Beyond Good And Evil — Reviewing ‘Suicide Squad: Dream Team’ #4

What happens when a battle of wits begins between a precognitive dreamer and a schemer playing chess with the world? Nothing, great, that’s for sure.

Unfortunately for the hero Dreamer, she’s just about to find out how horrible things can go in Suicide Squad: Dream Team #4. A series-concluding chapter from Nicole Maines, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Adriano Lucas, and Becca Carey that is ready to plunge the DC Universe into the Absolute Power summer event.

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. This sentiment tends to be intrinsic to the very fabric of stories centered around the idea of heroes. Especially those of a super variety, always finding ways to defeat their foes no matter how much they are beaten down. Except, sometimes that’s not the case.

Through this whole series Maines has been writing a difficult journey for Dreamer, trying to single-handedly stop Amanda Waller and save the world. It’s been an up and down emotional roller coaster for the character and readers alike. Just top notch writing and story crafting.

In just this one issue, Maines takes all of that and in these twenty pages hits even harder than the previous three issues combined. The triumph of escape and destruction of a portion of Waller’s plan means nothing. This woman who is willing to cross every line that ever existed to accomplish her goals was so many steps ahead even a precog didn’t see it coming. Maines is closer to this character than anyone else, having played her on screen for years, and is still willing to see the character extremely lose.

Sometimes, the best thing to happen to a character is losing. It makes their triumphant rise even sweeter when it comes down the line, while also humbling and teaching them lessons. Seriously, as I stated in previous reviews, they need to get Maines on more books or a regular ongoing series right away. Just from this series alone, she’s now easily on my list of writers whose work I’m beyond excited to follow.

Four all four issues we’ve been taken on a dark, ominous, and nightmarish ride. Barrows, Ferreira, and Lucas make that abundantly clear page after page.

I love how Barrows chooses to frame most of the story paneling wise. Various angles, shapes, gutter space, and placement that makes sure each page is fully unique. Not just unique in appearance though. The energy and flow of things is also very unique, allowing each moment to have the right atmosphere and space to do what needs to be done. Slipping between panels that take up the whole page and those that are slimmer, smaller, and utilize that aforementioned gutter space to its fullest.

A heaviness is very much felt thanks to the pencils and then the inks that accompany them.

Atmospheric mood is key, and the color palate Lucas employs brings it. Plenty of darker tones, chiefly through shadows, that envelop everything. Dispensing even more of a heaviness through the whole, seemingly getting even gloomier the closer we get to a Waller win.

It meshes perfectly with the flashier colors that come with the bright costumes, powers, and personalities that all these characters come equipped with. Additionally, there are some lighter more natural tones are sprinkled throughout to make sure that as outlandish or gritty as things feel, there is still a foundational familiarity.

Suicide Squad books are naturally weighty, what with the characters usually being criminals taking on missions that require a tougher hand. At the same time, at least in the modern conceptualization, it’s also a dark comedy. Each portion of the art works to bridge those two elements, especially when it comes to the lettering.

Taking all the tough elements and finding ways to let colors and personality bleed into the words, without losing any of the meaning. Dropping in the often big loud, sometimes hilarious, SFX that help liven up the world. Carey is always so good at this, having tackled books similar to this in the past like the recent Batgirls series. Keeping the fun that is paramount to superhero comics while blaring the big loud hard beats.

Suicide Squad: Dream Team #4 is now available from DC Comics.