Suicide Squad, Volume 2: Basilisk Rising

Suicide Squad (2011)

by Adam Glass (Writer), Dan Abnett (Writer), Andy Lanning (Writer)

As the surviving Squad members attempt to recover from their disastrous Gotham City mission, we learn a dark secret that has been festering in the team since issue one: a traitor stalks the Suicide Squad! The saboteur's mission: Assassinate Amanda Waller, expose the Squad and leave Task Force X in ruins! The Basilisk strikes!

Collecting: Suicide Squad 8-13, 0 & Resurrection Man 9

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2013

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B) 73% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Droning bloodless and depthless, it’s sugar crash aftermath: a blasé, bland, lethargic limp through trite predictability.

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #8-9 and Resurrection Man #9 ◦ Issues #10-12

[MischaS_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have to rate this one mediocre. Probably the best point of the story would be Yo-Yo. There are too many characters to focus on anything in particular. It only jumps from one to another, showing little glimpses on a person's story arc and then it jumps to another one.
Not a fan of the last part but that is my personal problem since I simply dislike Amanda Waller.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it didn't suck. Yo-Yo made his mark as a tapeworm and *gasp* Basilisk is HYDRA! Um.... yeah.

And anyway! There was a bit of a Deus Ex going on here with triple agents and *bullshit* hypnosis crapola.

Yo-Yo was actually the bright spot, now that I think about it. Maybe he really IS indestructible? That's pretty awesome, considering what he went through. Too bad Deadshot done got shot dead. Not like I really believe it. This is DC after all. All the deadun's will come back. I read Blackest Night. I know shit. :) (Even if the shit I know is Revision 3, not Revision 4... but who's *really* paying attention, sí, cabròn?)

Maybe this one could have been a bit better, but at least the art was pretty cool and there was enough Flash to keep me awake.

Oh.. no.. I didn't mean Flash. I meant flash. Glam, LimeLight.. um, no, I got that wrong, too. Lime got squeezed. There is no Flash in this comic. I repeat. There is no Flash in this comic.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

I actually liked this better than volume 1. Not that that is a very high recommendation, because I didn't like volume 1 very much at all.

In Basilisk Rising we get to learn more about Amanda Waller.
Yay!
Oh. Sorry, she's sorta boring.
But, wait! There's more!
Harley's back, Deadshot might be dead, and Yo Yo crawled out of Shark King's stomach in the middle of a battle with Resurrection Man.
Other stuff happens, but I doubt anybody cares...

And that about sums it up.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh boy. You know, I thought a bunch of maniacs put together to carry out missions would be fun based on their individual, unstable characters and how that would play out when they were all tossed together, but this second volume was even worse than the first!

The story is a mess and the characters flatter than ever and they are often dying for no reason at all (for example there was no gain for Deadshot when he killed Lime - or was it Light?! one of those green twins anyway). Moreover, all that preaching from Diablo ... no, just no. Not to mention that the writer(s) seriously tried to make me believe that a guy like Boomerang knew and used the expression TEMPUS FUGIT. Yeah, right!
The only good character was Nana. Oh and King Shark made me chuckle twice. But that's it and that is really bad.

I had to force myself to finish this and was sorely disappointed, even more than by the first volume, so if this doesn't pick up soon ...

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good.

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-review: Have to admit I don't like the cover...how comes Harley Quinn can look so...ugly here?!

Still I'm freaking gonna buy it anyway.

Actual review here:

Surprisingly, I like it! The story is almost as good as the first volume, it's endlessly entertaining and it's a fast read, plus...am I the only person who likes Deadshot/Harley?! I like how they are doing here...merely flirting and stuff without getting their relationship too seriously...I like that!

The villains are only so-and-so, but I do like the backstory about Amanda Waller, although I'm not cool with the backstory about her grandma putting a gun at her when she was only a little girl.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

A pointless, boring, confusing mess - the second round of New 52s continue to be terrible! Full review here!

[Drew The Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Harley Quinn. Volume 2 of Suicide Squad continues to show interesting characters and great images. This did feel a little bit scattered and slow at first but once the characters were in a plane crash and landed on an island, I was hooked.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to the cover blurb, USA Today calls this, "A cleverly written, outstanding read from beginning to end." Sounds exciting. I wish I'd read whatever they're talking about instead of this book. I don't mean to be an old grouch, but this thing is nothing but action cliches. Things happen for very little reason than simply because the plot calls for it. Perhaps those years of reading thrillers by James Rollins and Preston & Child have given me higher expectations or something? Story and art are competent at best. There's one sequence where Deadshot is running around in chains, or a chain anyway. It's supposed to restrain him, but it wraps around his upper body about an inch or two below his shoulders. How exactly is it restraining him? Hell, how is it even staying on? All he needs to do to slip it off is raise his arms. My local library had the first five volumes of this series on the New Arrivals shelf. I grabbed them all, figuring I'd get a chance to read a nice long chunk of a hot series. I'm starting to wonder if that was such a good idea, as I'm dangerously close to actively hating it. I think we have a writer change coming up in the next volume or so, so I guess I'll see if it improves. So far I don't see what all the fuss is about though.

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, this was my first read for our "EVIL" Week Shallow Buddyread.



Suicide Squad has always seemed like something I 'd want to read, a Dirty Dozen comic book with baddies who might actually be anti-heroes...

Sadly, this New 52 version is just a bunch of c-listers running around with Deadshot and Harley. Yes, they're both back, even though it seemed like they both died last volume...or so I recall..

Harley is a bit stable here because somehow the trauma of Mista J's face-off made Dr. Quinzel's personality take the lead...not that it changes much because it seems like Harleen is just a slightly less unbalanced version of Harley.

Deadshot is his usual I trust no one guy, and that probably makes him the smartest one here...which ain't saying much. Thankfully there's not any of that poor little sick girl stuff that made Anne vomit from Vol. 1.

We also get more of King Shark, El Diablo, Black Spider, and Light. Oh joy. I'm pretty sure that Deadshot kills light because she is going to kill Waller, and he wants the pleasure for himself...

They spend the first half the book running after The Resurrection Man, Mitch Shelley...I read the old RM books from the early 90s, but not the recent New 52 version...seems not much is different, he's still got the strange girl assassins after him, and they come up against SS to see who takes him...people manipulate, we get the usual pissing contest between covert government agencies, and in the end, he escapes. Or so we're lead to think.

Then they get after Basilisk, the Hydra-ripoff agency of evil, like SPECTRE or whatnot. Some D-lister blows up the plane they're on, and they mostly die, except our main characters, who arrive on a desert island...which just happens to be populated with cannibals...they're saved...by Basilisk...led by Capt. Boomerang!!! Who, if you recall, was in the SS and died in volume 1 for being a traitor...oh...
And he works for the head of Basilisk, who's named Regulus or some shit? Sounds like Romulus...the mysterious Wolverine comics figure...anyhow, turns out that Black Spider is the SS traitor for Basilisk, but then it turns out that Boomerang was actually planted in Basilisk by Waller to double agent spy...Deadshot kills Black Spider, but it's only his clone...or something...

Anyhow, a bunch of people die.

Then we get some stupid backstory about Waller before SS and as a field op, where she goes against Regulus, but we get a hint that they were on a team called Team 7 or some shit and worked together before that broke up...then he releases some sort of bomb (much like the Terragen Mist bomb in Inhumanity that Black Bolt released) which makes people into Metahumans, or kills them...
this is what leads Waller to want to form the Suicide Squad.

Follow me at all? No? Good.

Everyone turns on everyone, and mostly everyone is a double agent, or sleeper agent, except Deadshot and Harley (surprisingly, the only ones who aren't C-D or F-list villains/nobodies...oh and on top of that...the Yoyo, team member who was eaten by King Shark in Vol 1? Ya he didn't die, just sat in the shark's intestines for a month, until getting out...wants to kill Waller, who says that she just helped him unlock more powers...

Oh and in case you forgot? Every 3rd page, we are reminded that all the SS members have nano-bombs in their necks to be killed if they don't follow the script.

So that's this one...until next one, where everyone will be a triple agent...ya.

Like Sam well said, this is a 90s action movie with a D-lister directed by the equivalent...Lorenzo Lamas in Cinemax's Suicide Squad, directed by the shambling corpse of Ed Wood.

SOOO Bad, it's nearly good. I am mildly interested in Deadshot, and I like Harley (boobies!) that and the library sent me all the volumes at once, and it's EVIL WEEK! So I will keep reading this, taking 3 for the team, who I'm sure I'll double cross 4 times and die twice before the end of this...

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suicide squad continues to be entertaining, but this one doesn't feel as "oh snap anyone could die" as the last volume did.

We have Deadshot lead a mission to retrieve a dead body. Of course nothing is as it seems and the person comes back to life. This storyline is kind of boring if I'm being honest and nothing special happens. The 2nd part of this book has the characters stranded on a island without any communication to waller. Not only that but Waller has to deal with her own personal issues and attackers. The 2nd half boost this series into a more entertaining area.

The art stays pretty solid throughout and the 2nd half is much more fun. So for that alone it gets into the good area. A 2.5 out of 5, but I'll boost it to a 3.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main trouble I have with this iteration of Suicide Squad is that Waller is so easy to hate. Because she is so unlikable, the main thing I am waiting for is for the members of Suicide Squad to attempt to kill her. Which means I don't care that much about the missions. They are just the filler while I wait for someone to punch Waller in the throat. And it isn't that I want her to be a good person. It's that I want her to make sense. Sending your team in with no information is just stupid. I don't get the impression that she wants to fail... but her actions make it appear that way.

Probably a 2.5ish that I'm rounding up because I'm nicer than I should be.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it today so as not to waste a hoopla checkout. (Bartender, a round of electrons for all my friends!)

Feeling kind of "meh" about the series -- am I supposed to know where this new villain came from, or is going to? is there a point to having so much seriously farcical action and dialog without much true farce?

[Bevans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's enjoyable, but there's almost zero character development. I want to care if these characters live or die, but unless I'm familiar with them from something else, I don't.

I'm reading through the 1980s SS books, and those are way more interesting, and have much more depth. Of course, they had more pages to work with back then...

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Suicide Squad: Basilisk Rising picks-up in the aftermath of Harley Quinn’s jaunt through Gotham to retrieve what was left of the Joker. Deadshot is dealing with the emotional trauma of what Harley did to him and the rest of the team is getting crushed under Amanda Waller’s thumb for various reasons. When new information on the Basilisk organization comes to light, Waller recommissions everyone to help bring its leader down.

The first volume (Suicide Squad, Vol. 1: Kicked in the Teeth) focused mainly on Deadshot with the government portrayed as an underlying antagonist, willing to use convicts as expendable resources. Where I had issues with the astounding amount of cliches in the first volume, it at least had direction. Here… I’m not sure what they were trying to do.

In Basilisk Rising, the concentration shifts to Amanda Waller as she presses the team to discover which member is working for Basilisk. Personally, this didn’t work for me. For most of the series, Waller is painted as an antagonist to the squad. She’s the person who has them all under her thumb and would be happy to see every member on the squad die. She’s kind of insane, and not in a fun way. She has random bursts of violence and is a fairly vindictive person whose job is to play god with the squad. So, I really didn’t care enough about her character to read about her back-story. Especially when it’s main goal was to justify her actions and gain sympathy for the character.

Sitting through Waller’s back-story might not have been so bad, if the sections that concentrated on the actual squad weren’t so chaotic. These areas suffered from trying to do too many things at once, with a lot of characters, in a very short amount of time. Harley Quinn is given a split personality, Deadshot is dealing with PTSD, El Diablo thinks he’s divine justice, Yo-Yo is back, Light is dealing with her sister’s death and there are new characters up the wazoo. On top of this, there’s the introduction of Regulus, the leader of Basilisk. All this going on at once made it hard to get invested in anything since no time was given to any one plot point.

Overall, this wasn’t a very good collection. Kicked in the Teeth at least had a couple of fun moments and a some inklings of potential for the series, but Basilisk Rising was just boring and often confusing. I plan to muscle through the next volume (which I hear is just as bad) because the series apparently gets better with volume 4.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

OK, I didn't expect a whole lot here - more exploitation of Harley Quinn, more gore with King Shark, and a revolving door of cannon fodder C-list villains-caught-up-in-a-weak-sauce-redemption-play.

I guess Glass' TV-writing talents don't translate so well to the comics page. Well, the dialogue isn't horrible - at least there's some banter to keep us lightly entertained - but the lack of subtlety is downright torturous.

For example, when a new antagonist comes back from the dead and explodes, one character says, "I sense something other-worldly about him." Which would be a funny bit of understatement, but then another character immediately responds with, "What gave it away? Him coming back from a bullet in his head?" Which just kills the joke dead.

I hafta admit tho, Glass + Dagnino isn't half as irritatingly bash-you-over-the-head as the previous volume. In fact, there's one giant mystery that Glass and his rotating cadre of artists don't even try to address: if Amanda Waller is such a super-spy hardass leader who's risen through the ranks with smart-but-shady tactics, why does she make such bad decisions one after another with anything to do with the Suicide Squad - but no one else? It's a little like if Nick Fury was a prima ballerina but became a klutz every time he got around the Avengers. (Wow, Fury in a tutu - there's an image to fall asleep to.)

Cool tech tho - Waller pairs her phone with the 120" Big Brother screen just to give her "incoming call" notifications? Want.

"Human Sacrifice"? So why is King Shark on the Dias - appetizer?

Finally the double-crosses and reversals becoming a numbing paste over any layer of this that I might've been enjoying.

And top it off with an absolutely pointless - or rather, tedious and generic - origin zero issue. Yawn.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Suicide Squad adventures, and the stuff really hits the fan in this installment. Team X (as they are called by their leader Amanda Waller) takes on the super-villain terrorist cabal Basilisk, and they are way in over their head. Not to mention being betrayed by their own. It turns out one of their members isn't dead after all, but has suffered a fate worse than death. They also get help in an unlikely person, and right when they most need it.

The fists, weapons, blood and body parts really fly in this volume, and we see Waller in action and find out her origins. There is also a cameo by a very special character in the DC Universe, whose power to 'come back' is willingly exploited by the calculating Waller.

I didn't like this one as much. So much was going on, it was hard to keep up. Characters flip-flopped in their personalities, and that adds to the confusion.

It's still a pivotal moment for Team X, as they face a major nemesis, and barely make it out intact, although suffering a major loss. The cliffhanger was brutal!

I'd have to give it 3.5/5.0 stars.

[Teya · Rating 4 out of 5]

(CONTAINS SPOILERS) This volume was not as good as the first one but still action packed and full of intensity!

The story was more based upon Waller and her desires to kill the basilisk and detonate Regulus' bomb. The ending, again, left it wide open as Waller has become a more likeable character as she is all set up and ready to create the suicide squad again!

My favourite part of this volume was when the suicide squads plane got attacked and they ended up falling into the Yutucan in Mexico. They found an ancient tribe that drugged their food and had them ready to be sacrificed; I found this part of the plot very action packed, different and interesting as it strayed aside from the initial storyline whilst keeping to the main plot of trying to figure out who the present traitor was ...

Overall, I really enjoyed Volume 2 but not as much as volume 1! :)

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The suicide come together again to attain an asset called Resurrection Man and also kill arch villian Regulus. There is also an issue completely focused on Amanda Waller and how the suicide squad came to be.
I couldn't remember a lot of what happened in volume 1 but this was still pretty enjoyable. Character wise Harley Quinn still somewhat steals the show although I did like King Shark as well. I really detested Deadshot in this issue, although I did enjoy his time with Captain Boomerang which mixed in a bit of humour to proceedings. Amanda Waller is still tough as nails but some back story with a family member saw her looking more human and frail.
The artwork is amazing in this volume although there did seem to be some consistency problems in the second issue with how Amanda Wallers character was drawn.

[Chelsea SWATCHSEA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've just read this and can already barely remember what happened :/ There's still things I don't understand, this volume didn't give much background information either, so I liked the first volume better.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Suicide Squad: Kicked in the Teeth and so I was really looking forward to reading the next one in the series, and it did not disappoint.

The main plot within this graphic novel is to discover who is a secret member of Basilisk and is betraying the Suicide Squad with the aim of assassinating Amanda Waller. This starts with short flashbacks, which slowly progress until the saboteur is revealed. I managed to work out who this was, which perhaps made the story a little less interesting as the reveal was not very shocking, but it was still a really good story line. The artwork was great, just like the first one, which made reading this even more enjoyable.

Harley Quinn was really interesting in this story, even though she was less prominent than in the previous one. She alternates between Harley Quinn and Dr Harleen Quinzel, which was quite fascinating to see and something that I hope they continue to do in the next issues. Another great character was Deadshot, who I liked in the first issue but loved in this one. He was a complete badass but also quite humorous at times, making him one of the most enjoyable characters in the story. Like in the previous one, some of the characters were not involved in the story enough to actually learn much about them, such as Light and Iceberg. This was a little disappointing, as they seem to have really interesting powers and I would love to learn more about them. This issue also gave more information about the Task Force X creator, Amanda Waller, as we learned a little about her past, specifically her conflict with Regulus. This was good, but I would have personally preferred to have learned more about individual members of the squad.

Just like the first graphic novel, this was an entertaining read despite the few problems I had with some of the characters not being used enough, but I am looking forward to the next issue nonetheless.

Rating - 4/5
★★★★

There is also a link to this review on my blog here!

[Mohammed Al-Thani · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second installment in DC's suicide squad was a good one. Though I was slightly disappointed. I didn't feel that there were any characters developments and the only ones I liked were Deadpool and Harley Quinn. Though I felt that Deadpool was whining about the events that happened between him and Quinn in the previous volume. Like okay MOVE ON!!! Amanda was definitely a bitch in this volume and she was unlikable. Like how do you ‏assemble a group of people and not care about them!? The plot is messed up, that it was hard to follow. However I liked the final issue where we get to know how Amanda assembles the suicide squad. I also loved how it picked up were it left off immediately and the first 2 issues were fantastic. The fight scenes were also EPIC! Overall I felt that suicide squad volume 2 was a GOOD volume.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Suicide Squad since John Ostrander first documented Amanda Waller's gathering of Super Villians looking to shave time off their sentences and misfit superheroes with issues and nothing to lose by assisting. In fact, I continued collecting Suicide Squad after abandoning the comic collecting hobby in general - for another 2 or 3 issues, when it was cancelled.

I was excited to hear about DC's bringing the series back as part of "The New 52", and latched onto the first graphic novel shortly after it was issued. I thought it fit in well with what I remembered from the original series, and was eagerly awaiting the next GN in the series.

Suicide Squad Volume 2 - Basilisk Rising is a worthy addition to the legend. I will confess to not enjoying it quite as much as the first volume in the series, but that was a high bar to have set. The book introduces an arch-enemy for the Squad & for Waller AND shows rivalries from other agencies of the government. Unfortunately, neither of these features truly enthused me ... I LIKED the concept of "fighting enemies within and without using expendable resources" rather than actually finding out we've stocked up in anticipation of a SPECIFIC enemy!! The book also goes into some of Amanda's roots and her motivations. These, I could take or leave - they fit her character and explain a lot, but I'm not sure I really NEEDED to know those things. I AM glad they weren't presented early on, and we've had long time to get to know the character first. BUT ... the ending (not counting the "Amanda's early days" postscript) was jaw-dropping.

Volume 3 is promised for the fall. Can't wait.

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this second volume in this series entertaining, but not as compelling as the first one. It's full of action, but some of the characters seem to have lost that edginess that made them as interesting as they were in the Volume 1. Harlequin seems to have regained some of her sanity which is good for her --- but boring as far as telling a good story. El Diablo seems to have lost that conscientious introspection he had previously, and now embraces himself as an instrument of vengeance ---- it's believable, but it also removes the one aspect of his character marking him out as different from the other villains in the Squad. As far as this story's main antagonist, Regulus ---- I found him boring as a villain. Wears the same type of body suit they all seem to wear in comic books, and growls out the same old boring boasts and threats that all comic book villains (and North Korean dictators) do. So, all in all, not a waste of money --- this was entertaining, but it wasn't gripping.

[Michael (Mai) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one too was a little meh. Actually a little more meh then I’d like to to admit. Maybe it’s because there is a whole lot less of Harley in this one or maybe it’s all the traitor business. “You’re it no you are!” “Wait that guy actually isn’t a traitor” (Not direct quotes lol)

We get to learn a little more about Amanda Waller the leader of the squad. And…she’s still not interesting. Even they way they made her grandma was weird.

I still liked the drawings and I even like Deadshot a little but it’s still just…meh. Of course I’ll continue it so long as the library has it and because of Harley.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volume one started off so well, but Volume 2 just made a mess of it. Neutering Harley (even if it's not real), introducing a traitor, and a crossover issue with the ridiculously bad Resurrection Man just don't make for good reading. The near constant flashbacks are obnoxious instead of informative, and don't really explain anything. All of it is outlandish, and not in a good way. It almost seemed like they were killing the series off here. If it doesn't improve, they may have been better off if they did.

[Tesutamento · Rating 3 out of 5]

İlk ciltten sonra biraz zayıf geldi. Karakterler aslında hemen hemen ilk ciltte nasıldıysalar burada da aynı şekilde devam ediyorlar. Yine okuyucuyu ters köşeye yatırma gayretindeler. Bu ciltteki büyük kötü Basilisk adlı örgüt ve liderleri ise pek iyi işlenmemiş maalesef. Çok derinlikli bir karakter beklemesem de olay örgüsünde pek bir tehdit hissedemedim. Daha çok Squad içindeki hainin kim olduğuna takılı kaldık. Oradan da büyük bir şey çıkmadı. Aksiyon kısımları keyifli olsa da hikaye olarak zayıf bir ciltti.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I am getting primed for the Suicide Squad movie coming out in August. This is a very violent series, and it seems almost all action. DC is going thru yet another reboot this summer and while I continue to read the "The New 52" Suicide Squad collections, I will also start off with the rebirthed edition as well.

[Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too bad. I wonder what Regulus's real name is. Nice to finally know the traitor of the Suicide Squad. RIP Nana.