Suicide Squad (2019-) #5 was the Squad's second mission resolving.

[thanekos]

It was the capture of Captain Boomerang, which they'd been sent to accomplish in #4.

He'd scored one off of them, detonating bombs he'd set in anticipation of their coming for him.

The speedster Jog was down and burning, and his fellow Revolutionary conscripts were taking Boomerang.

The strong Osita had him by the throat, vengeance for what he'd done in the past and the present to her tightening her grip.

Then Jog, back on his feet, put a hand on her arm: " My friend. Don't do this.

" This isn't how it's supposed to go down. "

She considered her friend, alive and wounded - and took Boomerang into custody, after wounding him in turn.

The Squad delivered Boomerang to their handler Lok at Belle Reve.

" Deadshot. " he said.

" Shoot your funny friend in the head. "





(Jog's only got a haircut and bandages because of his speedy healing.)

The shot took Zebra-Man, the source of Lok's forcefield, in the shoulder.

" No force field. " Deadshot said to the now-unprotected Lok.

" You don't own me. "



The Revolutionaries, plus Deadshot and Harley (who had their own grievances with Task Force X and its current management), went at Lok's men.

Jog moved through the fray, taking detonator after detonator away.

He just barely missed the clicking of his own.

' They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die.

' When you're as fast as I am, that can take a while.

' My..

' .. life..

' .. flashing..

' .. before..



He reported back to Osita.



" We will, Samuel. "

' It wasn't a bad life.. ' he thought, as he thanked her.

' I just wish it was a little longer. '



Osita loomed over the man who'd triggered Jog's bomb.

" Connect me to whoever Lok reports to. "

" I.. I can't. "

An application of the sin of Greed on the part of the sin-triggerer Deadly Six allowed Osita to override his fear with an appeal to his self-preservation: " Connect me to whomever Lok reports to or I'll remove your face. "

The desperately grasping soldier called up Lok's superior.

" Lok? Is it done? "

" Lok's dead. And we're very, very angry..



" We are not controlled. " popped up Chaos Kitten from the back.

" I can see that. "

(His suit's dark-blue-on-lighter-blue color scheme is wonderfully evocative.)



(That first panel placing Ted in the context of " Kord Industries " makes one wonder if that part of the character's history is why he's in this role.

This series has the Revolutionaries, characters wanting a world that isn't " the status quo for corrupt governments and corporations. "

Ted is a character who's been both CEO and superhero, without having had any notable critical examination of the former role's effect on the world he exists in.

Without that critical examination in his history, Ted might be Lok's boss because it's easy to project the evils of corporations manipulating parts of government on to him for a surprising reveal - he hasn't explicitly grappled with things like that being done, so it's not impossible to believe that he'd be perfectly fine with doing them.)



(Zebra-Man's escaping with them because forcefielding Lok was just part of his Squad duties.

Pagecount's just under 7 and 1/3rd of 22. Issue #6 came out this week.

Writing's Tom Taylor, art's Bruno Redondo, colors're Adriano Lucas, and letters're Wes Abbott.)

Comments

[coldfury]

Well, the Ted Kord angle ruined this for me. No way Booster Gold's best friend is OK with blowing people's heads up.

If there's not a swerve I'm going to be very disappointed in Taylor.

[beyondthefringe]

I really can't see any way in which this is the real Ted Kord, or otherwise that we can take this revelation at face value. Not just because Taylor seems to get Ted and Booster at characters, but because there's enough of an extant fan base that he'd know he can't turn Ted into a serious villain. He seems like a writer who respects both characters and fans.

[coldfury]

Counterpoint:. This is DC and they have a long history of randomly destroying characters.

I do hope you're right, though.

[tcampbell1000]

Yeah, I'm trusting Taylor for a bit, but if this wasn't a writer who'd earned their chops, I'd be squinting a lot harder.

It's especially weird because this role would be perfect for the 21st-century Maxwell Lord (I miss the 20th-century version, but let's face it, the damage is done on him by now). I mean, if you already have THAT guy more or less lying around and starring in DC's next movie whenever it comes out, why not use HIM instead?

Unless... UNLESS Taylor actually IS using Maxwell Lord...

[icon_uk]

Certainly my assumption is that Lord is controlling Ted, or squatting in his brain,or something.

[shakalooloo]

Max Lord controlling Ted Kord. Bad in a different way.

[thezmage]

Depending on the era of DC this took place in, this could be New 52 Ted Kord who was basically mentored by Lex Luthor after Forever Evil

[sean_613]

So long Lok, Surprised that you were killed this quick. I get that this guy was created for the new Suicide Squad and was made out to be a much a bastard that he makes Amanda Waller look likable by comparison, but you can't help but wonder, Who is Lok? When and how did he get scar and why is he a sadist? From Issue 3, I figured that he's a loyal soldier that has been taking abuse from his superiors and that's why he dishes out pain on others.