By Cat Wyatt

After a month of anxiously waiting to see what was going to happen to half of the Suicide Squad (the half trapped on the moon, that is), we’re finally given our answer! Considering the point they left us off at last issue, they really didn’t have much of a choice but to pick up right where they left off (well, they could have done something different, but I’d advise against stressing out your fans). To recap: Rick Flag Sr. is possessed by the Red Wave, and likely has been partially under its control for a while, Boomerang, Katana, and Croc have also fallen under his (its?) thumb. The only one on the moon with control over their own body is Harley. So not exactly a good position to be in.

The Red Wave is obsessed with getting to the Argent Station, where Karin currently resides. This may seem a little odd, but remember he must consume her in order to make itself whole again (man do I not want to see that thing at full power). This point is reiterated with Flag, Katana, Croc, and Boomerang all talking about it (is there really a point in a hive mind talking to itself?).

Meanwhile Harley, already having gotten up to her antics in the past issue, has another problem. The Phantom Zone (which she poked, why couldn’t she leave it alone?) is spreading, forcing her to go for a bit of a run. In the opposite direction. Which leads her to the gathering of her sort of ex-teammates. Unfortunately when one member of a hive mind is threatened, it doesn’t really car (after all, it isn’t the priority here), so the possessed choose to stay near the encroaching Phantom Zone and fight Harley (again, seriously wouldn’t want to be in that position right now).

During the fight Flag Sr. gets dumped into the Phantom Zone (an inevitability, really). Being sucked out into the Phantom Zone appears to have cut Flag Sr. off from the Red Wave (or is it the other way around?). I imagine that this probably wasn’t the best thing for his health, as the Red Wave had been what was keeping Flag alive all these years. So the clock is ticking.

If you remember from last issue, Flag Jr. was spotted floating around out there. Now I’m not really sure how he’s alive and apparently unharmed, but the fact remains that he is. Because of this, grandfather and grandson have been granted a rare opportunity to actually hold a conversation. Without the corruption of the Red Wave Flag Sr. has his mind back, but he’s lost his health (and I imagine very shortly his life) in exchange. There’s no way he can save Karin on his own, so he’s forced to rely on his grandson to complete the mission for him. Thankfully Flag Jr. is an amazingly standup guy, so it didn’t take much (any, really) convincing to send him off in that direction.

Meanwhile Karin has been on the Argent Station, freaking out because she hasn’t been getting any responses from anyone. I’m sure part of her knew what was going on; she just didn’t want to admit it. A mysterious voice interrupts Karin’s freak-out long enough to pass on a message. The mysterious voice? It’s Faraday. Enchantress is freeing him long enough to tell her what needs to be done. I’ll admit I wasn’t convinced it was really him, and not just a fake, until he took the time to relay a personal message as well.

Together (along with Waller and the rest of the Earth-bound crew) they come up with a clever plan to take down the main body for the Red Wave. Too bad that clever idea didn’t work. Well, it was worth a shot I guess? I was a bit confused on the method of delivery here (that somebody else was eaten instead of Karin) until it occurred to me that even if Karin was willing to die here, she can’t afford to be eaten by the Red Wave (again, it must consume her to make the heart whole again, which would be all sorts of bad).

So good news bad news time; bad news is the rest of the moon based Suicide Squad got sucked into the Phantom Zone after Flag Sr. The good news is that they’re also free of the Red Wave. And unlike Flag Sr. they won’t die without it. Adding to their luck is the fact that Rick Jr. has a jetpack and a plan. What more does a guy need?

Naturally this is where we’re left off. The next issue is title Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun! If I had to guess this either has something to do with Karin’s plan of taking out the Red Wave, or more likely something to do with the Suicide Squad moving in to save her.

The last few pages of this issue are dedicated to Faraday’s journal, where we again learn a little bit more about him (and thus Suicide Squad’s past). Apparently once infected with the Red Wave he realized that there were quite a few infected Task Force X agents on Earth infected. The only way to stop it was to take out as many of them as possible, and then clear up the trail as best as he can. I wish they had given more details here. I didn’t get the impression that Faraday was a combat expert, so I’m curious as to how he succeeded with killing so many members.

There were quite a few things I loved about the artwork for this issue. The Phantom Zone being shown as creeping ice was a beautiful touch. It made it both creepy (no pun intended) and gave it a more realistic edge. I’ll admit that the spacesuits the team wears still bother me – they look more like mech suits than spacesuits, when you think about it.

Score: 4/5

Suicide Squad #31
Publisher: DC Comics