Review: Future State- Suicide Squad
Quick Summary
Pros: The Suicide Squad story is great. The Swamp Thing story is fantastic. The artwork throughout most of the collection looks nice.
Cons: The majority of the stories in this collection are disappointing. These stories have chaotic and cluttered narratives that unsuccessful try to create a compelling larger storyline.
Overall: This is one of the worst, if not the worst, collections of the Future State event. The vast majority of this volume collects stories that are, at best, lackluster, and are generally disappointing. The only redeeming qualities in this book are a good Suicide Squad story, a fantastic Swamp Thing story, and consistently positive artwork. In the end, this book is for readers who want to see these positive features and are alright with encountering some negative features along the way.
Story
Future State: Suicide Squad is one of the most disappointing entries in the Future State series of comics. The majority of the comics here are lackluster. They try to tell heartfelt stories about DC heroes facing off against an apocalyptic threat. However, they only succeed in being a cluttered mess that never lives up to its own hype. Luckily, there are a few small positives in this book. The Suicide Squad story is great and the Swamp Thing story is even better. This mix makes for a book that is generally underwhelming but still has a few bright spots that may interest diehard fans.
(spoilers start here)
Most comics in Future State: Suicide Squad are about the heroes of the future attempting to fight off an apocalyptic threat posed by a being or beings of evil. The Teen Titans seal it away, Shazam deals with it after it is sealed, and it eventually breaks free and Black Adam is forced to deal with it in the future. This ongoing story feels like an attempt to provide a meaningful connection between otherwise independent chapters. It also allows for some decent moments of emotion.
However, these small moments of emotion are the highlights in these chapters. Overall, the way these chapters try to juggle multiple independent storylines while also handling a larger and overarching storyline is unsuccessful. It leads to cluttered narratives that feel like they could be much better with a little more focus. The way each story arc ends also makes it feel like a cheap setup for the next one, setup that never feels like it has a worthwhile payout.
The only real deviations from this lackluster showing are in the Suicide Squad and Swamp Thing stories. The Suicide Squad story, by Robbie Thompson, is an atypical take on the team-up, one where Amanda Waller’s old Squad is trying to wrest control from her new one and where Amanda Waller is, for once, putting her faith in the good in people. It is a great subversion of the typical formula that still feels like a classic Suicide Squad story. Meanwhile, the Swamp Thing chapters, by Ram V, are easily the glowing gem within this book. The Swamp Thing story is a heartfelt tale of loss, hope, and belief in the human race. It is a wonderful comic that almost makes up for the rest of the collection.
(spoilers end here)
Art
In contrast to the storytelling, the majority of the artwork in Future State: Suicide Squad is great. Javi Fernandez gets the collection off to a great start with a Suicide Squad story that is dynamic and expressive but is also grim in a way that suits the Squad. Then, Rafa Sandoval takes over for a Teen Titans story that does a great job in creatively depicting each member of the now-aged Titans. Eduardo Pansica’s work on the Shazam chapters is detailed and wonderfully realistic. Then, in the Swamp Thing chapters, Mike Perkins crafts a wonderfully creative new world, with layouts that significantly enhance the reading experience. Finally, Fernando Pasarin handles the far future of the DC Universe well, especially when paired with Jeromy Cox’s expressive colors. Altogether, these artists create a book where the artwork is consistently positive all the way through.
Continuity
Future State: Suicide Squad, like all Future State comics, flows from the Multiverse altering events taking place in Dark Nights: Death Metal (Review) (Reading Order). However, understanding Death Metal is not necessary to understand this volume.
The larger narrative surrounding the stories contained here is told through the rest of the Future State event.
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- The Teen Titans story mentions the conclusion to the Future State: The Flash issues. These issues are collected in Future State: Justice League (Review).
- The references to a version of Superman living in the heart of the sun and to Solaris are references to the DC One Million event.
- The references to Superman dying to a being of “doom” are references to Superman: The Death of Superman.