She was... only... sixteen... 
- — Havana
Suicide Squad (Volume 2) #12 is an issue of the series Suicide Squad (Volume 2) with a cover date of October, 2002. It was published on August 14, 2002.
Synopsis for "Swan Song"
Rustam's plan to get his revenge on Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad continues. Antiphon and Tolteca capture Frank Rock and Havana. Hyve goes after Bulldozer, but fails to apprehend him. Rustam himself captures Waller. Rather than kill Waller immediately, Rustam tries to force her to give him the locations of the other members of the old Squad. Meanwhile, Waller’s assistant, Maura, calls in the Justice Society of America. The Society and the Suicide Squad composed of only Deadshot and Killer Frost head to the villain’s fortress where they are holding Havana and Rock in cells and Waller in Rustam’s office. Bulldozer supervises the mission on the communicators. The villains realize they cannot defeat the Society, so Rustam tells them to flee while he goes to kill Waller. The heroes break in, split up, and begin to search the fortress. However, Havana manages to reach through the bars of her cell and grab Rustam while he is passing by. He lashes out with his Psi-Scimitar mortally wounding Havana. Before Rustam can make his way to Waller, however, Deadshot appears and kills Rustam in a hail of bullets. Deadshot finds Havana, but she is dead. He then finds only a mask in the cell that held Rock. Back in the Squad headquarters, Bulldozer sees the mask through Deadshot’s camera. He rises from his wheelchair and leaves, saying “It was nice to feel young again.” Bulldozer is later captured by Waller’s forces.
As Waller is wrapping up the matter and reviewing the Squad’s files, Maura tells her that they cannot hold Bulldozer indefinitely. Waller is not so sure. Her assistant states that it does not seem right to keep secrets and use people. Waller again responds that she is not so sure and hands her one of the files, saying that Bulldozer and Frank Rock died in 1945.
Appearing in "Swan Song"
Featured Characters:
- Suicide Squad / Task Force Omega
- Bulldozer (implied to be impostor)
- Deadshot
- Frank Rock (implied to be impostor)
- Havana (Dies)
- Killer Frost
Supporting Characters:
- Amanda Waller (Secretary of Metahuman Affairs)
- Justice Society of America
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Alan Scott (painting)
- Bronze Tiger (Mentioned only)
- Dr. Fate (Mentioned only)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Maura (Waller's assistant)
- Modem (Mentioned only)
- Mr. Boomerang (Mentioned only)
- Nightshade (Mentioned only)
- President Luthor (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Onslaught Headquarters (location unknown)
- Washington, D.C.
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- The ending of this issue is ambiguous and will probably never be explained considering the death of Giffen. Deadshot reaches Frank Rock's prison cell and finds only a discarded mask of his face. Bulldozer sees this on a monitor and is shocked, Maura explains that it is "need to know." Bulldozer remarks "I guess the gig is up, then. Ah, well. It was nice to feel young again." He stands up out of his wheelchair and leaves the room. In the aftermath, Waller and Maura review files, and Maura says they cannot hold Bulldozer forever. She asks "Doesn't seem right, does it? Using people like this. So many secrets." Waller replies "Secrets? Frank Rock and Bulldozer died in 1945." It is unclear whether Waller means the original men have been dead this entire time, or if she is referring to their official government status as declared dead. The former would seem to contradict the two previous flashback issues in this series. It could be inferred that the Rock seen here is actually the Unknown Soldier, who appeared earlier in the series spouting the same "need to know" line and is known for his elaborate disguises. [1] Out-of-universe the 1945 reference is a clear homage to Rock's creator Robert Kanigher, mentioned in tribute at the end of the book, who strongly believed Rock should die at the end of World War II.[2] This was embraced in 2010's DC Universe Legacies Vol 1 4. There, members and allies of the Easy Company appear at a veterans reunion in 1976. Neither Rock nor Bulldozer are present. The veterans discuss how one of them heard that Rock was the last man killed in the European theatre of World War II.
- Though the identities of Bulldozer and Rock in this series (and Rock's appearance in Our Worlds at War) were never explained, there are some hints as to what may have been going on.
- As mentioned above, the Unknown Soldier features prominently in Issue #4 of the series (even titled “Need to Know”). There, this mysterious Rock remembers prior events when the Soldier recruited Frank Rock for a mission in the final days of World War II. The date is given only as 1945, but it must be after the bombing of Hiroshima on August 8, 1945, based upon a comment of the Soldier (saying that “Science is getting spooky. Hiroshima spooky, if y’ know what I mean.”). The war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, so (given the Hiroshima comment) this flashback requires Rock to have survived after VE Day. Alternatively, if we are to believe that the Rock leading the Suicide Squad decades later was the Unknown Soldier, there is the possibility that the Soldier is an unreliable narrator, and he assumed the identity of Rock to undertake this mission.
- Another flashback is recounted in Issue #10. There, Rock and Bulldozer are recruited by an unnamed agent of the United States government for a time-travelling mission in 1959. When the agent is recruiting Rock, Rock asks him about the Unknown Soldier. Again the phrase “need to know” appears. We also learn that Bulldozer has seemingly been acting as government agent. When Rock asks Bulldozer what he has been doing, he says “serving the public good.” It is possible that he faked his death in 1945 to aid him with this work. With the help of a time-travelling Rip Hunter, Frank and Bulldozer go back in time to close a time rift that is threatening the timeline. They are successful in their mission but are both pulled through the time rift. It is likely that the temporal energies of the time rift were meant to one day explain Bulldozer and Rock’s youth. Again, it is possible that the Soldier is an unreliable narrator, and he assumed the identity of Rock to undertake this mission too.
- Thus, it is possible that Rock did indeed die in Europe in 1945 and Bulldozer faked his death to act as a government agent in the same year. After Rock’s death, the Unknown Soldier assumed Rock’s identity and they both were infused with temporal energy by the time rift thus explaining their youth.