Five Comic Book Members of the Suicide Squad for the Inevitable Sequel

DC's next major motion picture opens today: Suicide Squad. One of my favorite properties from the 80s, the Suicide Squad is a team of villains forced to do covert ops for the US government. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I'm not here to comment on it, but instead to talk about the comics, and casting. You see, the reason why the team is called the Suicide Squad is because there's a good chance that team members aren't going to make it back from these missions, which means high team turnover. So that means there are plenty of other options for team members, and I'm hear to talk about five possible characters who could join the Squad ion the sequel that will probably be coming.

It's important to note that, while the Suicide Squad has had many incarnations, both before and after, I'm drawing all of my choices from what I view as THE Suicide Squad comic, the 1980s series written by John Ostrander and Kim Yale. It is easily one of the best series DC published at a point of high creativity, filled with topical politics, all out action, and tremendous character depth.

Before I start, I just want to call out three squad members who didn't make it on this list not because they're not awesome and I would love to see them on the big screen, but because of some of the weird silos that DC has on many of its character, these three feature prominently as heroes or villains on the CW DC TV series, and so will be featured there: Vixen, who has been added to the cast of Legends of Tomorrow for next season, Count Vertigo, who is one of Green Arrow's principal foes and has appeared in various iterations on Arrow,  and the one non-Ostrander/Yale character I considered, King Shark, who first joined the team in the pages of Superboy and became a regular in the New 52, who has been a featured villain on Flash. I'd be thrilled to see any of those characters make the movies though, DC, so keep them in mind!

Now without further ado, five members of the Suicide Squad I'd like to see in the sequel, in mostly alphabetical order:

Bronze Tiger
Ben Turner was a skilled martial artist who was taken and brain washed to serve as a member of the League of Assassins. After the conditioning was broken, he willingly joined the Suicide Squad to atone for all the deaths he caused as a member of the League. He did appear on Arrow as a member of the Squad, but disappeared around the same time the fiat came from on high from Warners to remove the team, so I don't see any problem in him being used here. I'm picking Bronze Tiger for a couple reasons. He was one of the staples of the original '80s Squad, along with Deadshot, Boomerang, and Amanda Waller. He's got a great backstory, and his nobility makes him stand apart from the more sociopathic members of the team, while he still struggles with rage and doubt caused by years of mind control. Also, while I have to give the movie credit for having more diversity than a lot of superhero teams, it never hurts to add another actor of color to your roster. I also like the connection to the League of Assassins. Again, while used on Arrow, the League is primarily a Batman related property, and I think it would be interesting to do a Suicide Squad vs. ninjas movie, with a more comic book traditional Ra's al Ghul as the big bad, and adding in Bronze Tiger gives a connection to the League.

Duchess
We already known that Darkseid and his minions are the big bad in this first phase of DC Universe movies, and it would make sense to have someone tied to that become a member of the Suicide Squad. Duchess was in reality Lashina, a member of Granny Goodness's Female Furies, who was betrayed by another Fury, Bernadeth, and left behind on a mission. She joined the Suicide Squad, claiming amnesia, but secretly spent her time on the Squad looking for a way back to Apokolips, and when it arrived she took it, bringing most of the Squad along with her and costing the lives of more than one member. I like the idea of adding to the cohesive nature of the shared universe in a less forced way then it seems DC has been doing, by naturally working a survivor from what I assume is the Apokoliptian invasion coming in the Justice League films into the roster. It would also be cool to get another physically imposing female figure in movies in general, and her particularly, since it would give the Squad a character who could go toe-to-toe with the Justice League's heavy hitters.

Nemesis
I have a soft spot for Tom Tresser, the spy code named Nemesis, first from his tme on the Suicide Squad, then his appearances in Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman, and the two really trppy mini-series he starred in that spun out of Final Crisis. Nemesis worked with the Squad not as a convict but because he owed Amanda Waller and Rick Flag for saving his life. Since the Squad is theoretically a covert ops team, having a master of disguise on the roster always made sense to me. It's also interesting to have him on the team because, even though Rick Flag and Bronze Tiger are mostly good guys, they both are men who know how to make hard choices. Nemesis was a softer touch, and had more problems with the ruthless way the Squad was run; he provided a different angle on the Squad missions.

Poison Ivy
While Harley Quinn has become a staple of the Suicide Squad in recent years, her BFF/girlfriend Poison Ivy was a long standing member in the original series. Back when the series was written, Ivy had not been remade into the eco-terrorist/sympathetic villain she is now, but was instead mostly a master manipulator of men; she spent a good part of the run with Count Vertigo held in her thrall. I would expect a Suicide Squad movie to use the current, more well regarded version of Ivy. It would be fun to see the Harley and Ivy dynamic played out in live action and on screen, helping to bring some levity to things.

Oracle
I went back and forth on this as a choice. One of John Ostrander and Kim Yale's principal achievements on Suicide Squad was taking the mess that was The Killing Joke and crafting Oracle, the Barbara Gordon who I grew up reading. I know that, now that Barbara is back being Batgirl again, many readers sort of want to move completely beyond Oracle since it brings up the somewhat ugly spectre that Killing Joke casts on the character, but I love Oracle. I love the concept that even when the use of her legs are taken away, Barbara Gordon is such a hero that she finds a way to still do good. I love the perseverance and strength of character that this demonstrates for Barbara. And I think it gives an opportunity for all sorts of stories and a different sort of representation, once we see even less of in movies. And there are ways to create Oracle that aren't as ugly as Joker's sadistic attack on her; there are enough differences between the DCEU and the DCU that the filmmakers could come up with a new story that still has the same effect. And after all the teasing of a possible Barbara Gordon in the BvS extended cut, wouldn't it be nice to get a real appearance in the DCEU?


The Supporting Cast
OK, so this takes me beyond the five I said I'd pick, but this is something that was really important in the original Suicide Squad series that has been missing in pretty much all the versions since. Ostrander and Yale built a sizable network of character who operated around the main Squad as support staff, and spent time making them all fully realized characters. I know this would be hard to do in a movie, or even a series of movies, but it would be great to try, or at least to give some nods to them. Characters like Flow Crawley, the daughter of Amanda Waller's cousin who worked in the administration of Belle Reve, and who gave Waller of less cold, more human side. Or Father Craemer, the prison chaplain, who Ostrander would go on to do amazing things with in The Spectre. Doctors Simon LaGrieve and Marnie Herrs could be put to excellent use, who would often try to convince Waller that members of the team weren't ready for these missions to no effect, giving a voice of compassion in a series filled with characters who are not compassionate at all. And finally there was Mitch Sekofsky, the mechanic for the Squad's transports, who was one of the first openly gay characters in DC history. The Marvel franchises have proven that you can build these kind of networks of supporting characters so we can hope that DC can move forward with a wide array of background characters.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 5/6

Afterlife with Archie #8
Story: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Art: Francesco Francavilla

A lot of the horror of Archie Comics's recent horror revival have been placing their usually peaceful characters in violent and shocking positions. The new issue of Afterlife with Archie is actually quite quiet. There is a minimum of action in any physical sense, but it is one of the more chilling comics I've read in quite some time.The remaining Riverdale refugees have settled at the Bradbury Hotel to rest for Christmas, and the issue opens with a modified quote from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. This opening pastiche is the first of many in an issue that is a love letter to classic haunted house stories. Archie narrates much of the story to Jughead, the human patient zero for the zombie outbreak, who appears as a ghostly bartender and is making ghostly sodas for Archie in the first of many homages to Stanley Kubric's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining. We get caught up on the fallout from the previous issue's death of Jason Blossom, both the vote to decide whether his suspected murderer, his sister Cheryl, would stay with the group and her eventual revelation to the ladies her motives. Reggie rides through the Bradbury on a skateboard and encounters his own ghosts like Danny on his tricycle. But much of what Archie talks about is Betty and the loss of her hope and innocence, something that we starting in the previous issue which she narrated. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has crafted a great character-based horror comic here, really delving into what makes these characters tick and where they're going. There's also a tale from Archie's mom, told to her by her grandmother, that might explain a lot about Riverdale, but also one that reminds us that nothing comes without a cost. The issue ends with Archie making a decision, one that I feel can only lead to more heartache, more death, but I can't be sure exactly where this will lead, which is another quality of good horror: it keeps you guessing. And Afterlife with Archie does exactly that.

Bodie Troll: Fuzzy Memories #1
Story & Art: Jay P. Fosgitt

I was able to track down a FCBD Bodie Troll issue, which whet my appetite for the first issue of the new Bodie mini-series, Fuzzy Memories. The issue opens with a great little scene that sets up all of the principles' personalities if you've never read Bodie's adventures before: Bodie is chasing bunnies, thinking he's scary, when the bunnies in fact think he's playing. Bodie's friend Cholly is writing her latest play. And Miz Bijou, the fairy who employs Cholly at her pub (and Bodie to a lesser degree) us being sardonic and egging Bodie on. Bodie and Miz Bijou wind up making a bet that Bodie can't eat something living, and he ups the ante by saying he'll find something in the monster forest. Cholly and Bodie wander through the forest, where Bodie once again is sure he's scary when the really scary thing is Hokun of the Kooghun, a member of a monster hunting tribe, who winds up chasing Bodie home. There's some pretty complex plotting here, not confusing but layered, where things are set up early that pay off at the end of the story. Bodie eats some Butt-Truffles, mushrooms that only grow in monster poop, and what seems like a simple gross out joke winds up having an important part in the story's end. One of the fun things about Bodie Troll is the mix of poop jokes with cute characters and the other humor; it's still all ages, frankly, if my six year old niece's sense of humor is any indication of the tolerance of little kids for poop jokes. Jay P. Fosgitt's art is wonderful as ever, with his great monster designs, adorable Bodie and bunnies, and his people who have a distinct look; Bodie dressed up in his best suit, waiting to be killed joyfully because he thinks it's because he's really scary was a delightful visual. This issue serves as a great reintroduction to Bodie's world if you've been here before, and perfect jumping on point if you're new, both letting you know who these characters are and establishing a mystery or two to keep readers coming back.

Convergence: Nightwing and Oracle #2
Story: Gail Simone
Art: Jan Duursema

Ok, I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Call me a rank sentimentalist, but I saw this cover and I smiled pretty damn wide. After last issue left the future of Nightwing and Oracle up in the air, both their relationship future and their lives in general as they had to fight the Flashpoint universe Hawkwoman and Hawkman, the stakes were pretty high here. But while Nightwing goes in with escrima sticks swinging, Oracle does what she does best: she thinks. With a little help from her friends, she sets off to do battle herself. The Hawks proudly boasted that they hear everything using their Thangarian robots, but when your best friend has a sonic scream, well, you can use that to your advantage. Yes, Gail Simone gets to not only bid goodbye to this version of Barbara Gordon as Oracle, but she also gets to work in some great scenes with Black Canary, and we get to see Barbara's rapport with her fellow Bird of Prey. And when the chips are down again, it's Barbara who once again saves the day. It's not that Nightwing is portrayed poorly; he's still a hero, still tough and strong, and willing to sacrifice anything to save people. But this is Barbara's show from page one. Jan Duursema once again blew me away with her Nightwing, one who moves with such perfect grace, the same kind she instilled in her Jedi in her years of Star Wars work. I ended the review of last issue saying that if this was the end of these versions of these characters, I'm happy Simone got in the last word. I don't think I have anything else to say than that. If you ever loved Barbara Gordon as Oracle, or the Bludhaven era, happy-go-lucky Nightwing, this is a perfect send off for those characters.

Convergence: The Question #2
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Cully Hamner

Greg Rucka's last hurrah with Renee Montoya, a character he redefined entirely, is as satisfying as Gail Simone's with Oracle; Rucka turned Renee from another Gotham cop into a down on her luck drunk and then into the Question, a feat in itself. Rucka knows Renee inside and out, and after being knocked out by Two-Face last issue, she teams up with her roommate, Huntress, and her ex, Batwoman, to try to stop Harvey from committing a bizarre form of suicide, going to fight an alternate universe version of himself and letting that version kill him. While the heroes are jumping across rooftops and storming the Gotham Courthouse where Two-Face is, we get some great character bits; the awkwardness between Question and Batwoman, Batwoman being jealous of Huntress and Question, and Huntress putting Batwoman in her place since she and Question are just friends. It's never catty, never over the top, but Rucka knows his characters, and knows how to make them sing, metaphorically. He also knows Two-Face, and presents a great scene where our disfigured Harvey Dent talks to a whole version of himself, one with everything our Harvey lost. The story is naturally narrated by our title character, with Renee talking about loss and regret, and there's a one moment where she remembers Charlie, her friend, who was the original question, who died on cancer, and she gets a final moment to see her estranged father, who is also dying of cancer, and gets to have the moment where they share their love one more time. It's a touching scene, and it's nice to see Renee get her own kind of happy ending. In an interesting tonal mismatch, the preview of a new DC title in the back of this issue is for Starfire, from Harley Quinn writing team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, a much lighter title. Starfire is trying to find a new home, and we get a view into her head as she meets with various allies and frenemies for help her in her decision. Finally, with some help from Superman, Starfire settles on a place, a place with no superheroic history to it. It's a cute eight pager, and it sets up this new series well.


After weeks of talking about everything that led to it, Dan Grote looks at the beginning of the new Marvel event...

Secret Wars #1

Story: Jonathan Hickman

Art:  Esad Ribic and Ive Svorcina

In the beginning, there was Reed Richards …

… I mean, I guess if you completely ignore the Golden Age and start with the Silver Age, when Marvel Comics actually started calling itself Marvel Comics.

The first issue of Marvel’s big end-of-the-worlds event is very much a tale of two Reeds: The 616 Reed and the Reed of the so-called Ultimate Universe. One is a super-scientist and a father making a last-ditch effort to save whatever he can of his world. The other is, to quote Ultimate Nick Fury (aka MCU Nick Fury): “a thousand-year-old megalomaniacal boy genius who wiped out most of Europe on a whim.”

616 Reed has built a ship full of scientists and superheroes to flee Earth and find a way to rebuild. While our Reed is clearly depicted as the nobler of the two, it bears noting that at least half the ship’s passengers are members of his immediate family and the Future Foundation, the science enclave created during Hickman’s run on FF. The rest are random heroes not given the luxury of escaping with their loved ones.

1610 Reed, on the other hand, has isolated himself in a temporal dome called the City, from which he  manipulates his Nick Fury into attacking 616 Earth, launches a doomsday weapon and hangs out with the 616’s scariest villains, including Thanos and Maximus the Mad Inhuman.

In the end, one Reed loses everything. I mean, I guess everyone loses everything when two Earths smash into each other, but the reader only gets to see one man’s heart break.

The book boasts a large cast, but everyone who isn't named Reed Richards is basically there just to punch each other as if that would somehow save the world. How that doesn't result in a single hero meeting his or her 1610 counterpart is beyond me. Only Ultimate Iron Man gets a meeting with a 616 hero – Captain Marvel – and he dutifully hits on her.

The award for Best Scene, however, goes to the 616’s villains, who throw an end-of-the-world party at the Bar with No Name only for it to be broken up by an uninvited guest with a skull on his shirt and a desire to unload a surplus of bullets.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 4/8

Birthright #6
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Andrei Brissan

After a brief hiatus, Birthright is back and picking up right where it left off, both in story and quality. Brother Mikey and Brennan are now on the run together, and Mikey is using all the skills he learned spending years in the fantasy otherworld of Terrenos. There's some nice binding moments, as the two brothers act brotherly, playing and teasing in the way siblings do. But there's the darkness in Mikey, not just the fact that some aspect of the evil God King Lore is driving him, but what seems like PTSD from his years of adventuring. The jumping up from nightmares, the callous way he kills, it's clear that there's a darkness driving him. While the two brothers are off having this adventure, their parents are once again left to pick up the pieces of "real life." Aaron, the boys' father, is once again being interrogated by Det. Brooks, the officer who has been investigating the case form the start, and just as Wendy, the boys' mother, is getting through to Aaron, the NSA arrives in the form of the pompous Agent Kylen. As Kylen immediately says that Aaron's son is a threat, he seems to have less of problem with the idea that Mikey has aged twenty-plus years in the space of a year, so I'm wondering if he's just playing Aaron or if the government has some idea of what exactly is happening with Terrenos. Artist Andrei Brissan seems to have stepped up over the course of the short hiatus; while his art was excellent before, it's on a new level. The two pages spread that shows Lore and his realm is creepy and disgusting in the way you'd want the domain of a dark lord to be. There's a scene with a bear coming across the boys in the woods that really stands out, not just because the bear is gorgeously rendered (which it is), but also for the way Mikey acts towards it. The last couple of pages introduce who look to be Mikey's new nemeses, and while we know Mikey's the "bad guy" in this situation, we know him and care about him enough to want him to defeat them, which is a sign of how well written he is. Joshua Williamson amazes me; some writer have a hard time getting one book out in a month, and he writes three very strong creator owned titles, each with a different flavor. Birthright is one of most original books on the racks, mixing fantasy with modern family drama. The first trade is out now, so grab it and this first issue of the second arc now.

Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #1
Story: Gail Simone
Art: Jan Duursema

As Convergence starts is earnest this week, we got the first week of mini-series set in old worlds, this week focusing on the pre-Flashpoint world. They were kind of a mixed bag, but shockingly, one of the really strong ones was Nightwing/Oracle from Gail Simone, who wrote Oracle longer than nearly anyone, and Jan Duursema, whose return to DC after years at Dark Horse doing some of the best Star Wars art ever is welcome. After a year under the mysterious dome, Barbara Gordon, better known as Oracle in this world, is starting to lose hope. She's been partnering with Dick Grayson, Nightwing, and they've been keeping Gotham safe. The issue is narrated form Barbara's point of view, and we see just how close she is to sinking into despair. It's hard to see Barbara, who is such a string character and been through so much, at this point, but it does make the situation seem all the more dire. Meanwhile, Nightwing is still full of so much joy and energy; Simone writes a Nightwing who is a big, grinning kid, not dumb, but as Barbara says, living every moment in the now. Duursema's kinetic style works perfectly with the acrobatic Grayson. As the issue progresses, we get the standard Convergence set-up, the gladiatorial conflict between heroes of two cities, and after seeing them wipe out the Justice Riders at the beginning of the issue, it's not a shock that our heroes will be facing the dark versions of Hawkman and Hawkwoman from the Flashpoint reality. But the deal that is offered isn't like anything else going on, and it leaves Dick and Barbara in a bad place. Barbara has just turned down Dick's marriage proposal and now tells him she's not going to fight the Hawks. But after Dick leaves, the last panel of the issue is one of those knock you off your feet ones, not for action or shock, but because it's so perfectly Oracle. Gail Simone writes a better Barbara Gordon as Oracle than pretty much anyone, and if these are the last two issues we're ever going to get, well, that last panel sums up what I want from an Oracle story and makes me even more excited for the next issue.

Convergence: The Quesion #1
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Cully Hamner

And equally not shocking, the second Convergence title that really blew me away was The Question from Greg Rucka and Cully Hamner, who wrote the excellent backup stories featuring the character on Detective Comics. And as you'd expect from Rucka writing the Question, this is a very personal and human story about Renee Montoya. Most of the characters who formed Renee's supporting cast are all here: Huntress, Two-Face, Batwoman, and while they don't physically appear, her family's presence is felt. Renee's relationship with Two-Face has always been complicated, and while the two are working together at the beginning of the issue to find morphine to her father, who is dying, Two-Face doesn't realize Renee is the Question and they have a very different relationship. Rucka's Two-Face is one of the most sympathetic and well-rounded presentations of that character, and his time in the dome has clearly not been going well. Meanwhile, the easy camaraderie between Renee and the Huntress makes for some great interplay between the two. I don't think I'd realized how much I've missed either character more than when they were simply bantering in the apartment they share. But Huntress warms Renee not to trust Two-Face, but Renee still has faith in him. But when the dome falls, Two-Face decides it's time to leave the dome and finally act on the death wish he has by finding another Harvey Dent to finally kill him. Renee does care about Two-Face, just not in the way he cares for her, and so she does try to stop him, to not much effect, and the issue ends with Renee once again meeting the one that got away, Batwoman, another character I can't wait to see Rucka write some more. I have one minor quibble/question that if either of the creators happen to see this, maybe they can answer: historically, Two-Face has a two headed coin, one side scarred, that he flips. That's part of the shtick: Two-Face with a two-faced coin, and it's an important part of his origin. The coin he has here clearly has heads and tails, as he both says it and we see the scarred side is a tails side. Did I miss something? Is this not the original coin? Other than that, which is at best a minor quibble, this was a great character piece featuring one of the characters who has been lost to the sands of time. No one writes these characters better than Rucka, and as with Simone and Oracle, I'm glad to see one more go around for this combination of writer and character.

Copperhead #6
Story: Jay Faerber
Art: Scott Godlewski

Another Image series returned from its between arcs hiatus this week, and it's return was also strong and impressive. Copperhead, the frontier Western in space, is back, and the events on the mining colony aren't getting any easier for Sheriff Clara Bronson. After a very cool action opening where Bronson and her alien deputy Budroxifinicus (Boo for short) stop someone from robbing secrets from the local mine, she finds herself stymied as local land baron and mine owner Mr. Hickory refuses to press charges. Hickory proved at the end of the last arc that he is no fan of Bronson's, and while she warns him not to take justice into his own hands when the man goes free, it's clear that Hickory is not pleased. This becomes more clear when he later goes to talk to Boo about a... change in regime. It's nice to see more of Boo's home life, meeting his mate, seeing another of his flashbacks to the war between his people and humanity. We don't get Meanwhile, Bronson's son Zeke sneaks away from home to talk to Ismael, the artificial human who saved him in the first arc; since this is a good jumping on issue, despite this being a brief scene, it's nice that all the principle characters show up. Bronson's night is a little more action filled, as she goes to local saloon "undercover" since it's pay day for the miners and that usually means things get rowdy in town. She stops a particularly sleazy specimen named Nestor from beating one of the local ladies of negotiable affection (a phrase from Terry Pratchett I've always loved), and meets a new character, Madame Vega, the local, well, madame, who appreciates another strong woman in town, and I find myself wondering if Vega will be a friend in whatever is coming between the sheriff and Hickory. We also see local school teacher Thaddeus Luken, a purple skinned near human, talk to Barton at the bar and ask her out, something that is interrupted by Nestor, but an invitation she accepts later at the schoolhouse. One of things that Jay Faerber is doing with this book is playing on a lot of the classic Western tropes, and so having the school marm and the sheriff as a couple works as one of those tropes, but here the genders are reversed. Copperhead is a great genre mash-up with strong characters and great designs for its world; if you ever enjoyed a Western or a sci-fi series set out on strange new worlds it's a great book, and this is a perfect time to jump on.

Descender #2
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Dustin Nguyen

After last month's strong start, Descender returns with a powerful second issue. The first issue ended with a group of robot scavengers arriving at the moon where boy robot Tim-21 had just awakened. This issue begins with a single page that has narration boxes talking about a memory download. The story then moves in alternating pages. One page is in the present, where we see Tim and Bandit (his robo dog, fleeing the robot hunters, while the opposing page is a differently colored page showing Tim's memories, from the moment he awakened for the first time to when he went to sleep ten years prior. we get to see his creator, Dr. Jin Quon, who we met last month, from his point of view, and then we see him meet the family he was sent to, Ms. Travers and her son, Andy. It's heartwarming to see how Tim becomes part of this family, and it's juxtaposed against the hunt for Tim and the violence that is perpetrated both by the hunters and by Tim in defense of Bandit and himself. The story winds up looping back around to the first page in a clever narrative device, and gives a view of the scene from that first page pulled further back to show the full, painful scene. The issue ends with Tim in mortal danger and a new possible friend entering his life. For a story about a robot, Tim is one of the most human characters, and his heartbreak as he finds the body of one of the victims of the catastrophe that killed most of the moon's residents is palpable. Dustin Nguyen puts in some of the best work of his career on this title; it works perfectly with Jeff Lemire's script. With two issues down, it looks like Descender is another strong title from Image.



And Dan Grote bids a fond farewell (temporary as it might be) to Deadpool...

Deadpool #250/45

Story: Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn

Art: Mike Hawthorne, Terry Pallot, Jordie Bellaire and Joe Sabino

Backup strips: Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Scott Aukerman, Mike Drucker, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Nick Giovannetti, Matt Selman, Mirko Colak, Todd Nauck, Ty Templeton, Jacob Chabot, Natalie Nourigat, J.J. Kirby, Scott Koblish, Val Staples, Veronica Gandini, Ruth Redmond and Irene Y. Lee.

Well, as promised, Deadpool’s dead. But so’s everybody else. Without spoiling things too much, there’s a reason this is happening right before Secret Wars.

That said, the main story of Deadpool #250/45 (gotta love Marvel’s selective numbering) is actually a happy ending for Wade Wilson. The last few pages find DP surrounded by the supporting cast of the Duggan/Posehn/Hawthorne/Koblish era, the closest thing he’s ever had to family, from his illegitimate daughter to the Life Model Decoy of his SHIELD handler to the ghost of Benjamin Franklin. When the end comes, Wilson loves and is loved – a far cry from the psychopath who used to keep a blind old lady prisoner. Matt went into greater detail on this last week, but for my money, the Marvel NOW volume of Deadpool is easily the best since the original Joe Kelly run in the late ’90s.

And now, backup strips galore! Duggan and Posehn’s comedy-writer friends fill half of this supersized issue, with mini tales by Thrilling Adventure Hour’s Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, Comedy Bang Bang’s Scott Aukerman, The League’s Paul Scheer and Jason Mantzoukas, and more. Deadpool’s demon wife, Shiklah, catches up on ’80s pop culture! The Prestons get a talking dog (my favorite strip)! Kid Apocalypse tries to be bad but fails! Agent Adsit takes wisecracking lessons from Spider-Man! The Thing and Ghost Franklin team up (favorite single panel)! And Michael the Necromancer goes on a date!

Finally, we come to the last of the Scott Koblish-drawn flashback stories, in which Deadpool steals the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos and throws himself a roast guest-starring the entire Marvel Universe, which subjects him to a merciless barrage of jokes, many of which are fart-based. After he’s had enough, Wade freezes the scene and turns to camera, calling the reader out for making his life so miserable, reminding us once again that he is the ultimate self-aware sad clown. To which emcee Howard the Duck replies, “Kid, I was you before you came along,” bringing the curtain down on a money’s-worth read.

Recommended Reading for 2/14: Batgirl featuring Stephanie Brown

When Stephanie Brown was introduced in Detective Comics by Chuck Dixon and Tom Lyle, it seemed like she was a one arc, one note character, albeit a good one. The daughter of F-List Batman villain The Cluemaster (a poor man's Riddler best known for being a member of Giffen & DeMatteis's Injustice League/Justice League Antarctica from the BWAH-HA-HA! years), Steph donned the costume of The Spoiler to shut down her absentee father's criminal enterprises. But after a couple stories where Steph went up against her dad, she started doing the vigilante thing for the action of it, and to hang around with Tm Drake, then Robin, as the two of them developed a relationship. Steph and Tim eventually broke up, she briefly was Robin, and one of the least of the Bat family events, "War Games," seemed to have thoroughly fridged Steph (if you don't know that expression, it has to do with female characters being killed for no other reason then to affect male characters, in this case Batman). But eventually, when Dixon returned to writing Robin after some years away, he brought Steph back as Spoiler. And after the "death" of Bruce Wayne, when the Bat titles went through the "Batman Reborn" branding, a new Batgirl title was launched, written by Bryan Q. Miller, with Steph as the titular heroine, and it became a major cult hit, and one of the best books on the market during its time on the stands.

One of the best aspects of Steph, one of the things that has made her such a beloved character as Batgirl, is that she was very much an everywoman. She wasn't a millionaire driven by vengeance like Batman, a boy genius like Tim Drake, or a living weapon like previous Batgirl Cassandra Cain. Steph was going to college, was trying to make new friends, maybe even meet a new boyfriend. And even more important to her character, Steph has moved beyond her issues with her dad, and was trying to be Batgirl because it was the right thing to do, and because she wanted to be a beacon of hope in Gotham. She wasn't a scary, single minded agent of vengeance like Batman, but was someone who was a hero because she thought the city needed it.

At the time it was released, this was also the book that was the place to go for Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, know at the time as Oracle. DC was in between volumes of Birds of Prey, the title Barbara was often featured in, and so Barbara was in Batgirl. The relationship between Steph and Barbara didn't start out too well, with Barbara not too thrilled with Steph taking up the mantle, but by the end of the first arc they were working together. That evolving relationship was one of the pleasures of the title, and even when Birds of Prey came back, Barbara was still a presence in the book. Barabara served not only as Steph's tech person and intelligence helper, but as her mentor, as the two had more in common than either had with Batman or much of his family, as they were both similarly motivated to do good.

Miller added another character to Stephanie's supporting cast, another female character who had been somewhat trampled by recent writers. Wendy Harris had been introduced into Teen Titans to be one of their tech people, along with her brother Marvin. Yes, that's Wendy and Marvin from Super Friends. But since whimsy was something found rarely at DC Comics at the time, pretty soon Marvin was eaten by a monstrous version of Wonder Dog and Wendy was badly injured. Wendy wound up in a wheelchair, and was full of anger at her fate. Barbara, who was also in a wheelchair after the Joker shot her, took Wendy under her wing and introduced her to Steph to become her own personal Oracle and partner. Taking on the name Proxy, Wendy began working with Steph. Their friendship grew, and was just hitting its stride towards the end of the run. Miller did a good job of drawing parallels not just between Barabara and Wendy, but Steph as well, as Steph's father was Oracle's arch nemesis, The Calculator. Miller built this great little cast of female heroes working together; it was a worthy successor and companion to Birds of Prey.

A particular favorite story from the series of mine was issues 6 and 7, where Steph has her first meeting with Damian Wayne, the current Robin. Damian is so abrasive and so full of himself, that he doesn't see the point in working with Stephanie, who he views as untrained and beneath his notice. But over the course of the issue, Steph earns the respect of both Damian and Dick Grayson, currently filling in as Batman. And this leads nicely into issue 17, which is another Damian and Steph story. In that story, Steph and Damian have to team up to save the children of Gotham's rich families from being abducted. Damian goes undercover, and has to interact with kids his own age. While the story is still Steph's, the issue does a tremendous job with Damian's voice, and having Steph, and outsider, see Damian in this environment makes it clear how the way Damian was raised, by his mother Talia in the League of Assassins to be the heir to Ra's al Ghul, has really affected him; Damian doesn't know how to be a kid. It's one of the best Damian stories ever written, and rereading it makes me miss the little brat all the more.

Issue 17 was a great example of one of the really excellent things Miller did throughout the series; while there was an overarcing plot, and many multi issue stories, they were broken up by some really fun one offs. Issue 13 was a one off where Batgirl teams up with Nick Gage, or St. Nick as his fellow GCPD officers call him, to fight Clayface. A handsome cop who was Batgirl's love interest, Gage ran into Steph a couple times out of costume to amusing results. Issue 14 has Steph and Supergirl fighting a legion of Draculas. And issue 18 was a Valentine's Day story featuring Klarion the Witch Boy. Miller brought in these guest stars in charming stories that never lost sight of Steph's unique voice, narrating the stories and making you fall for her as one of the most real protagonists in comics since Peter Parker first pulled on red longjohns.

The final arc of the series was one of the most bitter sweet reading experiences I have had in comics. The book had completely hit its stride. Miller had introduced the Order of the Scythe, a group of young super villains who made good additions to Steph's rogues gallery, built plots involving Wendy, and finally brought Steph face to face with her father for the first time in years. The final issue uses the Black Mercy, the plant that pushes you into a dream world, to show what I believe were Miller's long term plans for the book, giving Steph a long and wonder filled career as Batgirl. But Steph is able to cast off the Mercy, defeat her father, and have a final heart to heart with Oracle. Steph is happy, and that is filled with hope for the future...

The three main artists that Miller worked with throughout the series were very different and impressive. Lee Garbett began the series. His art is very much traditional super hero art, with great fluidity and excellent characterization. Dustin Nguyen was next. I've spoken about him before, and between his work on Detective Comics, Batman: Streets of Gotham, Li'l Gotham, and this book, he is one of the best Bat artists of the past decade; his style is unique to him, and jumps off the page, there's so much action and joy in it. Pere Perez wrapped the series. His style was closer to Garbett's, very super hero, very light. When his Steph smiled, you couldn't help but smile along.

Batgirl #24 was the last appearance of Stephanie Brown before the New 52 happened and she disappeared. She appeared in the special that wrapped up Grant Morrison's first run of Batman Incorporated, but other than a couple near misses in Li'l Gotham, Young Justice, and Smallville Season 11, Steph has been one of the casualties of the reboot. That looks like it's going to change, with the upcoming Batman: Eternal weekly series, which was previewed in this past week's issue of Batman (more on that in this Monday's reviews). There are runs of super hero books that break the trends of their time and become something special. The vocal Stephanie Brown fans have clearly indicated this fun, character driven series did exactly that. I hope that her return will be half as fun as what this series gave readers, and that she has a new lease on life in the Bat titles of today.

The entire twenty four issue run of Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl series are available in three trades: Batgirl Rising, The Flood, and The Lesson. They are currently not in print, but shouldn't be that hard to track down.