DC just set up a new Suicide Squad in the Absolute Universe in a subtle, brilliant fashion. Admittedly, the name of the team is not dropped in Absolute Flash #15 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. However, it seems clear where the story is going by building a government-backed team of villains and antiheroes.
Earlier issues of Absolute Flash introduced the Absolute Universe version of The Rogues. Rather than being criminals, the Absolute Rogues were career military officers armed with advanced weapons. They were employed as a security team by Project Olympus. However, when push came to shove, the squad joined forces with Wally West before going AWOL.
Absolute Flash #15 catches up with the Rogues, who have been hiding out on a farm. It is here that they are contacted by Colonel Rick Flag. In the classic DC Universe, Flag is a mainstay of the Suicide Squad, who often acts as a field leader reining in the conscripted supervillains. The Absolute Universe Rick Flag fills a similar role, offering the Rogues a clean slate in exchange for hunting down the escaped lab animal called Grodd.
Absolute Suicide Squad has a chance of fighting superhumans
There have been several versions of the Suicide Squad in the comics and other media. The original team was a covert group that tried to fly under the radar of the superhero community. However, some of the Squads, like in the DCEU or Kill the Justice League video game, were sent out to fight superheroes or major supervillains. This occurred despite most of the team’s conscripts not having any superpowers or much in the way of official training.
By contrast, Colonel Flag recruiting the Rogues for a government-sponsored team makes far more sense. The Rogues, despite their iconoclastic nature, do function like a traditional military unit. Additionally, they have proven experience going up against superpowered beings based on their history in Absolute Flash. This would make them the most dangerous incarnation of the Suicide Squad in any medium ever.
Absolute Flash #15 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
