Warning: contains a preview of Suicide Squad #10!
In a new preview of Suicide Squad #10, a question that has hung over pretty much every version of the team is answered in the most definitive way possible, and not in a way that'll make any of Amanda Waller's minions feel better about being forced to do her bidding.
In Future State: Suicide Squad, readers learned that Amanda Waller intends to betray her home reality and jump ship to Earth-3 - a world in which the morality of Earth's heroes and villains is reversed, and she believes she can finally fulfill her life's mission to bring the world peace and security. To do that, she's broken with the US government, taking total control of the Suicide Squad and forcing a huge roster of supervillains to live and die at her command. That process is now more literal than ever, as Waller revealed in issue 8 that she is using Lazarus Resin to resurrect her fallen soldiers, keeping them permanently in her twisted service as long as they want to remain alive. That was good news for Culebra, who died on the Suicide Squad's recent mission to Hell and woke up right next to her own body, confirming she's damned for her life of villainy.
Now, in a preview of Suicide Squad #10 (from Robbie Thompson, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, and Marcelo Maiolo), Culebra reflects on what that really means. She recounts her personal history, explaining how she was injured as a child and experimented on by Spyral, used by first the spy organization and then Waller's Suicide Squad, with little choice in the matter. Nevertheless, her death saw her awaken in Hell, leaving her with the conclusion that now she's been granted a reprieve, she needs to act against Waller or risk eternal damnation. Culebra's conclusion is seemingly backed by divine judgement, and this fact underlines a now undeniable fact: the Suicide Squad is evil.
The question of the Squad's morality has long been a point of debate for fans. Originally, members risked their lives for time off their sentences, but they could accept or refuse missions. Later, Waller used outrageous acts of coercion to force villains to help save the world, but they were still usually deeply evil people forced to do good, and Waller honored her promise of freedom when it had been earned. Since then, things have gotten darker and darker, and Waller now runs the Squad on threat of death. While fans have debated in the past whether the Suicide Squad is a necessary evil, a utilitarian good, or just plain wrong, Culebra's fate confirms that the Suicide Squad is now an instrument of evil, and even going along with Waller's orders to preserve one's own life is apparently a sin.
Thankfully, Culebra has taken this message to heart, protecting her teammates with her own life and scheming to betray Waller with Talon, recently revealed to be Rick Flag's man on the inside. Fans can find out if she's successful in Suicide Squad #10 when it hits retailers December 7, but two things are now for sure - the Suicide Squad has nothing to do with heroism, and Amanda Waller has never had more power at her fingertips.
