[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Rob Williams
Artist: Jose Luis
Summary
Don’t miss part one of “Sink Atlantis,” continuing in AQUAMAN #39, also on sale in August! After Aquaman’s undersea kingdom rises to become a world power of the surface, the Suicide Squad must infiltrate the city and send it back to the depths or die trying. But sinking Aquaman’s city isn’t Task Force X’s only objective in Atlantis. There’s something buried there that Amanda Waller wants, and this is her chance to claim it.
Positives
What an incredibly complex and layered story! With Aquaman hitting theaters soon, a great way to hype up comics fans is to do a great Atlantis-themed story. A weary team is very noticeable as Deadshot is still reeling from the events of Kobra, Harley is being Harley, Waller is up against a wall, and Killer Croc still mourns Enchantress. Having the characters still hurt and having past stories weigh on them is a great way to demonstrate how grounded and real this team can be. While readers who don’t regularly pick up Aquaman may take a few moments to realize what is going on, the over arcing story is not overly complex and easy to pick up.
Atlantis rising to the surface puts the U.S. in a precarious position and must decide what to do in response to Mera’s surface coronation. While most Atlanteans attend the ceremony, Aquaman himself decides to remain hidden and a group of rebels who feel Mera’s coronation is illegitimate burrow to the depths of Atlantis’ still submerged areas to protest the new monarch but also help out the Suicide Squad in their mission to resink the sprawling city. More is sure to come as Deadshot discovers the magic sphere provided by Waller to lower the city is actually a nuke with a massive blast radius that will result in the city’s drop to the bottom of the sea, Waller is most likely being black mailed as it’s teased her higher ups are aware of an incident with Col. Rick Flag, a secret so dark she’s willing to kill thousands of Atlanteans to hide. What a roller coaster!
Negatives
While the story is incredibly well done and has a very exciting future, the two new characters introduced were perhaps not the best for this story. Ironically, even Harley Quinn remarks as to how dark and mysterious Master Jailer backstory is making him just another generic character inserted into the story. Lord Satanis is visually interesting but leaves much to be desired as a character. Speaking like a cross between Dr. Fate and The Joker, hes also a generic cookie cutter character inserted into the story for either a twist or reveal that will pay off down the road. While expendable characters are always needed, it seems a bit bland to include some of the bottom tier of the DC Universe.
Verdict
A great setup to what I hope will be an incredible story, issue 45 of Suicide Squad definitely is a great read and the perfect template for big story setups, Definitely check it out!
