"TRIAL BY FIRE"
Writers: Robert Greenberger, John Ostrander
Pencils: Luke McDonell
Inker: Karl Kesel
Cover Price: 75¢
Release Date: March 3, 1987
Review written by Joey Casco of TheWineStalker.net
In Suicide Squad #1 we met the murderous team called Jihad, and at the end of the issue the Suicide Squad were deployed to take them down. Now they're in Qurac outside of Jotunheim, Jihads's hideout on the side of a cliff, ready to invade!
The Squad is waiting for a rendezvous with an agent before they make their move but they're late. This is kind of a problem because they're part of the attack involves Briscoe flying Sheba, and they should be showing up soon.
Suddenly a portal opens up and Jihad's portal-maker comes out!
But Chimera is actually Nightshade working undercover for the Squad, and she smacks Flag right across the face! She's pissed because she was forced to help Jihad in that airport attack in the last issue. She did not agree to kill people.
Flag carries on by going over the plan. Briscoe will show up in Sheba and starts a diversion attack from outside. Inside, Deadshot's man is Manticore, whose lair is at the bottom of an abandoned elevator. June (the Enchantress) is to take on Djinn, who is kept in the computer room. Boomerang's target is Jaculi, who hangs out in a crack between the top tear and the cliff face. Bronze Tiger's got Ravan, the only one other than Nightshade who actually uses their designated quarters. Plastique is to destroy the lab. Mindboggler's task is to mindboggle the henchmen. There is another undercover agent in the complex and they will turn off the generators.
As for Nightshade and Flag?
And then they get to work! Nightshade starts using her portals to place everybody where they need to be. But Plastique has other plans.
Suddenly a portal opens up and Jihad's portal-maker comes out!
But Chimera is actually Nightshade working undercover for the Squad, and she smacks Flag right across the face! She's pissed because she was forced to help Jihad in that airport attack in the last issue. She did not agree to kill people.
Flag carries on by going over the plan. Briscoe will show up in Sheba and starts a diversion attack from outside. Inside, Deadshot's man is Manticore, whose lair is at the bottom of an abandoned elevator. June (the Enchantress) is to take on Djinn, who is kept in the computer room. Boomerang's target is Jaculi, who hangs out in a crack between the top tear and the cliff face. Bronze Tiger's got Ravan, the only one other than Nightshade who actually uses their designated quarters. Plastique is to destroy the lab. Mindboggler's task is to mindboggle the henchmen. There is another undercover agent in the complex and they will turn off the generators.
As for Nightshade and Flag?
And then they get to work! Nightshade starts using her portals to place everybody where they need to be. But Plastique has other plans.
She wants to join Jihad and starts telling Mushtaq the Squad's plan. But there's just one thing... Mushtaq reveals himself as Nemesis, the other undercover agent for the Squad! Plastique shoves him aside and runs away. Nemesis eventually catches up to Plastique and shoots her in the back with a tranq.
Other than that, Briscoe starts shooting at the building and everything is going swimmingly. Mindboggler is boggling minds.
Bronze Tiger is fighting Ravan. Bronze Tiger breaks Ravan's back and refuses to kill him to finish the job, and he walks away while Ravan swears revenge.
Deadshot and Manticore are playing around, and Deadshot just ends up shooting Manticore in the face.
Boomerang straight-up owns Jaculi.
Enchantress has a tussle with Djinn and defeats him by breaking his "bottle".
Flag takes on Rustam but Rustam gets away.
And Boomerang witnesses Mindboggler's death at the hands of Rustam, and he does nothing about it because she embarrassed him in the last issue.
Amid gunfire, the Squad meets in the bay, down two members, and make their escape.
Bits and Pieces
This is a nice follow-up to the awesome first issue and I had a lot of fun reading it. The Deadshot/Manticore and Tiger/Ravan fights are particularly entertaining. Boomerang has great moments such as sex references, to completely owning an opponent, to letting his own team member die; and super friggin' annoying moments such as a boatload of his usual nonsense jibba jabber. But I wish they had stretched things out a bit for another issue because it does feel rushed.
7/10
Ostrander's Boomerang is excellent - he's annoying as hell, effective, and even sympathetic at times. I don't think he's ever had as much personality as in this run.
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