Wikipedia

Amanda Waller

For the film character, seeAmanda Waller (DC Extended Universe).

Amanda Belle Waller(néeBlake), also known as "the Wall",is a fictional character featured in someAmerican comic bookspublished byDC Comics.The character first appeared inLegends#1 in 1986 and was created byJohn Ostrander,Len Wein,andJohn Byrne.[1]Amanda Waller serves intermittently as both anantagonistand an ally to thesuperheroesof theDC Universe.

Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller as depicted inSuicide Squadvol. 5 #8 (February 2017).
Art byGiuseppe Camuncoli(layouts), Francesco Mattina (finished art), and Hi-Fi Design (colors).
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceLegends#1 (November 1986)
Created byJohn Ostrander
Len Wein
John Byrne
In-story information
Full nameAmanda Belle Waller (née Blake)
SpeciesHuman
Team affiliationsSuicide Squad
Agency
Checkmate
A.R.G.U.S.
Shadow Fighters
Team 7
United States Army
Justice League of America
Cadmus
Abilities
  • Expert strategist and tactician
  • Skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant
  • Expert markswoman

Though lackingsuperpowers,Amanda Waller is often portrayed as a ruthless, high-ranking government official who uses guile, political connections, and intimidation to achieve her goals, often in the name of national security. Waller is commonly associated with the fictional government agenciesCheckmateandA.R.G.U.S.

Waller is a former congressional aide and government agent in charge of theSuicide Squad,a quasi-secret government-run group of former supervillains working in return for amnesty. She later serves as Secretary ofMetahumanAffairs under PresidentLex Luthorbefore being arrested because of Luthor's public fall from grace. She later serves in leadership roles in Checkmate and A.R.G.U.S. In 2020s comic books, she heads up more ambitious attacks on the superhero community, serving as the primary antagonist of theAbsolute Powerevent.

The character has been adapted into other media on a number of occasions, notably voiced byCCH Pounderin her animated debut in theDC Animated Universe,withPam Grieroriginating the character in live action on the TV showSmallville.She first appears in film played byAcademy Award-nomineeAngela BassettinGreen Lantern.Most prominently, she has been portrayed by Academy Award-winnerViola Davisin theDC Extended Universeseries of films and TV shows, starting inSuicide Squad(2016), acting as one of the franchise'smost prominent recurring characters.Her portrayal continued into the rebootedDC Universe,beginning withCreature Commandos.

Publication history

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Amanda Waller's earliest appearances were shaped by writersJohn OstranderandKim Yalein 1987, during the first volume ofSuicide Squadand shortly after being introduced in theLegendscrossover storyline.

Fictional character biography

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Early history

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Amanda Waller inWho's Who in the DC Universe#1 (August 1990). Art by Luke McDonnell and Geof Isherwood.

Amanda Waller was established as a widow who escapedChicago'sCabrini–Greenhousing projects with her surviving family after her two eldest children and her husband were murdered.[2]Waller excelled in political science and became a congressional aide. During that time, she discovered the existence of the first two incarnations of the Squad. Taking elements from both, she proposed the development of its third incarnation to the White House and was placed in charge upon its approval.

Federal service years

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Amanda Waller formed the agency to serve as a small, quasi-independent branch ofTask Force X.[3]Valentina Vostokbrought formerNYPDLieutenantHarry Steininto the agency as an operative. Amanda Waller later promoted Stein to the command position and demoted Vostok. Harry Stein would later reorganize the Agency and name itCheckmate.

Waller's tenure as the official of the third Suicide Squad was tumultuous and controversial. Despite many successes, she developed a habit of defying her superiors in Washington to achieve legitimate and personal goals on more than one occasion. The earliest conflict between her and her superiors revolved around the leadership of the Suicide Squad. Although she wanted theBronze Tiger—a martial artist she helped recover after he had been brainwashed by theLeague of Assassins—to lead the team, he was relegated to second-in-command, andRick Flag Jr.was made the leader instead. Waller resentfully presumed the situation to be racially charged, related to her status as a black woman and Bronze Tiger's skin tone. However, the Tiger himself did not believe this was a factor, considering this resulted from mistrust due to the brainwashing imposed upon him by the League of Assassins.

Her relationship with the squad itself was one of mutual dislike. Most of the team's criminal members did not take to Waller's methods (most notablyCaptain Boomerang), and even the team's heroes were often at odds with Waller. Waller's inability to deal and compromise with her troops led toNemesis's departure from the team and the death of a US senator, which indirectly caused the death of Rick Flag Jr. These types of conflicts, however, were not only limited to her superiors and her team but also extended toBatman,who opposed the forming of the Suicide Squad (although he would later help to reform it). Nonetheless, the team remained loyal to her, often choosing to side with her instead of the government.

It was revealed that Amanda Waller kept heroes such asNightshadearound for them to act as her conscience. Throughout her first run with the Suicide Squad, her actions became increasingly erratic as she fought to retain control of the squad. This was heightened by the public revelation of the Suicide Squad and Waller being officially "replaced", although her replacement was, in fact, an actor, and Waller remained the team's director.

Even that secret would eventually be revealed, and Amanda Waller would be imprisoned. During this time, the squad also became involved in an interagency conflict in a crossover between theCheckmateandSuicide Squadtitles called theJanus Directive.

One of the field missions is against her will, as many members of the squad, Waller included, are forcibly kidnapped and taken toApokolips.This is because team member Duchess remembered her past asLashinaof theFemale Furiesinstead of pretending to be amnesiac and wished to return home with suitable sacrifices. The squad suffers fatalities battling Apokolips' forces, with Waller personally confrontingGranny Goodness.However, the confrontation ended with the deaths of Dr. Light and one of Waller's nieces, and Count Vertigo was near-fatally wounded.

She eventually found herself serving prison time for her pursuit of an organized crime cartel based inNew Orleanscalled the LOA and killing its leadership, using squad operatives Ravan,Poison IvyandDeadshotin the process.

The Suicide Squad's rebirth

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Waller is eventually pardoned and released a year later to reorganize the Suicide Squad as a freelance mercenary group at the behest ofSarge Steelto deal with a crisis inVlatava,Count Vertigo's home country. Afterward, the Suicide Squad performed a variety of missions, often treading dangerous political terrain when dealing with Soviet and Israeli interests. Most notably, the Squad helped destroy the plans of a shadow organization to throw Qurac, Israel, and the US into political disarray.

During her renewed tenure with this team, Amanda became closer to her operatives, even accompanying them on their field missions. This allowed Waller and her team to bond more effectively, although she retained her dominant and threatening personality.

Waller quit after a later field mission, in which she took down the immortal dictator of a minor South American island nation. As it turned out, he was mortal, but had immense psychic power. By tricking him, Waller merely provided a form of assisted suicide.

Soon after, Amanda Waller organized theShadow Fightersto confrontEclipso.Again, she encountered Sarge Steel. Her first attempt at a team formed with the assistance of Bruce Gordon and his wife, Mona could have gone better. Most of the group were killed while infiltrating Eclipso's stronghold. Her second attempt with a much larger team had much more success.

During the "Bloodlines"event, the President sentGuy Gardnerto fetch Waller from her island 'retirement'. She leads a multi-hero affair that destroys the alien parasites.[4]She rejoined federal service, initially as the Southeastern regional director for theDepartment of Extranormal Operations.She was then promoted to Secretary of Metahuman Affairs as a member ofLex Luthor's presidential administration.

International service

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Lex Luthor's brief tenure in the office leads to Amanda Waller being jailed for a short time before being released by Luthor's successor, Jonathan Vincent Horne, who orders her to take command of the secret agent organizationCheckmate.The organization had been shaken up due toThe OMAC Projectdebacle and the related murderous leadership ofMaxwell Lord,with whom Waller has had previous history. Waller takes the rank of Black King until the United States and United Nations decide what to do with that organization. In the latter issue of52,Waller is shown commissioning the imprisonedAtom Smasherto organize a new Suicide Squad to attackBlack Adamand his allies. This ends with the death of Squad memberPersuaderand the expected public relations turn against the Black Marvel family.

In the revampedCheckmateseries set in theOne Year Latercontinuity, Waller is shown to have been assigned by the UN to serve as Checkmate's White Queen, a member of its senior policy-making executive. Due to her previous activities, her appointment is contingent on having no direct control over operations.[5]Regardless, she continues to pursue her agenda, secretly using the Suicide Squad to perform missions in favour of American interests[6]and blackmailingFire.[7]It is also implied that she may have betrayed a mission team in an attempt to protect her secrets[8]and facilitated an attack on Checkmate headquarters for her gain.[9]

Amanda Waller as the White Queen in promotional art forCheckmate.Art by Jesus Saiz.

She is then in charge of OperationSalvation Run,an initiative involving the mass deportation of supervillains to an alien world. When the rest of Checkmate discovered this, she was forced into resigning as White Queen in exchange for their delay in revealing what the US government was doing.[9]She continues to run the Suicide Squad and has been implanted with nanotechnology to allow her to control Chemo during missions directly.[9]

During theSuperman/Batmanstoryline "K", it is revealed that Waller has hoardedKryptoniteand used it to power an anti-Superman group called the Last Line and aDoomsday-like creature codenamed "All-American Boy", who has Kryptonite shards growing out of his body. All-American Boy (real name: Josh Walker) was deceived into an experiment using Kryptonite to bond cell scrapings taken from Doomsday to a human host, battles Superman, and devastatesSmallville.With the help of Brannon, the Last Line's leader, Batman locates Josh's parents, who convince him to stop. Waller is forced to pay towards repairing Smallville in return for her dealings in the AAB project to remain secret. 'Last Line' itself rebels against Waller because of her deceptions.[10]

In the eight-issue series ofSuicide Squad: Raise the Flag,she is again seen leading the Suicide Squad at some point when the General returns to Earth after his exile and is promptly drafted into the Squad with unique explosive implants grafted into his arm and brain to make him compliant with Waller's demands. Here, she uses technology devised by Cliff Carmichael to gain a measure of control over Chemo, allowing her to use the toxic behemoth for the Squad's benefit. Rick Flag is revealed to have survived the events at Jotunheim and was returned to Waller, who admitted to him Rick Flag Jr. was never anything but an alias, and that he was a brainwashed soldier remade into Flag to serve Eiling's ends.

She leads, as Chemo, an attack on a Dubai supercorp intending to release a deadly virus. However, Carmichael, with Eiling and part of her team, betrays her as part of Eiling's plan to benefit from the release of the virus, and she is nearly killed when Eiling orders a compliant Flag to use her pen, a transmitter, to detonate her explosive implant. Instead, Flag, tricking him, detonates Eiling's own, releasing her and rejoining the Squad, refusing the chance of everyday life.

She later attempted to forcibly return several members of theSecret Six(Bane and Deadshot) to the Suicide Squad. When her plan backfired due to the events ofBlackest Nightand the defiance of the Six, she was shot by Deadshot and privately revealed toKing Faradayto be their new secret leader, Mockingbird. When Faraday questioned the need to be informed of the situation and even the need to bring the Six under the banner of the Squad when she already controlled them, Amanda merely shrugged it off. Faraday then questions Amanda, "does your right hand even know what your left hand is doing" Waller responds with, "Only on a need-to-know basis", heavily implying that even Faraday himself is also on a "need-to-know basis."

The New 52

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InThe New 52(a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), Amanda Waller is shown to be in direct command of theSuicide Squad,choosing its members and having the final say over when and if their implanted explosives are detonated. It is revealed she requested command of a unit she could send to their deaths without regret after an operation she was involved in resulted in the deaths of all other squad members, including several she had personally recruited. She was also involved withTeam 7in some capacity while serving in theUnited States Armyas aCaptain,which led to her temporarily leaving the spy business. Also, this version of Amanda Waller is re-imagined as a young, thin woman in contrast with her original design.

Amanda Waller later formed the Justice League of America, which is separate from the main Justice League, where she is shown as the Director ofA.R.G.U.S.[11]She recruited James Gordon Jr., who was alive despite his apparent death at the hands of his sister Barbara while saving their mother. However, it is shown that James Jr. only agrees to join as he is in love with Waller.

During the "Forever Evil"storyline, Amanda Waller is shown atBelle Revetrying to getBlack Mantato join the Suicide Squad at the time when Deathstorm andPower Ringinfiltrate the prison.[12]Waller later contacts Deadshot to get the Suicide Squad back together.[13]Later clues point to an imposter Waller causing trouble behind the scenes.[14]

DC Rebirth

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Amanda Waller returns to her original design with theDC Rebirthinitiative. WhenBarack Obamaconfronts her about Task Force X, she convinces him the Suicide Squad needs to exist to deal with threats neither the President nor theJustice Leaguecan be aware of while conceding to nominate a non-criminal field leader to carry out her directives during missions and keep the convicts in line. She visitsRick FlaginGuantanamo Bay,where he had been imprisoned for disobeying direct instructions to save his teammates, and tries to convince him to work alongside supervillains for the greater good; she succeeds, releases him, and makes him the field leader of Task Force X.[15]

In issue #11 ofSuicide Squad(2016), as a part of DC Rebirth, Amanda Waller is shot and killed. Her death is confirmed in issue #12. However, issue #15 revealed that she faked her death with the help of Deadshot, who fired a bullet at her heart, and Enchantress, who magically moved the bullet to the most reparable part of the human heart. Because of this, she can use Deadshot against the villain Rustam and the international shadow organization known only as the People. DuringInfinite Frontier,she went toEarth 3after herSuicide Squadfoughtagainst theCrime Syndicate of Americain order to rule that world.

Dawn of DC

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After the events ofDark Crisis,where the Justice League is resurrected, Amanda Waller approaches the Council of Light with a proposal to targetmetahumansfor the danger they pose to humanity.[16][17]After the events ofKnight Terrors,the world fears superheroes and Amanda Waller gains more power. She steals the Nightmare Stone andDoctor Fate's helmet to create Doctor Hate.[18]

InTitans: Beast World,Beast Boy transforms into aStarroto battle the Necrostar, after which Doctor Hate erases his memory and causes him to spread mutagenic spores around the world. Amanda Waller andChunkdestroy Beast Boy's body, but the Titans recover his spores and use them to reconstitute his body. In the aftermath, Waller takes control of the Hall of Justice and frames the Titans for the events.[19]

It is revealed that Amanda Waller started to develop hatred for metahumans because a serial criminal known as Candyman killed her daughter and husband. The Crisis events as well as her experience in Earth 3 made her jaded and cruel. InAbsolute Power,Waller works withBrainiacQueen andFailsafeto build an army ofAmazosknown as Task Force VII and drain the powers of metahumans.[20][21][22]Waller is ultimately defeated and sentenced to life imprisonment in Belle Reve, whereNia Nalmanipulates her memories to prevent her from accessing crucial information that can be used against the Justice League.[23]

Other versions

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Flashpoint

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Amanda Waller appears inFlashpointas an advisor to the President of the United States.[24]

DC Comics Bombshells

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Amanda Waller appears inDC Comics Bombshellsas the commander of the eponymous "Bombshells" project andSuperintendent of the United States Military AcademyduringWorld War II.[25][26]

DC Comics Secret Hero Society

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Amanda Waller appears inDC Comics Secret Hero Societyas the guidance counselor, truancy officer, and head of detention of the Justice Preparatory Academy.[27]

In other media

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Television

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Film

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DC Extended Universe and DC Universe

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Davis at the 2016San Diego Comic-Con
Main article:Amanda Waller (DC Extended Universe)

Amanda Waller appears in media set in theDC Extended Universe(DCEU) andDC Universe,portrayed byViola Davis.

Video games

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Batman: Arkham

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Amanda Waller appears in theBatman: Arkhamfranchise:

Web series

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Miscellaneous

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Further reading

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  • The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book Historyby Hope Nicholson, Quirk Books (2017)

References

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  1. ^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 322.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
  2. ^Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010).The Essential Superman Encyclopedia.Del Rey. pp.465–466.ISBN978-0-345-50108-0.
  3. ^Greenberger, Robert (2008).The Essential Batman Encyclopedia.Del Rey. pp.365–366.ISBN9780345501066.
  4. ^Bloodbath#1–2 (December 1993)
  5. ^Checkmatevol. 2 #6
  6. ^Checkmatevol. 2 #7
  7. ^Checkmatevol. 2 #5
  8. ^Checkmatevol. 2 #18
  9. ^abcCheckmatevol. 2 #20
  10. ^Superman/Batman#44–49 (2008)
  11. ^Justice League of Americavol. 3 #1
  12. ^Forever Evil#1
  13. ^Justice League of Americavol. 3 #7.1
  14. ^Suicide Squadvol. 4 #27 (Jan. 2014)
  15. ^Suicide Squad: Rebirth(August 2016)
  16. ^Sawan, Amer (September 7, 2023)."Knight Terrors Introduced the Next Major Threat to the DC Universe - But Who is He?".CBR.RetrievedMay 31,2024.
  17. ^"KNIGHT TERRORS: NIGHT'S END #1".DC.Retrieved2023-09-03.
  18. ^Dodge, John (2023-09-10)."Why the True Villain of DC's Knight Terrors is Amanda Waller".CBR.Retrieved2024-10-20.
  19. ^Epps, Justin (2024-01-22).""Her Days in the Shadows Are Over": Amanda Waller Officially Becomes DC's Worst Threat, As Beast World Escalates ".ScreenRant.Retrieved2024-10-20.
  20. ^Titans: Beast World#6 (DC Comics). DC Comics.
  21. ^Fang, Sam (February 28, 2024)."DC's Titans Battle Amanda Waller's Misinformation in Preview of New Issue".CBR.RetrievedMay 31,2024.
  22. ^Fang, Sam (May 16, 2024)."Amanda Waller Endangers All of DC's Metahumans in Absolute Power Event".CBR.RetrievedMay 31,2024.
  23. ^Salmon, Will (October 2, 2024)."Is Green Arrow really a traitor? What happens to Amanda Waller? And which hero makes a surprise return? All yourAbsolute Power#4 questions answered ".gamesradar.RetrievedOctober 3,2024.
  24. ^Flashpoint: Hal Jordan#2 (July 2011)
  25. ^DC Comics Bombshells#8
  26. ^DC Comics Bombshells Annual 1
  27. ^"Review: 'DC Comics: Secret Hero Society #1: Study Hall of Justice' GN".
  28. ^abcdefghijkl"Amanda Waller Voices (DC Universe)".Behind The Voice Actors.RetrievedMay 31,2024.A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  29. ^Ausiello, Michael (November 9, 2009)."Exclusive: 'Smallville' lands Pam Grier!".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-14.RetrievedMay 31,2024.
  30. ^Narcisse, Evan (February 21, 2014)."EXCLUSIVE: Amanda Waller Unleashes the Suicide Squad on" Arrow "".Comic Book Resource.
  31. ^Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 8, 2024)."Suicide Squad Isekai Anime Reveals More Cast Members".Anime News Network.RetrievedFebruary 9,2024.
  32. ^Iverson, Dan; Pirrello, Phil (September 24, 2009)."Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD Review".IGN.RetrievedMay 31,2024.
  33. ^Roush, George (March 24, 2010)."News: How Stella Got Her Green Lantern Back".Latino Review. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-03-27.RetrievedJanuary 30,2011.
  34. ^"Warner Bros. Brings" Batman: Assault on Arkham "to DVD/Blu-ray August 14".CBR.May 7, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-05-07.RetrievedMay 31,2024.
  35. ^Kroll, Justin (December 2, 2014)."'Suicide Squad' Cast Revealed: Jared Leto to Play the Joker, Will Smith is Deadshot ".Variety.Los Angeles, California.RetrievedDecember 4,2014.
  36. ^Rl Mayimbe (December 14, 2014)."EXCLUSIVE: Viola Davis Bags Amanda Waller Role In 'Suicide Squad'".Latino Review. Archived fromthe originalon December 17, 2014.
  37. ^Gonzalez, Umberto (April 5, 2019)."Viola Davis to Return as Amanda Waller in James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' (Exclusive)".The Wrap.RetrievedApril 5,2019.
  38. ^Webb Mitovich, Matt (January 13, 2022)."Peacemaker: Grade the First Episode of HBO Max's The Suicide Squad Offshoot".Yahoo! News.Archivedfrom the original on January 14, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 14,2022.
  39. ^D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 11, 2020)."'Orange Is The New Black' Star Danielle Brooks Joins HBO Max 'Suicide Squad' Spinoff Series 'Peacemaker'".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on November 11, 2020.RetrievedNovember 11,2020.
  40. ^Hood, Cooper (July 23, 2022)."Black Adam Brings Back The Suicide Squad's Amanda Waller".ScreenRant.RetrievedJuly 23,2022.
  41. ^Massoto, Erick (January 31, 2023)."Creature Commandos:Meet the Cast of the New DC Animated Series ".Collider.Archivedfrom the original on January 31, 2023.RetrievedFebruary 13,2023.
  42. ^Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013)."DC Characters and Objects -Scribblenauts UnmaskedGuide ".IGN.RetrievedMay 31,2024.
  43. ^Boccher, Mike (December 23, 2014)."Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham Interview With TT Games' Arthur Parsons".1080 players. Archived fromthe originalon December 27, 2014.RetrievedMarch 27,2015.
  44. ^Totilo, Stephen (October 25, 2013)."Today's New Batman Games Tease A Very Cool Possible Sequel".Kotaku.RetrievedOctober 27,2013.
  45. ^"SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE Cinematic Trailer".
  46. ^yvette nicole brown [@YNB] (October 23, 2015).""Just heard that #DCSuperHeroGirls got a pick up for more episodes! And there are DOLLS! I voice #PrincipalWaller! 😊 https://t.co/p/gDBKPqacHR""(Tweet).RetrievedNovember 11,2015– viaTwitter.
  47. ^[http://boingboing.net/2011/06/01/green-lantern-online.html;published June 1, 2011; retrieved June 9, 2013
  48. ^Green LanternArchived2013-07-20 at theWayback Machineat HideAndSeek.net; by Tom Armitage; published August 30, 2011; retrieved June 9, 2013
  49. ^Batman Beyond#1–6 (July–November 2010)
  50. ^Injustice 2#1
  51. ^Injustice 2#2
  52. ^Injustice 2#46
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