Task Force X Retirement Files 029-031

All good things must come to an end... if only to be reborn. We've come to the end of the phase 1 of the Suicide Squad - its last few days after the Apokolips fiasco and an embarrassing leak to the media.
Files 001-003 - Files 004-007 - Files 008-011 - File 012-015 - File 016-019 - File 020-023 - File 024-028

Subject: Punch & JeweleeProfile: Obscure Charlton villains
Powers: Flying shoes, a gun that turns people into puppets, various light gimmicks (Punch); hypno-gems, illusion-casting (Jewelee)
Mission: The biggest mission they'll ever undertake - becoming parents. (Awwww.)
Chance of survival going in: Fair. Their relative obscurity and redundancy (DC has plenty of other clownish villains) might have marked them for death if not for the fact they chose to leave between missions.
Retirement: QUIT. Jewelee became pregnant, inspiring the sociopathic couple to leave the Squad with time served. (Suicide Squad #39)
Final report: After a few appearances in their new role as criminal parents, a faux-Squad mission organized by Mirror Master in the new Checkmate series would be the context for Punch's death (and subsequent zombifying in Blackest Night). Jewelee remains active as a member of Injustice League Unlimited and appeared in Salvation Run.

Subject: Belle Reve Support Staff
Profile: Suicide Squad support personnel
Powers: Running a prison for meta-humans.
Mission: Support Suicide Squad operations.
Chance of survival going in: Fair. While they were all created for the series and could have served as easy cannon fodder for the authors, the staff didn't often go on missions. Only their continued contact with meta-human convicts presented any real danger.
Retirement: EMPLOYMENT WITH TASK FORCE X TERMINATED. When Sarge Steel discontinues the Suicide Squad program, Amanda Waller is forced to give the staff its walking papers. Some, like warden John Economos, chose to leave Belle Reve, while others stayed on a prison staff. (Suicide Squad #39)
Final report: Infrequent returns to Belle Reve were able to use former Squad operatives like Murph and Father Craemer in #52.

Subject: Task Force X Suicide Squad
Profile: Suicide Squad support personnel
Powers: Various.
Mission: Kill heads of Loa and prevent them from turning America's junkies into zombies. UNAUTHORIZED BY GOVERNMENT
Chance of survival going in: Fair. The Squad was already ordered to disband, so one last hurray could have meant the death of Amanda Waller or a less important character like Ravan. Poison Ivy and Deadshot - Batman villains - seemed fairly safe in comparison.
Retirement: DISBANDED. AMANDA WALLER IMPRISONED. Sarge Steel was never able to control the Suicide Squad arm of Task Force X to his satisfaction. A team of rogues who interpreted, rather than followed, orders was not his cup of tea, and once the Loa leaked information to the media, the Squad had become a public relations nightmare as well. He consequently ordered Waller to disband the team and send all convicts back to Belle Reve or Arkham where they belonged. She instead went on one last mission to destroy the Loa, gave her team the chance to escape, and remained behind to be captured and incarcerated. (Suicide Squad #39)
Final report: Amanda Waller was convicted of manslaughter after a plea bargain, and remained in jail for a year before Sarge Steel walked in with a pardon offer. She would rebuild the Squad - again employing Vixen, Bronze Tiger, Nightshade, Ravan, Captain Boomerang, Major Victory, Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy and Deadshot - but change its paradigm. The Squad would no longer be attached to the U.S. government and would be hired on a case by case basis, with a million-dollar fee and total control over its operations. One thing was for sure, it would no longer be part of Task Force X (which is why this is technically the last entry in the Task Force X Retirement Files).

I've managed to break into Amanda Waller's personal files, so when next I WikiLeak Squad business, it'll be under a different banner.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Well, not all the crew survived. Flo Herring (Waller's naive cousin) managed to get killed in the Apokolips fiasco.

Damn, I was hoping to see John Ergonomos five ex-wifes in the same photo! Anybody knows if he is already divorced from the sixth?


Roger
Siskoid said…
Flo and Briscoe got their own file.