icon_uk (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} icon_uk) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} scans_daily,@ 2009-06-13 23:43:00 |
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No, not the Nightwing villain, this is the D-list villain (Well, given the status of Nightwing's Shrike, possibly better to classify her as ANOTHER D-list villain called Shrike).
A former member of a one shot villain team called the Cadre, whose claim to fame was they were the first villain team created to fight the Detroit JLA (if claim to fame is the right turn of phrase for that)
After that she vanished until she appeared as a member of the Suicide Squad.
None of the Cadre had much in the way of personalities, they were powersets with costumes (Shrike could fly and has a destructive sonic scream) so we never knew much about Shrike, and strangely, not many people actually cared. But the joy of the Squad was you could do just about ANYTHING with these villains. Comparisons between this, and Gail Simone's Secret Six are perhaps not inappropriate, and the comparison hurts neither.
However, whilst leafing through the issue, and before we get to her, I found this priceless little moment with Punch and Jewelee, who are determined to get a smile out of Nightshade, one way or the other. (Punch and Jewelee were sort of like the Squad's sort of answer to Joker and Harley (but before Harley existed); they are married supervillains, who could politely be described as nuttier than squirrel shit;
Context... we don't NEED to stinking context, we're the Suicide Squad darnit, and if John Ostrander wants to make "eating the salami" jokes, then more power to him!
But I digress.... Back to Shrike
This is Shrike's first mission with the team, and Vixen (who had been on the JLA Detroit team) notes that she is not just upbeat now, but RELENTLESSLY upbeat, since she has apparently found religion, though she's a little sceptical about that.
The Suicide Squad padre is along on the mission (long story) and finds himself chatting to Shrike as they wait for a lull in the mission, so we get this magnificent little summary of her recent life.
It's the relaxed, even happy, way she relates a truly ghastly tale that makes this perfect to me. This woman is SCARY.
Then later in the mission, she's tasked with drawing the enemy fire and blitzing them with her sonic powers.
John Ostrander noted in the last issue of the Squad that this was one of of his favourite memorable moments from the series.
Since then, Kurt Busiek has introduced a new character who looks like the original Shrike to the reformed Cadre he's used a couple of times, but using the name Starshrike, we have no idea who she is though.
None of the Cadre had much in the way of personalities, they were powersets with costumes (Shrike could fly and has a destructive sonic scream) so we never knew much about Shrike, and strangely, not many people actually cared. But the joy of the Squad was you could do just about ANYTHING with these villains. Comparisons between this, and Gail Simone's Secret Six are perhaps not inappropriate, and the comparison hurts neither.
However, whilst leafing through the issue, and before we get to her, I found this priceless little moment with Punch and Jewelee, who are determined to get a smile out of Nightshade, one way or the other. (Punch and Jewelee were sort of like the Squad's sort of answer to Joker and Harley (but before Harley existed); they are married supervillains, who could politely be described as nuttier than squirrel shit;
Context... we don't NEED to stinking context, we're the Suicide Squad darnit, and if John Ostrander wants to make "eating the salami" jokes, then more power to him!
But I digress.... Back to Shrike
This is Shrike's first mission with the team, and Vixen (who had been on the JLA Detroit team) notes that she is not just upbeat now, but RELENTLESSLY upbeat, since she has apparently found religion, though she's a little sceptical about that.
The Suicide Squad padre is along on the mission (long story) and finds himself chatting to Shrike as they wait for a lull in the mission, so we get this magnificent little summary of her recent life.
It's the relaxed, even happy, way she relates a truly ghastly tale that makes this perfect to me. This woman is SCARY.
Then later in the mission, she's tasked with drawing the enemy fire and blitzing them with her sonic powers.
John Ostrander noted in the last issue of the Squad that this was one of of his favourite memorable moments from the series.
Since then, Kurt Busiek has introduced a new character who looks like the original Shrike to the reformed Cadre he's used a couple of times, but using the name Starshrike, we have no idea who she is though.