In Justice League Vs. Suicide Squad #2, the mini-series finally earns its title by having the two teams duke it out. The series is wisely made of up largely classic Justice League members and most of the characters from the Suicide Squad movie, so that casual fans can really enjoy the battle. For long term fans, it makes the fight feel even more important because they know that this isn’t the B version of either team.
The one space where the book becomes a little inaccessible is in the third team on the board, Maxwell Lord’s Nightmare Army. It’s a team of third tier characters that have (largely) yet to portrayed by flesh and blood actors. They are sure to act as spoilers to this story and to potentially unite both the Suicide Squad and the Justice League later in the story. The team has yet to do anything other than talk, but their promise to take out the incredibly unlikeable Amanda Waller is exciting.
Some of the most exciting parts happen with Maxwell Lord’s team though. There are some references to the Dr. Manhattan’s world tampering that occurred at the beginning of the DC Rebirth, although Dr. Manhattan is never invoked by name. As a fan, I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop on the Watchmen story, and further details on their role in the world could be the thing to take this crossover to the next level.
One thing I really don’t like about this series is that Joshua Williamson writes Batman like a real asshole. When Batman and Deadshot fight, Batman consistently takes low (verbal) shots at Deadshot and his family. That doesn’t feel like Batman to me. Someone who would take those shots at his opponents like that would be someone HATES his opponent. It’s something the Punisher would do. And while I love the Punisher for it, Batman should be more stoic. Batman should have more compassion for his enemies than that. Batman tries to stop people from doing harm, he doesn’t try to hurt his opponents unnecessarily. That’s what the Punisher does because the Punisher doesn’t believe in redemption.
Batman should want to end the Suicide Squad because he doesn’t trust Amanda Waller, not because he doesn’t believe they cannot be redeemed. Batman works with Red Hood, a gun carrying vigilante, on the regular. He should be a guy who could work with a heroic Deadshot.
Rating: 6 out of 10
