Suicide Squad #2

Suicide Squad #2, published by DC Comics in June 1987, arrived during a transformative era for the publisher following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Writer John Ostrander and artist Luke McDonnell reinvented the property, shifting the focus from a mid-century science-fiction team to a gritty, morally ambiguous covert operations group. This issue was central to establishing the team's internal power dynamics and their high-stakes operational reality under Amanda Waller.

The creative direction for this series was heavily influenced by the contemporary political landscape, framing the squad as expendable assets in a world of complex espionage. Luke McDonnell's illustrative style provided a grounded, somewhat cynical aesthetic that complemented Ostrander's character-driven scripts. The series was well-received for its realistic treatment of consequence and the revolving-door nature of its roster, setting a template for team-based anti-hero narratives that persists in modern comics.