shouldn't post when I'm like this.
Sadly, I've yet to see a single bit of redeeming value in the current DCU's version of Waller. Prior, there were times you despised her but you knew she was doing what she thought was right, and there were other times when you completely sympathized and felt for her, and there were still other times when you felt "F--- Yeah!". All I'm seeing of what little I've read is a less sympathetic version of Henry Peter Gyrich.