It’s the end of an era for Amanda Waller’s Task Force X as the brilliant series from writer Rob Williams comes to an end with Suicide Squad #50.
The end of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X comes with a whimper and a bang as Suicide Squad #50 marks the end of the Rebirth iteration of the squad as we know it. Writer Rob Williams has been guiding this ship since the beginning and it’s a bittersweet thing to see it coming to an end.
Then again, with every ending there comes a new beginning, and there is always work to be done for Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Katana, Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and Rick Flag.
This post contains spoilers for Suicide Squad #50.
There’s something to be said about lessons learned in this final issue of Suicide Squad. No matter what Task Force X does, or how many times they manage to save the world while flying under the radar, it’s never enough. The dark truth is that Amanda Waller will never let them go. Once again they save the world, and indeed save Waller’s life, and yet she reminds them that they’re the scum of the earth. It’s a sobering message.
In Suicide Squad #50 the team must race to find a way to keep the Tunguska Infection from destroying humanity. Though we’ve seen so many instances of the Task Force’s ability to work together, this issue really highlights the sense of teamwork shared between this unlikely group of anti-heroes. Despite every reason they have to save themselves, they manage to come together when it counts.
As individuals, they are strong. As a team, they’re unstoppable.
Williams delivers a strong story that really encapsulates what it is to be a member of the team. Rick Flag’s encounter with his dead comrades is especially powerful given how much his past dictates who he is in the present. Katana comes to terms with the possibility of losing Soultaker, Harley gladly takes one for the team to get in one last shot with her mallet. It’s a team effort that manages to save the day.
And at the end of the day they’re reminded that this is as good as it gets, so long as Waller is in charge.
Writer: Rob Williams
Art: German Peralta, Brent Schoonover, Will Conrad
Colors: Gabe Eltaeb
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair
It’s worth noting that Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is penning a script for a rebooted Suicide Squad film, one that he has the option to direct should he so choose. This could explain why DC is moving away from the current story, which follows the group as seen in the 2017 David Ayer movie, and going in a new direction. It’s also possible that with so many Harley Quinn projects in the works over the next few years there’s a conscious decision to start crafting a new narrative.
Suicide Squad #50 is available now at your local comic shop.