Action Comics #1044

[superfangirl1]

Comments

[scorntx]

I hear of stories about this character called Amanda Waller, an intriguing character of depth and complexity, a black woman of authority from a time when such things were utterly unheard of in comics.

But the only version I've ever seen is this woman who seems utterly obsessed with putting bombs in heads and throwing supervillains at superheroes for no readily apparent reason.

[blues32]

Amanda "The Wall" Waller used to make it a choice. Agree to work off their crimes in highly dangerous missions or stay in prison for the rest of the criminal's life (however long that would be). If they survived their term on the task force, the criminal wouldn't be one anymore. Not only would they be out of prison, the records would never show they were there, making legal employment far easier to gain. Of course, so few villains take advantage of this new opportunity, but that's their choice. She even had Barbara Gordon working for her for a time as Oracle.

Now she actively kidnaps people, even traveling to other Earths to "recruit" new members to the Suicide Squad. It's like she's completely lost her mind.

[thanekos]

" Shortsighted villain " just seems more realistic than " cold pragmatist " these days, when we're thinking about people in positions of bureaucratic power.

[deh_tommy]

Ain’t that the truth…

[windleopard2]

Agree to work off their crimes in highly dangerous missions or stay in prison for the rest of the criminal's life (however long that would be).

Not sure if that's much of a choice.

[blues32]

In the real world, sure, but villains break out of jail every Tuesday in comics.

[windleopard2]

Which raises the question of why they'd even bother dealing with Waller.

[blues32]

There's a difference between escaping and having the record wiped clean. For real crooks (like Captain Cold for example), it's a bit of a relief to be able to go to a bar and not worry that someone is going to call the cops on them. Well, someone might, but the cops will quickly learn they have nothing to bring them in on. That might even be worth a laugh.

[windleopard2]

Still, I can't imagine working for Waller is a better option. At least when dealing with the average superhero they have a much stronger chance of survival. And with Waller's increased ruthlessness and cruelty, it wouldn't seem unexpected for her to double cross them.

[mazway_75]

It was originally "do the job, survive, keep your mouth shut, it's sentence commuted to time served." That let them get in bigger villains on one-off missions like Captain Cold or Penguin.

It was later changed to each mission working toward commuting their sentence. But notable how first appearance, Waller was ready to keep Boomerang under heel but Flag let him go as "I keep my word." Then Digger, of course, nearly blabs about the Squad so they keep him as permanent member to ensure he doesn't talk.

[blues32]

Didn't Boomerang get Slipknot's arm blown off during that time? I can see why Waller would want to punish him a bit.

[mazway_75]

The original Suicide Squad run remains genius for showing how Waller's desire for control and "lone wolf hands" often blew up in her face to cause bigger troubles. She seemed to own up to it in the end and accept her flaws.

Yet sometime in the late 90s, it changed to her more one-dimensional and "ends justify means" even if she can't tell what those ends are. It's rough as Ostrander created a fantastic character (who he said went in directions even he never expected) and now lost so much of that nuance.

[beyondthefringe]

I miss the old Waller.
I'm hoping the current Waller will turn out to be from a parallel Earth who replaced the prime Amanda at some point. I mean given how many times this storyline has already gone to the "alternate Earth" well for characters, what's one more to wave away such over-the-top behavior?

Or we could get an alternate Amanda who more closely resembles the classic version who defeats and replaces this one, and problem solved, and it's not like that's unprecedented, right?

I just want the Waller who's cunning, savvy, political, and well... can you be ruthless but ethical?

[scorntx]

Maybe Darkseid or one of his inner circle abducted Original Flavour Waller and replaced her with a just slightly defective clone - not enough to be a dead giveaway, but still capable of doing real damage before getting found out.

And then nobody found out.
And the actual Waller is pissed.
"How did you not realise that wasn't me?"
"There's no answer I can give that'll let me walk away alive..."

[john_drake1964]

Wallers Villain Decay/Flanderization (as TV Tropes might put it) could make sense if it was part of a larger critique of say, the American prison-industrial complex, the justice system, and issues regarding recidivism and prisoner enforced labor, as well as the U.S. intelligence operatus darker side.

If it was couched in part as part of that, it could work, explaining that Waller is going to more extreme measures and using the stick more than the carrot in her dealings because of a variety of internal and external factors. Perhaps as an example of how the current system devalues and degrades those in the prison system as being expendable and not being seen as "human."

But that critique doesn't seem to be so much the point as just something one could argue as she's increasingly written as "question me in any way, and your head explodes. Sneeze without permission, and your head explodes. Blink too slowly, and guess what, boom goes the noggin."

[donnblake]

"I don't want to address a morally problematic but deeply pragmatic set of geopolitical goals. I want to turn people into dinosaurs put bombs in people's heads."

[blues32]

...didn't this man explode? Eh, universal shifts and all that, I suppose he didn't die in this new timeline or whatever. So sure, let's bring back the guy who's whole purpose was to die due to his father's abuse.

[mazway_75]

Conduit was always intriguing by how it was Clark Kent he hated, not Superman as much. In a way, the reverse Lex Luthor, he didn't think Clark was making it personal but still loathed him "stealing" his high school fame away. He was good as a one-off story villain but trying to build him more after that rough.

[trooper924]

It reminds me of how the Penguin is sometimes portrayed, like in the Arkham games, where his enmity is more with Bruce Wayne and the Wayne family rather than with Batman (whom he still hates of course, it's just more personal with Bruce Wayne).

[john_drake1964]

I have always liked the idea of the Penguin becoming more of a foil for Bruce than Batman because it fits with not only his general re-orientation as a antagonist, but also because it also fits into the wider ideas of legacy and the general conceit of Gotham's own history, which has helped mold it in a character in and of itself.

[icon_uk]

Conduit I only remember for having

A) A VERY silly and meaningless codename

B) A kinda cool action figure

C) An admittedly impressive line in sidekick in peril traps

In this situation, I'm not really seeing his value. His powers weren't that impressive, and most of his original schtick depending on him being one of the few villains to know Superman was Clark Kent.... and these days everyone already knows that.

[blues32]

And an utter wiz with robotics, able to build a duplicate of Smallville with robot imitations of people that worship him and hate Clark.