Under the guidance of DC Entertainment creative boss Geoff Johns, DC Comics boldly decided to shake up its offerings and relaunch its entire publishing line with DC Rebirth. This allowed DC to go back and change the effects of Flashpoint, the universe-altering prologue which led to 2011’s New 52 reboot, and start anew.
Rebirth is intended to rejuvenate iconic characters while honoring their legacies. But the New 52 continuity remained intact, serving as a springboard for every title to jump right into their storylines without heavy exposition or introductions.
The latest title to launch under the new initiative is Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1, which debuted on Wednesday. Written by Rob Williams and illustrated by Philip Tan, the story begins following a rag-tag team of villains fighting against dangerous, nearly unbeatable forces under the guidance of Amanda Waller. As first issues tend to do, the introduction serves as set-up for what’s to come.
Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1 immediately jumps into a heated discussion between Waller and President Barack Obama.
The president is unhappy that Waller assembled Task Force X behind the government’s back. Obama rightfully criticizes Waller for assembling a covert, unhinged, sociopathic group of unpredictable villains to protect the country. Waller, being the tough-as-nails government official she is, refutes the president’s concerns, asking him to imagine a world without Task Force X carrying out the brutal, necessary dirty work of their missions. To balance Obama’s concerns, Waller says she’ll appoint decorated (yet missing) Colonel Rick Flag to lead the squad. The president begrudgingly agrees.
What Obama doesn’t know is Flag is imprisoned for terrorism after being blamed as the fall-guy for his fallen squad. Flag refused to act on illegal orders, which were carried out anyway. The orders got his team killed. Waller tries to convince Flag to do the impossible: keep Task Force X in check and be the moral guide for the lunatics. He’s not thrilled with the idea, but Waller gives a passionate plea.
Waller’s team is small, featuring just three members: The tormented, mallet-carrying Harley Quinn. Deadshot, the world’s most accurate sharpshooter. And the boomerang-wielding Captain Boomerang. Williams’ characterizations haven’t changed from previous iterations of the Squad. Harley is unpredictable, yet surprisingly cunning. Deadshot is all business. And Boomerang is, well, vicious, cowardly and slightly racist. Task Force X is not portrayed as anti-heroes, but villains doing the impossible to stay alive, against their own will. The team is undoubtedly bad.
The gang’s first mission is to travel to a ghost city to rescue a scientist who’s created a meta-gene, which fell into the hands of an evil group of criminals. The criminals used the meta-gene to gain temporary superpowers and want to use a meta-gene bomb in a well-populated city to kill millions of people. Task Force X, as usual, is severely outmatched. Boomerang sings about Genghis Khan, while Deadshot pleads with Waller to blow up the bomb in his neck. A tentacled meta-gene entity gets a hold of the scientist, who’s carrying the bomb in a briefcase. Deadshot, without hesitation, shoots him between the eyes.
The Squad grabs the errant briefcase and detonates it to reverse the criminals’ powers. The trio then attacks the group, and the story reveals that Flag has accepted the role as the team’s leader and is fighting beside the headlining trio.
The No. 1 issue is a nice primer for those new to Suicide Squad, which is perfect timing with the upcoming film adaptation. The art, while sometimes overly busy, is polished as Tan (Batman and Robin) and Jim Lee (The Uncanny X-Men) impressively display the chaos and calamity that the Squad faces. The prison sequence between Flagg and Waller feels cinematic, as you get an idea of what Flagg’s endured from looking at his face.
What’s missing is more characters, such as Katana and Killer Croc, only seen in photos during a brief flashback, but those introductions will come with time. (And if this version of Suicide Squad follows previous incarnations, the lineup of the team will change plenty from story to story.)
But Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1 is about setting up those in charge, while giving squad members a few moments to shine. Waller is ruthless, possessing the ability to convince and manipulate anyone to get her way, including the president. She changes Obama’s mind in a single conversation, despite his determination to cancel Task Force X. This first issue also encouragingly develops Flag, an embattled colonel looking to fill a personal void. Waller convinces Flag to get his head back in the game and lead a wild team into increasingly dangerous missions. His personal battle and responsibility to ensure Task Force X’s protection, and not repeat what happened to his previous team, will be ongoing. Flag carries a lot of weight on his shoulders.
Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1 doesn’t feature many memorable moments with the Squad itself. Instead, it lays the necessary groundwork for those in command. There’s sure to be many power struggles, betrayals and batshit antics in the future. The reinvention is a great start for the series.
