Review: New Suicide Squad Vol. 3- Freedom

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is exciting and fun. The mission detailed here is interesting and works well as a base for the action. Setup from previous volumes enhances the tension and emotion in this one.

Cons: The main storyline’s conclusion does not deliver as much resolution as one would want.

Overall: This collection is a thrilling adventure that allows the members of the Suicide Squad to show off how entertaining they can be. Their struggles here are tense and compelling, pitting them against enemies who appear to constantly have the upper hand. These struggles are also enhanced by setup from previous volumes, making them even more engaging. The only downside is that the conclusion leaves a bit to be desired. Fans of the Suicide Squad, specifically those who have read the past two volumes, should not miss out on this one.

Story

The main storyline in New Suicide Squad Vol. 3: Freedom, by Sean Ryan, is consistently exciting and fun in a way that puts it above its predecessors in terms of quality. The story told here has the Suicide Squad go from facing typical enemies to taking down rogue operatives whose plans have been in the works for the past two volumes. This makes their mission more important than ever before and makes the events depicted here even more thrilling. There are a few missteps that take place near the volume’s conclusion but these do not cover the positives found throughout the rest of the collection. Overall, this is a worthwhile book and the best story in the New Suicide Squad series thus far.

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The vast majority of Freedom is an action-packed adventure full of excitement and tense moments of uncertainty. Throughout this collection, Amanda Waller and the members of the Suicide Squad are constantly on the offensive, whether that means taking on mobsters or taking down corrupt government workers. This causes them to constantly be positioned on the precipice of defeat, always one step away from losing the objective or losing their lives. The uncertainty bred by this situation creates an exciting story that fans of the Suicide Squad are sure to appreciate.

This entire adventure is then enhanced by the work done throughout the previous two collections. The evil plans put in place by Waller’s supervisor have been in the works for a while now, so seeing them executed here is more satisfying than it would be otherwise. This setup also helps make the death of Bonnie more emotional, thus highlighting the human element that often goes overlooked in Suicide Squad stories.

The most significant problem in Freedom is that a few plotlines are left without much resolution. Amanda Waller and Deadshot’s personal stories are sufficiently wrapped up in their final conversation together, yet this cannot be said for everyone. Harley’s struggle with sanity, Captain Boomerang’s search for meaning, and the confrontation against the evil CEO are all only casually addressed as this story arc closes. Plus, the nonchalant dismissal of the Suicide Squad’s request for freedom feels far too expected. These problems leave the final chapter of the main story as something that works but could have been much better.

Freedom also contains two chapters that are essentially the first chapters of two completely different comics. Though both chapters read well and seem to give a promising start to a new series, they do not add anything to this volume as a whole. Instead, their inclusion here simply feels like an advertisement for a completely separate and almost entirely unrelated product.

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Art

The artwork in Freedom is passable but isn’t anything to write home about. Artist Philippe Briones presents a well-structured Suicide Squad adventure that accurately depicts each member of the team. However, the adventure also lacks detail and is occasionally static when it comes to motion. Plus, facial expressions sometimes fail to convey the emotion required by the story. None of these flaws are major, but they are present in a way that takes away from the visual quality of the collection as a whole.

Continuity

New Suicide Squad Vol. 3: Freedom continues the story from Suicide Squad Vol. 2: Monsters (Review).

The story here continues in New Suicide Squad Vol. 4: Kill Anything (Review).

This volume also makes a reference to other comic books, detailed below:

• Deadshot mentions a dream he had to Amanda Waller. This dream resembles the events that took place in New Suicide Squad: Futures End #1, a story that is currently only collected in Futures End: Five Years Later Omnibus.