Suicide Squad #48 Review and **SPOILERS**

Do Not Pass “Go”

Writer: Rob Williams 

Pencils: Diogenes Neves 

Inks: Scott Hanna 

Colors: Gabe Eltaeb 

Letters: Dave Sharpe 

Cover: David Williams & Wil Quintana 

Variant Cover: Francesco Mattina 

Editor: Katie Kubert 

Group Editor: Jamie S. Rich 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: November 14, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Where the heck are we with this series now…still getting over “Sink Atlantis?” And then there was that one about Captain Boomerang as an Australian James Bond…by my count, this should begin a new story arc, and all of the thrills that might entail! So let’s not delay the adrenaline spike that will result from reading Suicide Squad #48, which you can taste by reading my review below!

Explain It!

Longtime readers of Suicide Squad will remember that this volume began like a Chevy V8 engine, rolling down a flight of stairs slowly. First, they were breaking Zod out of a secret Russian prison for six issues. Then, they were dealing with Zod being at Belle Reve in captivity for six issues. Then, Zod was freed, and we dealt with Zod…well, he sort of hung out in one room and bellowed a lot, before threatening to free everyone from the Phantom Zone. Then he was dispatched there along with Rick Flag, and we wondered what the hell the last eighteen issues were all about. Rick Flag eventually got out, by the way, in what was probably the worst story arc of the run. 

A good doggy would have buried those initial story arcs, from before that ill-fated Suicide Squad/Justice League crossover that happened six months after Rebirth—heck, busy the crossover too, while you’re there––kicked his hind legs over the pit, and trotted away happily, in search of treats or another dog’s butthole to sniff. Instead, we find Amanda Waller trussed up in that same Russian prison, a brain bomb inserted into the base of her skull, its remote nearby, to be triggered at a moment’s whim. The ransom is for an appearance by the “original” Suicide Squad line-up—that would be Rick Flag, Katana, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, and Captain Boomerang (Enchantress is still too messed up to help, I suppose)––to come and get her. And that’s what they do. Because boring is as boring does. 

The Annihilation Brigade is on hand to help Task Force X out, and they blunder their way to the boss level, where Amanda Waller sits, battered and broken. Rick Flag is separated from the group, and gets his own pep talk from an unseen person, who reveals that Amanda Waller had him placed in Guantanamo Bay in the first place, so he’d be more compliant when approached about running Suicide Squad. And then––Rick Flag is given the remote control for Waller’s brain bomb! The rest of the team has fucked off somewhere else, I suppose. 

This book is just sheer drudgery half the time. I can’t believe that this volume’s send-off will be a re-tread of the same shit that didn’t work the first time around. Unbelievable. Killer Croc recalls vomiting, and Captain Boomerang craps his pants, again. Even the art seems to have given up on this series. Stick a fork in this junk…or stick one of those trash-poking sticks into it. That makes more sense.

Bits and Pieces:

Nearing the end of this...sixth? volume of Suicide Squad, we get a shmear of some of the same lame stuff we had before. I heard they couldn't get Enchantress back to do the finale because she felt the series had damaged her brand.

5.5/10