Review: Suicide Squad Volume 1 - Kicked in the Teeth

When a techno organic virus breaks out during a football game, the shadowy (and entirely expendable) Suicide Squad are sent in to contain the outbreak and retrieve the antidote. Things go awry after members of the Squad are killed and injured, prompting a messy clean-up and a change in plans. Then, Harley Quinn orchestrates a prison riot to mask her escape from Belle Reve in order to learn the truth about the Joker’s apparent demise.

Suicide Squad Volume 1: Kicked in the Teeth collects Suicide Squad #1-7, written by Adam Glass and illustrated by Federico Dallocchio and Clayton Henry.

When DC Comics launched their New 52 initiative in 2011, they had cancelled the beloved Secret Six – a quirky and dark Gail Simone-penned book about a ragtag team of former villains turned mercenaries – and seemingly hoped to fill its spot by reviving the Suicide Squad. With a roster boasting Secret Six mainstay Deadshot and Batman baddie Harley Quinn, this new team promised to be punchier and more colourful than it had ever been. Indeed, Glass’ relaunch of the Squad is showier and louder than the more procedural series that preceded it written by John Ostrander. The characters are darker, snarkier and there’s a distinctive lack of heroic figures to balance things out. This time around, it’s all about the villains.

There are quite a few characters to keep track of in these first seven issues – Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Black Spider, Captain Boomerang, El Diablo, and King Shark, to name a few. However, Glass places most of the emphasis on developing Deadshot, Harley and El Diablo to varying results. Deadshot fails to be as interesting as he was when Simone was writing him in Secret Six. He’s not quite as coarse or vulgar, which largely results in him seeming cold and detached. El Diablo fares better, particularly due to the morally conflicted nature of his character. This makes it easy to empathize with him and gives him a more humanistic appeal. The real star though is Harley Quinn. She steals every scene whenever she opens her mouth due to her integral role as the comedic relief. There’s also a dark side to her character and she’s the most unpredictable of the bunch. Her revised origin also makes it far easier to understand and sympathize with her. Unfortunately, the shallow portrayals of everyone else makes it hard to care for this cast and so the reader is less likely to have an emotional reaction when something bad happens to them.

The action this volume is relentless. It’s brutal, gory and non-stop. Glass never allows his characters any rest, which helps to amplify the drama and heighten the tension. The viciousness of the events of this collection are further emphasized by the vibrant and flashy artwork. This gives the book a darkly grotesque appeal that serves as a distinction from other mainstream titles that play it a little more safely. That said, action and art aren’t enough to make a great book. Narrative and character development are crucial to maintaining an interested audience for long periods of time. Sadly, Glass does not consistently do that here.

I thoroughly enjoyed Suicide Squad, but it lacked that “It” factor. Perhaps it was due to the constant revolving door of guest stars or the inconsistent development of its main cast. One thing is for certain though – the storylines weren’t unique or enthralling enough. The zombie outbreak at the onset felt a little too trendy, while a prison riot is really nothing new. The hook-up between Harley Quinn and Deadshot was another point of contention. It felt contrived and awkward, so it’s really no surprise that quite a few were unhappy with this interaction being jammed into the narrative. 

Even still, there was a turning point where the story became much more captivating and that was during the two-part “The Hunt for Harley Quinn.” In this story, the Squad is deployed to Gotham City where they are tasked with bringing Harley in dead or alive after she goes rogue. Interspersed with these scenes are flashback sequences detailing Harley's revised origin story for the New 52 continuity. Glass takes a darker and far more aggressive approach to the character's background, where she's significantly more autonomous and violent prior to even donning her iconic red and black duds. In essence, she's less of Joker's put-upon child-like sidekick and more like his equally as psychotic partner. That said, it would have been better had she had a more protective costume and if the book's artists weren't so fond of showing off her ivory figure at every possible chance they were given.

Comparatively speaking, Suicide Squad fails to fill the shoes of its spiritual predecessor Secret Six. It’s brash and exciting, but lacks the heart and quirkiness that made the latter so addictive. Overall, Kicked in the Teeth is hit-and-miss in terms of quality. It’s a fun read, but it’s far from being worthy of any critical acclaim. There are definitely some great things about this book and there are some not-so-great things about this book. About half the cast is interesting and have the capability to really grab the readers’ attention, while the other half is just kind of there. The narrative is jam-packed with pulse-pounding action, but is also indistinct and lacks originality. The glimmering beacon at the end of this is the incredible potential present in this book – particularly when it comes to the portrayal Harley Quinn, El Diablo’s origins and the mysterious Basilisk organization. Thankfully, the positive shift in quality happens towards the end. This suggests growth within the title, implying that the best is yet to come. For anyone looking for a primer to this summer’s big screen adaptation of Suicide Squad, this trade is probably the best place to start.

RATING: B-