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Suicide Squad (2016)
Suicide Squad, Volume 8: Constriction
Batman has broken Deadshot out of Belle Reve! Now the Dark Knight and the assassin who never misses have a new mission: rescue Deadshot's daughter!
Deadshot's daughter has been kidnapped by Kobra, a group of mutant snake assassins! Amanda Waller uses all her resources to stop his escape, but he won't allow anything to stand in the way of saving his daughter--not even his Task Force X teammates!
From writer Rob Williams and a talented group of comics' top illustrators, Suicide Squad Vol. 8 is another wild ride through the DC Universe!
Collects issues #41-44, #47-50 and Suicie Squad Annual #1.
Deadshot's daughter has been kidnapped by Kobra, a group of mutant snake assassins! Amanda Waller uses all her resources to stop his escape, but he won't allow anything to stand in the way of saving his daughter--not even his Task Force X teammates!
From writer Rob Williams and a talented group of comics' top illustrators, Suicide Squad Vol. 8 is another wild ride through the DC Universe!
Collects issues #41-44, #47-50 and Suicie Squad Annual #1.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
February 1, 2020
Batman teams up with Deadshot to save Deadshot's daughter from the clutches of Kobra. Kobra has been turned into this odd cult of snake people. They were very one note. Then a back up team of Suicide Squad members take on Swamp Thing. There's a terrible solo issue with Captain Boomerang that's trying to be a James Bond spoof. Finally, the Suicide Squad comes full circle returning to the underwater Russian prison from the first arc. These stories are all lackluster and kind of boring, leaving the book to go out on a weak note. I'm certainly ready to have Tom Taylor take over the series.
May 8, 2019
The weakest story to date.
World: The art is solid, this series has had a string of great artists that give the characters personalities and also stunning action sequences and this volume is the same, it's a fun book to look at. The world building here is okay. The pieces that are used are interesting and bringing Batman in on paper seems fun. The use of Kobra is also a good choice for 'bad' v. 'evil' as Kobra is clearly designed to be just horribly evil. The stage set for the story and the pieces used as I said are good, it's the story and the execution that causes this book problems.
Story: The story on paper is good. Batman grabs Deadshot and they go hunt Kobra for Floyd's daughter and Waller chases Batman. However you need to take logic out of the equation for this arc to really make sense and that coming from a Squad book is saying something. So far the series has been nuts and fun and internally logically sound. Batman makes this not so. I love the idea of Batman but it makes no sense he would take Deadshot and it does not fit him as a character, but I'll get more into it below. The characters are out of character. Add to that the villain while cool as evil characters doesn't really shine here, there is not huge mwaa haaa haaa over the top baddie to make it campy and fun and there is no strong emotional writing for Daddy and daughter Deadshot. In the end there are a string of mindless action sequences barely stitched together by an insane illogical plot and it ends up being tedious instead of fun (which the series has been). The stuff with Enchantress should have been handled more (that area is drama gold). A rather disappointing arc to a fun series so far. The series does finish off with these two more small tales that are highly forgettable. It's a shame that I wish the series which started out so strong should choose to end with Batman, a Rick Flagg story and a fairly casual racist Australian story...
Character: Batman does not belong in this book, it sounds cool to have him but working with the Squad is a stretch and it's always been a stretch for the Squad part of the DCU and the Bats part to interact cause it's so different character wise for them. Bats cannot be okay with Deadshot killing and yet his reaction is short and inconsistent with the character. This is one of the things that irked me and made me check out of the book. The lack of depth following Enchantress was also a missed opportunity. Oh and the casual racist Australian jokes and the reveal of the kid were also not okay.
I like this series, it's been fun and insane and junk food but this was not a good arc and to end on this leaves a sour note in ones mouth.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
World: The art is solid, this series has had a string of great artists that give the characters personalities and also stunning action sequences and this volume is the same, it's a fun book to look at. The world building here is okay. The pieces that are used are interesting and bringing Batman in on paper seems fun. The use of Kobra is also a good choice for 'bad' v. 'evil' as Kobra is clearly designed to be just horribly evil. The stage set for the story and the pieces used as I said are good, it's the story and the execution that causes this book problems.
Story: The story on paper is good. Batman grabs Deadshot and they go hunt Kobra for Floyd's daughter and Waller chases Batman. However you need to take logic out of the equation for this arc to really make sense and that coming from a Squad book is saying something. So far the series has been nuts and fun and internally logically sound. Batman makes this not so. I love the idea of Batman but it makes no sense he would take Deadshot and it does not fit him as a character, but I'll get more into it below. The characters are out of character. Add to that the villain while cool as evil characters doesn't really shine here, there is not huge mwaa haaa haaa over the top baddie to make it campy and fun and there is no strong emotional writing for Daddy and daughter Deadshot. In the end there are a string of mindless action sequences barely stitched together by an insane illogical plot and it ends up being tedious instead of fun (which the series has been). The stuff with Enchantress should have been handled more (that area is drama gold). A rather disappointing arc to a fun series so far. The series does finish off with these two more small tales that are highly forgettable. It's a shame that I wish the series which started out so strong should choose to end with Batman, a Rick Flagg story and a fairly casual racist Australian story...
Character: Batman does not belong in this book, it sounds cool to have him but working with the Squad is a stretch and it's always been a stretch for the Squad part of the DCU and the Bats part to interact cause it's so different character wise for them. Bats cannot be okay with Deadshot killing and yet his reaction is short and inconsistent with the character. This is one of the things that irked me and made me check out of the book. The lack of depth following Enchantress was also a missed opportunity. Oh and the casual racist Australian jokes and the reveal of the kid were also not okay.
I like this series, it's been fun and insane and junk food but this was not a good arc and to end on this leaves a sour note in ones mouth.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
May 27, 2019
3.5 Stars
The first story arc featured Batman, and it's hard to put Batman in a Suicide Squad story and not have it be decent. This one involved Deadshot and his daughter being kidnapped by the Kobra cult.
The annual featured Swamp Thing and a different Suicide Squad then we're used to. Not bad, but it was like some lesser characters were killed off for no reason.
The final arc dealt with an otherworldly infestation that attempts to take over the world, and the only thing to stop it is the Squad.
Overall an entertaining volume, but not one of the stronger in the series.
The first story arc featured Batman, and it's hard to put Batman in a Suicide Squad story and not have it be decent. This one involved Deadshot and his daughter being kidnapped by the Kobra cult.
The annual featured Swamp Thing and a different Suicide Squad then we're used to. Not bad, but it was like some lesser characters were killed off for no reason.
The final arc dealt with an otherworldly infestation that attempts to take over the world, and the only thing to stop it is the Squad.
Overall an entertaining volume, but not one of the stronger in the series.
March 23, 2019
We all make decisions that define us.Sometimes I think... we choose our own path, and whether we realize or not... we choose our own tragedies.
May 2, 2021
The final volume of the Rebirth era of Suicide Squad collects the final 8 issues of the series (that aren't a crossover), and an annual, to wrap up everything Rob Williams has seeded since the beginning.
We open with Constriction, which is a four issue follow-up to an issue of Trinity Williams wrote that sees Deadshot's daughter captured by Kobra. Batman breaks into Belle Reve to liberate Deadshot, and the pair head off to save Zoe together, while the Suicide Squad try to bring them all back. This is the most focus that Deadshot has gotten since the early days of the series, and while it's a bit too-little-too-late, it's better late than never. Williams addresses the cybernetic hand issue which, was nice at least. The art's fairly solid here, with Eduardo Pansica and José Luis doing the heavy lifting.
The annual is by fill-in writer Cullen Bunn, with a fill-in Squad, since they're busy with the Sink Atlantis! crossover elsewhere, but it's a great story even if it doesn't impact the main book at all. Anything with a well-used Swamp Thing goes up in my estimations, and Bunn crafts a heartfelt story around the usual Suicide Squad murder-death-kill proceedings. The body count's also higher than the rest of the series put together which is pretty funny actually. Ronan Cliquet's on art, one of my favourite up and coming DC artists, and even though things are a little rushed, it still looks grand.
There's a one-off issue about Captain Boomerang next which is pretty funny, but again, too-little-too-late. Digger has mostly been comic relief, and while it's nice to see Williams pick up some throwaway plot threads from earlier in the run, the story falls a little flat despite the James Bond pastiche. Phillip Briones' artwork's also fairly solid though.
The final three issues, From Russia With Love, definitely feel rushed though. We again get a plot drawn from a few throwaway panels of the Rebirth one-shot 50 issues ago that kind of ties into the remnants of The People plotline, but I'm not entirely sure how or why the two fit together outside of 'because we needed them to so we could tie everything together'. The artwork's the real problem though - Diogenes Neves is usually a reliable fill-in artist, and a great lead artist too (check out Rebirth Deathstroke, or New 52 Demon Knights for example), but everything here feels really sloppy and unfinished. Issue 50 has three artists all contributing, which is again just messy. The story rounds off well enough, as well as any Suicide Squad can end given that it's not really a story that ever ends.
Rob Williams' Suicide Squad has been a tale of ups and downs. When the plot was on, it was great. When Williams remembered every character he was using instead of favouring one over the others, it was great. When the artwork was solid, it was great. But it was very rare that all three of these factors lined up together, which made things very uneven indeed.
We open with Constriction, which is a four issue follow-up to an issue of Trinity Williams wrote that sees Deadshot's daughter captured by Kobra. Batman breaks into Belle Reve to liberate Deadshot, and the pair head off to save Zoe together, while the Suicide Squad try to bring them all back. This is the most focus that Deadshot has gotten since the early days of the series, and while it's a bit too-little-too-late, it's better late than never. Williams addresses the cybernetic hand issue which, was nice at least. The art's fairly solid here, with Eduardo Pansica and José Luis doing the heavy lifting.
The annual is by fill-in writer Cullen Bunn, with a fill-in Squad, since they're busy with the Sink Atlantis! crossover elsewhere, but it's a great story even if it doesn't impact the main book at all. Anything with a well-used Swamp Thing goes up in my estimations, and Bunn crafts a heartfelt story around the usual Suicide Squad murder-death-kill proceedings. The body count's also higher than the rest of the series put together which is pretty funny actually. Ronan Cliquet's on art, one of my favourite up and coming DC artists, and even though things are a little rushed, it still looks grand.
There's a one-off issue about Captain Boomerang next which is pretty funny, but again, too-little-too-late. Digger has mostly been comic relief, and while it's nice to see Williams pick up some throwaway plot threads from earlier in the run, the story falls a little flat despite the James Bond pastiche. Phillip Briones' artwork's also fairly solid though.
The final three issues, From Russia With Love, definitely feel rushed though. We again get a plot drawn from a few throwaway panels of the Rebirth one-shot 50 issues ago that kind of ties into the remnants of The People plotline, but I'm not entirely sure how or why the two fit together outside of 'because we needed them to so we could tie everything together'. The artwork's the real problem though - Diogenes Neves is usually a reliable fill-in artist, and a great lead artist too (check out Rebirth Deathstroke, or New 52 Demon Knights for example), but everything here feels really sloppy and unfinished. Issue 50 has three artists all contributing, which is again just messy. The story rounds off well enough, as well as any Suicide Squad can end given that it's not really a story that ever ends.
Rob Williams' Suicide Squad has been a tale of ups and downs. When the plot was on, it was great. When Williams remembered every character he was using instead of favouring one over the others, it was great. When the artwork was solid, it was great. But it was very rare that all three of these factors lined up together, which made things very uneven indeed.
June 14, 2022
Sloppy. Lazy. Half-assed. Mediocre.
This entire run on Suicide Squad has been a dreadful, tedious slog to power through-- because writer Rob Williams is so dedicated to making it a goofy black comedy that he undercuts any possible tension or stakes that the book may have. His repeated attempts to bring back ghosts from the past keep falling flat because nothing that happens or has happened feels important; people come back from the dead (except for the two female characters Williams kills, of course), limbs grow back... the status quo always returns, no matter how improbable that should be. It feels like running in circles.
I mean, you can only read Captain Boomerang pathetically declare that he's sh*t his pants so many times before it stops being even remotely amusing.
(Note: the one-star rating is a cumulative score for Williams' entire run, taken as a whole. But while, taken in isolation, Constriction MIGHT be worthy of something like a TWO-star rating on its own merits... it's also kind of impossible to take this volume in isolation, because so much of it is a callback to earlier volumes of the run. This is functionally the finale, the big payoff, to the whole Rebirth run of the title... and it's a deeply underwhelming flop.)
This entire run on Suicide Squad has been a dreadful, tedious slog to power through-- because writer Rob Williams is so dedicated to making it a goofy black comedy that he undercuts any possible tension or stakes that the book may have. His repeated attempts to bring back ghosts from the past keep falling flat because nothing that happens or has happened feels important; people come back from the dead (except for the two female characters Williams kills, of course), limbs grow back... the status quo always returns, no matter how improbable that should be. It feels like running in circles.
I mean, you can only read Captain Boomerang pathetically declare that he's sh*t his pants so many times before it stops being even remotely amusing.
(Note: the one-star rating is a cumulative score for Williams' entire run, taken as a whole. But while, taken in isolation, Constriction MIGHT be worthy of something like a TWO-star rating on its own merits... it's also kind of impossible to take this volume in isolation, because so much of it is a callback to earlier volumes of the run. This is functionally the finale, the big payoff, to the whole Rebirth run of the title... and it's a deeply underwhelming flop.)
May 8, 2021
Is Batmna like Deadshot? Sort of. Waller is a nasty character and you really feel bad for the villains that are being abused.
June 22, 2025
This series as a whole was mid, and had some okay highs and some indifferently disappointing lows. Waller to me works best as a supporting character, and this series is more about her than anyone, always wanting to write about her complexities as a character but falling flat. Every other threat is "I'm gonna expose your secrets Waller!" And her hypocrisy of being a monster among monsters but flip-flopping between accepting that she's just as bad or insisting that the Taskforce X are worse than scum and her and anything. Some characters were written consistently fine--Quinn, her popularity gives her plot armor and plot importance and if she's inconsistent then it's because we can fall back on "eh she's crazy"--sweeps everything under the rug. Croc is sympathetic, but other than being a big hitter the most we did with his character was attach him to Enchantress, who was wildly inconsistent throughout this run--the writers had no idea what to do with her and that was disappointing because I think Enchantress has the most potential to be a great character, just not here. Lawton had a good arc when we'd remember to include him in the forefront, and Flag likewise was consistent (I'm overusing that word, I know). Digger was comic relief but over half the jokes were "he's soiled himself" and it was so lazy. But, genuinely in this final issue having the call back to him as a secret agent was a great moment. The problem with the Suicide Squad is that their conception as a team and the actual missions they go on are so wildly different--like, no, they are not the right team for half of the missions they go on. And the other half? It's personal defense of Waller being targeted in a revenge scheme; so, if like me, you don't like Waller or the repetitiveness of that plot, then it's not that fun a read. Hack felt like capitalizing on Quinn's popularity, so her revenge arc was a bit more inspired, but honestly the story arcs weren't ever that inspiring save for, like, the bit of writing with Juan and maybe an earlier arc that I'm blanking on. I just found the fifty issues to be okay at best, not my thing at worst.
September 18, 2019
I did quite like this final volume of the current series. I wonder if there will be a new series soon?
January 5, 2020
How does this book get the nice glossy paper while Batman, Wonder Woman, and Supes get that cheapo paper?
September 23, 2019
Rob Williams and a host of artists bring the latest run of the Suicide Squad to a close in this eighth and final volume of the series. The book opens with a Batman/Deadshot teamup against the cult of Kobra. Batman decides to break the mercenary out of Belle Reve for a rescue mission, giving Deadshot the chance to save his kidnapped daughter from the snake men. The annual issue serves as a violent interlude, as a host of B- and C-list characters are killed trying to recruit Swamp Thing and an escaped patient for Amanda Waller. The final arc harkens back to the early days of the series, sending the classic crew after a kidnapped Waller. Back at the Russian prison that nearly killed the team, the Squad must defeat a world-destroying entity in order to return home alive. Rob Williams seems to be unsure as to how he wants to run the book, with the writing as schizophrenic as Harley Quinn. The Kobra arc serves solely to give Deadshot his actual arm back, while the final issues drag Rick Flag right back to the team. The unique crew of Scream Queen, Ragdoll, Skorpio, and Shimmer are great additions that are never given enough page time to be fleshed out, and of course the return of Owen Mercer to the DCU is completely ignorant of the character’s earlier history. The rotating art cast does not help either; the book just feels rushed to the finished line in order to prep for the next relaunch. Suicide Squad: Constriction crushes the life out of this iteration of the Squad instead of bringing the story full circle.
November 21, 2022
Deadshot's daughter is kidnapped by Kobra. Batman breaks out Deadshot in order to team up and save his daughter. The suicide squad is sent after them.
That's pretty much the gist of the story. And if it seems simplistic, it's because it kind of is. What I took away from this story is that its a decent enough action tale, a throwback to the 80's type stories where the bad guys are definitely bad - as evident by the snake costumes they were - and the good guys have the world against them. And while that makes it fun and easy reading, it doesn't really have much depth to it. The ending is telegraphed and ends as you expect, and the fact that things go back to normal by the end is par for the course as well.
I think Rob Williams is a good writer on this book, but this is one of his more simplistic stories so far. If youre a die hard Suicide Squad fan, check this out but don't expect depth.
That's pretty much the gist of the story. And if it seems simplistic, it's because it kind of is. What I took away from this story is that its a decent enough action tale, a throwback to the 80's type stories where the bad guys are definitely bad - as evident by the snake costumes they were - and the good guys have the world against them. And while that makes it fun and easy reading, it doesn't really have much depth to it. The ending is telegraphed and ends as you expect, and the fact that things go back to normal by the end is par for the course as well.
I think Rob Williams is a good writer on this book, but this is one of his more simplistic stories so far. If youre a die hard Suicide Squad fan, check this out but don't expect depth.
September 7, 2019
I am not surprised that Suicide Squad is ending with this volume. The first story was weak, which involved Batman and Deadshot and his daughter; then you have the annual which was tragically bad. Lastly, the weakest arcs in the entire series to conclude. It was beyond disappointing but at least they knew to cut their losses.
September 23, 2019
Reading this I felt like I was missing some important info about Cobra. I wish they would have given a little more back information on the story line so that people jumping into this comic would have had a better understanding of what was going on. Besides that it was a good read. That art work was nice I you got to see your favorite characters do their thing.
March 1, 2020
Ach was soll ich noch viel dazu sagen? Alle die mich kennen wissen das ich Harley Liebe und Suicide Squad find ich einfach nur genial. So auch diese Story, die Letzte?!
Ziemlich Action Reich beginnt dieses Buch und so geht es auch bis zum Schluss weiter.
Was bleibt hier noch mehr zu sagen ausser "Niemand verlässt die Suicide Squad. Punkt."
Für Alle Fans ein MUSS!
Ziemlich Action Reich beginnt dieses Buch und so geht es auch bis zum Schluss weiter.
Was bleibt hier noch mehr zu sagen ausser "Niemand verlässt die Suicide Squad. Punkt."
Für Alle Fans ein MUSS!
October 16, 2020
Williams never reached the heights of Ostrander but he gave some fun adventures and interesting character growth. Will anyone remember Killer Croc and The Enchantress were an item? This last volume of his run ties it up where it started and gives the squad hero moments before the next return to status quo.
August 5, 2022
A great trade to end the run of Rob Williams' Suicide Squad.
Lots of fun callbacks to Williams' previous volumes, and the story weaves together nicely with the earlier issues dealing with the Annihilation Brigade.
There is some excellent art work in these pages as well!
Lots of fun callbacks to Williams' previous volumes, and the story weaves together nicely with the earlier issues dealing with the Annihilation Brigade.
There is some excellent art work in these pages as well!
August 27, 2022
Not a bad run for the Suicide Squad, much better than the New 52 stuff from 2011. I will say this series doesn't go out on a high note, with some throwaway issues and a final story that lacks much impact. But I'm still leaving feeling positive about the whole 50 issues in general.
February 6, 2023
A decent end to Rebirth's Suicide Squad run. The art was excellent and the storylines kept my interest. Waller is massively evil, hypocritical, and sanctimonious as always. It is a quick and enjoyable read.
September 29, 2019
A nice runs comes to an end with some unconnected stories, with final tying all of Williams run together.
Read
December 10, 2019They need a totally new creative team on this group I couldn't even get thru this
March 7, 2020
The Batman and Swamp Thing stories were really good as was the art. Everything else, ehh.
April 16, 2020
Really enjoyed this. More in-depth and complicated than this series usually is which was great, but quite a lot of jumping about from plot to plot which detracted somewhat. But very enjoyable.
July 5, 2020
This one kind of fell flat for the end of another Suicide Squad series. And for me, I'm tapped out on this group - time for a change :)
August 13, 2020
Still can't really get into the vibe of this series.
October 20, 2021
Batman and Deadshot team up to save Deadshot's daughter. That was fun enough.
Then the Suicide Squad has to "save" Amanda Waller from an energy demon thing and it's fine.
Then the Suicide Squad has to "save" Amanda Waller from an energy demon thing and it's fine.
July 8, 2024
Good Batman bit, good Swamp Thing bit, alright ending to an alright comic series
August 23, 2024
Captain Boomerang deserves better.
December 31, 2025
Batman and Deadshot story carries the volume.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews