“Introducing
America
Rick and Karin are in love of course (typical 1950s
science fiction – there’s always a woman and she and the leading man always
fall in love). However, Jess and Dr.
Evans love Karin too! So Rick and Karin
decide to keep their love for one another to themselves for the good of the
team. A love quadrangle would only get
in the way of team missions! This was
mentioned every issue and was pretty much the sole character development.
The Suicide Squad was Robert
Kanigher’s attempt at “The Challengers of the Unknown”, with wonderful Ross
Andru/Mike Esposito art instead of wonderful Jack Kirby art! The art was typical 1959 – straightforward
and realistic-looking men, women and machinery.
Imaginations were let loose on the “perils” – gigantic aliens and beasts
attacked our heroes non-stop. While the
artwork was good, the storylines were for the most part … well … silly; even
for the times. The perils were usually
of the science-run-amuck-we-tampered-in-God’s-domain found in the “B” movies of
the time. One expected to find Peter
Graves or Leslie Nelson popping in to help!
In their first story (#25: Three Waves of Doom) an
earthquake awakens a dinosaur-like creature that sets fire to Tokyo er
Atlantic City, freezes metal and absorbs all chlorophyll! The Suicide Squad defeats it by tricking the
beast into grasping onto a rocket and shooting it toward the sun!
The stories seem to talk down to its youthful
audience. Facts are thrown in almost as
if the characters are showing off their intelligence (one character actually
says, “It’s a good thing we have enough sodium manganate on board!” What?!).
And in six issues we never learn Dr. Evans’ first
name!
The Suicide Squad was given three issues to do their
thing (#25 – 27) and another three-issue try-out later in 1961 (#37 – 39),
without success. The plots of the other
five issues read like an edition of Weekly World News:
1)
Radiation shrinks the Squad down to matchstick size, yet they must
still thwart a submarine attack against America
2)
Dinosaur-like serpent attacks Paris metro,
boats on the Seine and the Eiffel
Tower
3)
Scientist turns
self into ten-story reptile – carries A-bomb into city! (#27: Creature of Ghost Lake
4)
Intelligent
dinosaurs from other dimension invade earth! (#37: Raid of the Dinosaurs)
5)
Planeload of
nuclear missiles land on island
of Cyclops
6)
Alien giant’s pet
pterodactyls capture warships, planes, Statue of Liberty! (#38: Master of the
Dinosaurs)
7)
Other-dimensional
“mirage men” try to kill the Suicide Squad! (#38: Menace of the Mirage People)
8)
Gigantic
dinosaur-shaped spacecraft contains Jurassic zoo! (#39: Prisoner of the
Dinosaur Zoo)
9)
Sculptor-Sorcerer
kills scientists by turning them into gold statues! (“Mr. Kanigher? The attorneys for Ian Fleming are still
holding on line three!”) (#39: Rain of Fire)
The texts in the issues were interesting, albeit
soon forgettable: “real” sea serpents and dragons were examined, including the
one spotted in Gloucester Harbor ,
Massachusetts
Task Force X faded into obscurity for
twenty-five years. Keith Griffin brought
back the idea of a Suicide Squad in the late 1980s as a companion to his new
“Justice League” title. This time, Rick
Flagg recruits villains and minor superheroes (including fellow B&B alumni
Nemesis) to do battle with evil. Flagg
even went toe-to-toe with Batman to a mutual draw (not even Superman could do
that in the late 1980s!). That version
of the Squad was definitely more successful, being fully entrenched in the
superhero genre. But these six issues
are the originals and a fun read: just as the Thunderbirds TV show was some
years later – silly, but charming. Enjoy the movie, but don't forget about the original team!!
Exert from The Brave & the Bold: from Silent Knight to Dark Knight; a guide to the DC comic book
Available here:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-brave-and-the-bold-michael-curry/1120872264?ean=2940046443011
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