Suicide Squad Retirement Files 056-059

The following files have been pulled from Suicide Squad vol.2 #4-11. Issue 9 is of particular note because it features General Rock's amazing admin Havana discussing Squad affairs with Amanda Waller. We find out Task Force X is now called Task Force Omega, because the X has been overused by peoples unknown (I think we know who, Master Giffen). The Wall is also pissed to find out Cluemaster survived his mission after all (Giffen shaking his fist at Chuck Dixon or whoever), and questions why Larvanaut was used over Hellgrammite (it was a question of insect-to-human content, or perhaps this is an elaborate way to answer reader mail.  We're also told why the Slab is the main source of these super-humans (I miss Belle Reve), as Arkham Asylum is technically a hospital, and the Rock has a personal problem with Iron Heights' warden. Some of the information contained in these files necessarily comes from this I'm sure classified conversation.

Reactron

Profile: Minor Doom Patrol villain (his history with Supergirl erased in the Crisis).
Powers: Human nuclear reactor.
Mission: "Scout" a Brigadoon-like rogue island nation inhabited by sorcerers (with the hope that if required, he could destroy it).
Chance of survival going in: Fair. Though this version had only really appeared in a pre-Morrison Doom Patrol story, his history with Supergirl, even if erased (a later story retcons him into a Power Girl villain), put him in the Superman class and could have been useful as a recurring threat for the Superman Family.
Retirement: APPARENTLY DECEASED. Reactron is frozen by Killer Frost as a joke, but in a battle that almost immediately occurs, parts of him break off and they leave him for dead. In the next issue, he is confirmed deceased and his body melts down, threatening to take the sorcerers' island with him. (Suicide Squad vol.2 #7)

Final report: Reactron apparently got better and either didn't disappear with the island, or returned from it. He would soon appear as a member of the Nuclear Legion during the Battle of Blüdhaven and become a Supergirl villain again, at one point improved with a Gold Kryptonite heart. He appears to die again during the War of the Supermen, but not before killing Supergirl's father, Zor-El.

Blackstarr

Profile: Though norminally a Supergirl villain, this version should be considered an original Suicide Squad creation.
Powers: Teleportation in space and other dimensions.
Mission: "Scout" a Brigadoon-like rogue island nation inhabited by sorcerers (with the hope that if required, she could destroy it).
Chance of survival going in: Low. The original Blackstarr was a minor character, but with that history erased, a new look, powers, etc., there's not much in the way of reader investment. It's in fact quite bizarre to have her suddenly espouse eugenic philosophies as if her background were the same after all. (The original Blackstarr was a Jewish woman who believed herself a Nazi, this one seems to be African-American and obsessed with racial purity, but not her own race's).
Retirement: TRAITOR. Throws in with the sorcerers when she confirms that they are a "genetically pure" (though several ethno-types are represented, they have a hive mind and are possibly all Homo Magi, though that information is never given). She teleports the island back to whence it came to prepare it for a later invasion. (Suicide Squad vol.2 #8)

Final report: Though Waller says there may be plans to go to the other dimension to retrieve Blackstarr and/or eliminate the sorcerer threat, nothing ever comes of it and this Blackstarr is never seen again.

Major Disaster

Profile: Injustice League member; Green Lanter villain.
Powers: Cause various natural disasters while protected by a force field.
Mission: "Scout" a Brigadoon-like rogue island nation inhabited by sorcerers (with the hope that if required, he could destroy it).
Chance of survival going in: Fair. Though the rest of the Injustice League failed to come home in issue 1, they must have kept Major Disaster around for a reason, possibly that he could be an A-level threat worth retaining in the DC Universe.
Retirement: DISMISSED. After this mission, Havana asked he not be used on any more missions, considering him either an idiot, a danger to the team, or both. (Suicide Squad vol.2 #8)

Final report: Major Disaster was eventually given a shot at redemption and became a member of the Justice League (again). He was killed in Infinite Crisis by - who else? - Superboy-Prime.

Modem

Profile: Suicide Squad original character.
Powers: One of the best hackers in the world.
Mission: None officially. Was butting heads with a new hacker who turned out to be Onslaught's Digital Djinn.
Chance of survival going in: Fair. The proverbial guy in the chair has a safer lifestyle than field agents, but since he was created for the series, it wasn't impossible that he'd be killed in its death-throes.
Retirement: DECEASED. Killed by the new Djinn serving Onslaught, the terrorist organization formerly known as the Jihad, seeking revenge on Task Force X for all its killed members, despite all the personnel changes. We're told he's burnt beyond recognition, so we have to assume he kept burning after this moment. (Suicide Squad vol.2 #11)

Final report: Well, did anyone actually like Modem? This bargain basement Oracle appeared in 8 of the series' 12 issues.

When we return, we'll close the books on this version of Task Force X and retire four more of its members.