Suicide Squad #32 Review and **SPOILERS**

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All’s Well That Ends Weird

Story: Rob Williams 

Penciller: Scot Eaton 

Inker: Wayne Faucher 

Backup Story Artist: Wilfredo Torres 

Colors: Adriano Lucas 

Lettering: Pat Brosseau 

Cover Artists: Tony S. Daniel, Danny Miki & Tomeu Morey

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: December 27, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Here it is, the conclusion of “The Secret of Task Force X!” So far, the secret has been that giant monster dinosaurs are actually psychic vampires and Harley Quinn is a prat fallin’ kook. Perhaps you’ll find some clarity in reading my review of Suicide Squad #32, right here!

Explain It!

It’s no secret that I have been critical of this story arc. For one thing, you can find my reviews of this series, and reviews for all of DC Comics’ books on this very website. For another thing, I have pissed and moaned about the same basic problem: this thing is six issues when it probably could have been two. I’ve been saying “probably” because, without knowing how it ends, I can’t rightly say how many issues it might have contained. But since the only things of major consequence happened in issue #29, and the other issues have deposited us at the end more or less where we began, I felt pretty good about my assumption. I figured a bombastic final issue would essentially be the only other issue worth reading, aside from #29, and it might have made a neat little story if not for entire issues of people standing around yelling at each other while a hideous monster talks to them in stupid-looking word balloons. And the real point of contention here is that loyal readers are shelling out money for this stuff, and charging us 18 bucks for six bucks worth of story—well, it’s ripping us off by two-thirds, according to my math.

Having read the final issue in this arc, however, I must issue a correction: this story need not have been told in two issues. Indeed, it could have been told in one. Perhaps an oversized annual might have been required, but for all the import of the secret revelations of the original Suicide Squad—namely that Rick Flag, Karin and Faraday have been held in Red Wave’s thrall for decades, and so placed themselves in stasis to save the galaxy—really isn’t that big of a mind-bender. I mean, I guess it’s kind of fucked up, to resign one’s self to being a virtual ghost in order to maintain the status quo, but since we don’t really know or care about these characters, I don’t really see what the big deal is. What other people are holding back interstellar cataclysms by their sheer will of existence? That’s what I wanna know. We oughta throw them a parade or something.

So the Phantom Zone is leaking from the moon vault, because the Phantom Zone is more like a viscous substance than a dimension in this book, but it is summarily dispensed by a remote door-closing triggered aboard Karin’s satellite. Which has Red Wave tethered to it and is being flown into the sun. Rick Flag Jr. made a promise to his grandfather that he wouldn’t let Karin die, so he sends the Suicide Squad out to kill Red Wave by hand, by threat of brain bomb explosion. He tries to hold Harley back, but she goes out with her posse and tells Rick it’s over between them. Rick proves to be prepared to sacrifice Killer Croc to Red Wave’s gaping maw, but Katana falls upon its scaly, four-eyed head and plunges her sword into its melon which kills him. And back on Earth, Killer Croc is all fucked up by his experience and doesn’t wanna be Enchantress’ boyfriend any more.

Over at the cave containing Faraday and the other part of Red Wave’s heart, Amanda Waller and the other members of the Suicide Squad do literally nothing except act as the explanation for why they’re not in space. You could have just held them back at Belle Reve because there weren’t enough spacesuits, that would have done just as well. Show El Diablo kicking back with a Margarita and reading a MAD magazine or something. This issue could be detailed in a paragraph and a lot of it could have been excised. This story expanded longer than my waistline after Christmas dinner. And unlike Christmas Dinner, it wasn’t served buffet style so I read every issue. Disappointing.

Bits and Pieces:

Reaching the conclusion of this otherwise mediocre story was like swimming through rapidly-setting concrete. There were never any great stakes, and the incredible things that will change the Suicide Squad forever are, in fact, quite credible. And what's up with the Phantom Zone in this book? I half expect it to get rolled into hi-bounce balls and shot from a spud cannon next. Which, thinking about it now, would be kind of cool. But not six issues of it.

5/10