Suicide Squad: Amanda Waller #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of May, 2014. It was published on March 26, 2014.
Synopsis for "Sacrifices in the Storm"
Aboard a military cargo jet, Amanda Waller meets with Dr. Algot Issen to discuss using his genetic testing equipment to classify and control super-powered beings. He is naturally wary of how his technology is used, but Waller insists that everything she and Task Force X do is about protecting people from the expanding super-powered threat. It's about national security. Suddenly, the wing of the jet takes a hit, and the flight destabilizes, sending them careening into an ice-capped mountain range - in the middle of New Mexico in July.
With the hull ripped open, Amanda drags who she can to safety, ensuring that those who are conscious get themselves out alive before the fire consumes the plane with them inside it. Knowing that she will be the one people look to for leadership, Amanda orders some soldiers to seek out the source of the shot that brought the plane down. With the unseasonable blizzard - especially for New Mexico - Amanda suggests they move Northwest just as a blast of energy strikes the plane behind them.
Corporal Woodrow gives them some cover fire as a man materializes on the horizon, surrounded by light. He approaches, expressing annoyance at Dr. Issen's persistence in surviving his assassination attempts. Amanda is surprised that they seem to know each other, but Issen explains that this man is Kriger-3, a genetic experiment gone bad. As much violence as she has seen in her life, Amanda hates violence, and she is troubled by just how much of it she and her small group of survivors are facing as Kriger-3 demands that she hand over Dr. Issen. Pfc. Garza, another surviving soldier, leaps in front of one of Kriger-3's blasts so that Amanda and the others can escape, but the attack is surely fatal.
As they run through the snow, Amanda questions Issen as to what kind of capabilities this Kriger-3 has. He admits that the experiment doesn't have enhanced vision, which means that they may be able to use the snowstorm as cover to hide. He explains that the nature of Kriger-3's power is that he absorbs, stores, and emits heat. He has obviously absorbed the majority of heat from the New Mexican desert - which means he has massive energy reserves, both hot and cold.
Soon, Kriger-3 finds them, and Amanda is confused as to why he didn't follow up his attack with another when he had them cornered. She deduces that he must need to charge his attacks. Coordinating with Corporal Woodrow, Amanda launches an offensive, timing it to coincide with the charging period. The result sees Kriger-3 take a bullet in the shoulder, prompting him to warn that Dr. Issen doesn't deserve to be defended. After all, none of the test subjects like him were volunteers; they were kidnapped. Becoming emotional, he demands to know how anyone could use people like that, and still call themselves a human being. This question leaves Amanda shaken, but when she realizes that Kriger-3 is gathering his energy for a more powerful blast, she and Woodrow are forced to leap for their lives. Unfortunately, Woodrow doesn't make it with his.
Annoyed, Amanda swallows her regret about Woodrow and urges Issen and her assistant Sheryl to run. Suddenly, a jeep pulls up in front of them, and the man inside orders them to get in. Amanda tries to refuse, seeing that he and the people inside are civilians, and she would needlessly endanger them by involving them. So, she puts her gun to Issen's head and warns him to get out of the jeep. She and he, at least, would handle Kriger-3 on their own, and she would not let these innocents die for him. As the jeep drives off with Sheryl in it, a blast of energy blows out its wheel, and Amanda is enraged, firing her gun at Kriger to distract him from them. Without her attention on him, Issen makes a run for it, and so she shoots him in the thigh.
As Kriger approaches him, Issen swears that he didn't know what would happen to his subjects. He had been told the subjects were criminals and murderers; that his experimentation was justified. He claims he didn't know about the kidnappings until later, and he is a victim in this too. The use of that word enrages Kriger-3, who grabs Issen up, and threatens to burn the word from his vocabulary. Seeing this, Amanda resolves that she is done with lying to herself and others about how this violence affects her. She'll put a stop to it.
She calls out to Kriger-3 that as much as he wants to kill Issen, it won't solve anything. It won't cure him. His powers and his rage are both beyond his control, and he has killed too many innocents. She admits that she is not innocent, and wonders how she can pull this man back from the brink. After a moment's pause, she realizes that she can't. Pulling the pins from a satchel full of grenades that she grabbed from Woodrow's corpse, she rushes at Kriger, and tackles him, tumbling over the edge of a low cliff. As the grenades explode, Kriger-3 absorbs all of their heat, knocking himself unconscious and sparing Issen and Amanda.
Struggling to her feet, she points her gun at Kriger-3 and wonders if she will ever escape this cycle of killing or being killed. Thinking of the innocents in the wrecked jeep, she makes the choice she never wanted to make, and puts a bullet through Kriger's head. Ditching Issen next to the body, she returns to the jeep to ensure everyone's alright. Sheryl seems okay, and she has her call back to Belle Reve for an extraction team. Sheryl wonders if Amanda herself is alright, and, surveying the destruction and death around her, she states that she is fine.
Appearing in "Sacrifices in the Storm"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dr. Algot Issen
- Cpl. Woodrow (Dies)
- Pfc. Garza (Dies)
- Sheryl Elton
Villains:
- Kriger-3 (Dies)
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This story takes place before Suicide Squad (Volume 4) #24.
- Reprinted in The Suicide Squad Case Files Vol. 1.
See Also