Warning: contains preview images for Suicide Squad #14!
In one of the most shocking Suicide Squad twists yet in DC Comics, readers learn of the mysterious “Waller Contingency.” Over the past several issues, fans have seen Amanda Waller unleashed her most epic scheme yet: to take over Earth-3 and install her own Justice League. But now, in a preview for Suicide Squad #14, someone unleashes the destructive Waller Contigency, a plan that flips Waller's model for the Suicide Squad on its head. The issue is on sale April 5 in print and digital.
Since her first appearance in 1986’s Legends #1 by John Ostrander, Len Wein, John Byrne, and Karl Kesel, Amanda Waller has cast an enormous shadow across the DC Universe. She is the head of Task Force X, the official name for the Suicide Squad; she also oversees research into super-powered beings. Waller has a “no-nonsense” reputation, and, despite her lack of superpowers, Amanda Waller has steamrolled heroes, villains and politicians alike. Waller recently expanded her ambitions to the multiverse, assembling a special Suicide Squad, consisting of a clone of Superboy and the infamous Peacemaker, to help conquer Earth-3, home of the Crime Syndicate. Waller planned to take the Syndicate off the table and replace them with her own Justice League. Meanwhile, Rick Flag, who opposes Waller’s agenda, has assembled his own team, and led them to Earth-3. In the War for Earth-3 #2, Waller was successful and now has Earth-3 in her grasp—but what will happen on Earth-0 in her absence? The answer may lie in a preview for Suicide Squad #14, written by Dennis Hopeless, illustrated by Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira and Dexter Soy, colored by Jeremiah Skipper and Peter Pantazis and lettered by Wes Abbott.
The dust has settled from the War for Earth-3, and Rick Flag’s team has been sent back to Earth-0. Back at the Suicide Squad’s headquarters in Belle Reve, Rick Flag and the rest try to decide the future of the team. Suddenly an alarm goes off, warning the team they have “incoming.” Readers then see a fleet of helicopters attack the prison, as part of something called the “Waller Contingency.” A narration reads that Waller is MIA, and that Belle Reve is to be destroyed, and the Suicide Squad disbanded.
The preview ends there, leaving readers with a tantalizing glimpse at the Waller Contingency. While the preview offered little in the way of more information, it did state that Amanda Waller was missing in action—was this plan put into place in case something did happen to Waller? If that is the case, the question then is: why? Why disband the Suicide Squad and destroy Belle Reve? Was the Waller Contingency her way of ensuring that no one else got access to the Suicide Squad and the vast amounts of information she holds? Waller is a character who is full of contingency plans, and this Waller Contingency could hint at threat even she never saw coming.
There is a possibility other agencies could be behind the Waller Contingency, but it seems as if Waller herself planned this one, and if this is the case, then it demonstrates how far Waller will go to maintain control of the Suicide Squad—to the point where she will destroy everything she worked to achieve.
