American Update: Legends #3 – 1st apprearance modern Suicide Squad
*DC: In the third issue of their 1987 company-wide crossover Legends, DC introduced, as one of a fistful of new concepts they were generating post-Crisis, a new iteration of the Suicide Squad concept. While the name ‘Suicide Squad’ had been used twice in the DCU before – once for a team of non-superpowered adventurers in Brave & Bold, and once for a series of stories in the war titles, this was the one which caught fire. Comprised of reluctantly reformed super-villains, the team took on insanely hazardous missions with the dangling promise of freedom if they earned enough ‘time’ off their sentences – or the alternative of a swift and brutal death at the hands of their governmental captors if they crossed the line. This Suicide Squad was a massive hit, spinning off into several acclaimed series and featuring, of course, in the recent cinematic blockbuster which, though flawed, was nevertheless a huge commercial success. This debut appearance is an NM pence copy on sale at £25.