By: Adam Glass (story), Fernando Dagnino (art), Matt Yackey (colors)
The Story: It’ll take more than loose teamwork to kill the man who can’t be killed.
The Review: Gosh, this week sure has been one for mini crossovers, hasn’t it? By now, you’ll have grasped the qualities of a strong tie-in: a story which can stand on its own, without having to pick out plot points from a completely different series; the issue doesn’t feel like a jarring departure from the kind of reading you’ve come to expect from the title; and most importantly, it doesn’t feel like a waste of the series’ monthly dosage.
In nearly every respect, this issue offers the opposite of all that. Last time, the Squad had only just received their marching orders to take down the irritatingly unkillable Resurrection Man. This issue opens on the man who won’t die, lying on the dirt, done in by a headshot (accidental, as it turns out—Deadshot’s aim isn’t quite what it once was just yet). Next to Mitch Shelley is a hysterical woman named Kim, apologizing to his cadaver for something. Unless you read Resurrection Man #8 (which I did not, having given it up three issues before), you will have no idea what went down between the Squad’s last issue and this one.
Of course, the plot essentially devolves into a rather tiresome confrontation between Mitch, who’s understandably ticked off about getting constantly attacked by people he doesn’t know (or can’t remember), and the Squad, who despite their myriad abilities seem unable to touch him. It doesn’t help that Waller apparently kept Mitch’s special abilities a secret from the team, leaving them quite frustrated, to say the least. With resentment against the Wall at an all-time high, you have to wonder how much longer it’ll be before they can’t take it anymore and have a shot at her.
Speaking of Waller, she definitely is the weak link in this cast of characters, despite her central role in the series. Because her nature is to keep everything veiled from everyone, even those whom she supposedly trusts, any scene with her is pretty much a waste of time. It’s not like you’ll learn anything from her, and her constant barrage of aggressive innuendo isn’t nearly entertaining enough to keep you interested.
Glass does a lot better when he sticks to the remainder of the Squad. He doesn’t have the wit and crafted sense of humor as Gail Simon on Secret Six, but every now and then he drops in some solid comedy of his own (read: the Squad traveling incognito in a jacked church bus called the “God-mobile”). And while he’s been rather slow at it, Glass has bit-by-bit given us more complicated portrayals of the cast. What was it about his face-off with Harley that’s left Deadshot so shaken? Is El Diablo sincere in his spiritual professions or is he just spiritually crazed? What does the grotesque return of Yo-Yo (in one of the genuinely horrific moments of the issue) mean for King Shark? And can we expect the return of Harley’s former scholarly persona to be a matter of some permanence? Better that we forget this whole Resurrection Man business and focus on developing these questions instead.
Dagnino’s art was probably the one thing that made Resurrection Man as readable as it was while it was still on my pull list. Somehow, he doesn’t make quite the same impression here. Perhaps it’s because he’s better utilized as a dramatic artist, and the constant action in Suicide Squad reveals his uninspired, rudimentary sense of motion and action. For my money, Federico Dallacchio had a greater affinity for this series, and he gave scenes a quiet tension which Dagnino’s melodramatic expressions don’t.
Conclusion: I’m starting to feel that while this title has the potential for greatness, it’s a bit too slow in achieving it. Random crossover tie-in issues don’t help, either.
Grade: C+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – You know, I don’t understand why people don’t simply knock out Mitch instead of trying to kill him. Knock him out, sedate him, and he’ll be just as helpless and you won’t risk any danger of a spontaneous resurrection attack.
Grade
Conclusion