So, it’s snowing in Tennessee and I’m stuck in Nashville. While
being off from work is fine, I wish I got to enjoy the snow in the
country. Oh well… on with the show.
Next up for the month is a return to the DC Universe. While
most of them are lesser known, there are other fighters in the universe other
than the Batman family. One that gets little mention is Ben Turner, aka “The
Bronze Tiger,” a man who was brainwashed by the League of Assassins He was
introduced along with Richard Dragon in Dragon’s Fists, a novel written by
Denny O’Neil in 1975. He then appeared with Richard Dragon in the comic series
Richard Dragon: Kung Fu Fighter. He then appeared here and there throughout the
DC Universe. He fought Batman a couple of times… and won. Take that,
uber-Batfans!!!
Ben then was made a regular member of John Ostrander’s
Suicide Squad, which is the subject for today. He even had Rick Flag’s job in
leading the team for quite a while. Tonight’s issue is Suicide Squad #38. Even
though I haven’t made it here in my read-through (I stopped at "The Janus
Directive"), I thought I’d touch on this issue. John Ostrander handles the plot
while Robert Greenberger does the script. Luke McDonnell did the layouts while
Geof Isherwood is over finishes. So, what happens when Ben is questioned by his
superiors?
Suicide Squad #38
Plot: John Ostrander
Script: Robert GreenBerger
Layouts: Luke McDonnell
Finishes: Geof Isherwood
Colors: Todd Klein
Letters: Carl Gafford
Editor: Dan Raspler
“Caging the Tiger!”
We start the story with some shady drug dealers called the
LOA (Louisiana Ordnance Association) doing bad things. They somehow know that
Amanda Waller has been secretly doing things with the Suicide Squad. Then, they
act even shadier by saying they’ll peddle cocaine to folk.
Meanwhile, Ben Turner and Mari McCabe (Vixen) are at the
White House. Ben has to answer for disobeying Sarge Steel’s orders during a
Squad mission. In the meeting room,
Steel talks with others about Ben’s background. He used to be a government
operative before the League of Assassins brainwashed him and made him into the Bronze
Tiger. We then find out that King Faraday got with Rick Flag and Nightshade to
save him and Amanda Waller deprogrammed him. Steel wants to see if Ben will
crack under the pressure, but Faraday disagrees and is asked to leave.
At Belle Reve, Jewelee (a Squad member) is being checked up on
by a physician. While she kind of talks like a loony person, the doctor tells
Jewelee that she’s pregnant. Elsewhere, Amanda Waller contacts Oracle (who was
a member at the time) and tells her that Flo Crawley, a computer tech and
Oracle’s friend, died on their last mission.
At the White House, Steel and the rest of his superiors
grill into Ben about that last mission. They also touch upon his history since
he’s always had some problems. They note his time as an assassin for reference
and the fact that he won’t kill on missions. They even bring the mask out. Ben
tells them that he’s changed but Steel keeps prodding and digging at him for a
response. Ben then cracks, rips up the mask, and runs out of the building. Steel
and the others wonder if the rest of the Squad will fall because of how Waller
built this team. Now, two leaders (Rick Flag and Bronze Tiger) are gone. The story
ends with Mari wondering where Ben ran off to.
I guess Ben has serious angers issues about Tony the Tiger.
I thought this was a nice issue. While it isn’t an
action-packed issue, it still packs a certain punch by looking into one of my
favorite Squad members. It goes into Ben’s background and even explores his
character a bit. The ending was a bit of a shock and kinda sucks for Ben and
Mari. Man, I need to get back to that read-through! Other than Sarge Steel
being an enormous ass (putting it nicely) and those “evil” drug dealers at the
beginning, I had no problems with the story.
The artwork was good for the most part. While it’s not an action-packed slugfest,
Isherwood did try to include a little action in Ben’s flashbacks. Most of the
close-ups were good and the layouts from McDonnell were nice too. The only
thing I didn’t like about the art was that sometimes the inking would be a
little weird. I think it’s the inking, anyway. Other than that, I had no
problems with the artwork.
In the end, this was a nice issue about one of the cool cats
from the Squad. I don’t know what happens to Ben after this, but I’ll found out
eventually in my read-through. Well, that’s all I got for now. This was a bit
of a short one for me. Next time will probably be another return to the world
of Brucesploitation. I’m getting near the end of this, I think. Until then,
Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there with this crazy weather.
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