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DC Finest: Suicide Squad #1
DC Finest: Suicide Squad: Trial by Fire
Collects:
Suicide Squad (vol. 1) #1–10, and more:
Secret Origins #14
Detective Comics #582
The Fury of Firestorm #62–64, Annual #5
Legends #1–6
pages from Millennium #4
Suicide Squad (vol. 1) #1–10, and more:
Secret Origins #14
Detective Comics #582
The Fury of Firestorm #62–64, Annual #5
Legends #1–6
pages from Millennium #4
560 pages, Paperback
Published March 11, 2025
9 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
John Ostrander
2,087 books171 followersJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 28, 2025
A far, far more complete and comprehensive collection of the start of John Ostrander's masterful reinvention of the Suicide Squad-- including all six issues of the Legends crossover miniseries that first INTRODUCED the Squad (alongside a new iteration of the Justice League), and a four-part story from Ostrander's Firestorm, the Nuclear Man that prominently features the team as guest stars.
This is DC Finest living up to its name: collecting some of the best comics the publisher ever released, from the height of its creative glory days. Ostrander's politically charged stories are just as thrilling and thoughtful as ever, and his surprisingly nuanced portrayals of his imperfect leads are a benchmark for complex characterization that has rarely been matched.
This is, top to bottom, The Good Stuff.
This is DC Finest living up to its name: collecting some of the best comics the publisher ever released, from the height of its creative glory days. Ostrander's politically charged stories are just as thrilling and thoughtful as ever, and his surprisingly nuanced portrayals of his imperfect leads are a benchmark for complex characterization that has rarely been matched.
This is, top to bottom, The Good Stuff.
August 30, 2025
Una maravilla, realmente. Envejeció excelentemente bien. Ostrander afiladisimo. Muy del contexto de su época, pero hoy que otra vez estamos en medio de idas y vueltas entre EEUU y Rusia, no se siente tan a trasmano. Muy bien escritos los personajes, buenos subplots, un lujo.
Por otr lado, no me acordaba del gran nivel narrativo de Luke McDonnell, muy afinado. No sé cuánto es decisión de él y cuanto de Ostrander, pero juega mucho con los planos detalles, secuencias que son casi un frame by frame de algunas acciones, hermoso.
Y las tapas de Jerry Bingham son una obra de arte.
Puntos extra para los numeritos de Firestorm, que si bien tienen un plot medio salame, arman un muy buen build up que te deja con ganas de más. Esperaremos ese DC Finest.
Por otr lado, no me acordaba del gran nivel narrativo de Luke McDonnell, muy afinado. No sé cuánto es decisión de él y cuanto de Ostrander, pero juega mucho con los planos detalles, secuencias que son casi un frame by frame de algunas acciones, hermoso.
Y las tapas de Jerry Bingham son una obra de arte.
Puntos extra para los numeritos de Firestorm, que si bien tienen un plot medio salame, arman un muy buen build up que te deja con ganas de más. Esperaremos ese DC Finest.
March 17, 2025
This is a fun one. Highly recommended.
June 4, 2025
This is a great collection of the early Suicide Squad stories, and I really like how these collections give me a chance to read some portions of DC history without buying a full omnibus. Turns out, I probably should have just bought the omnibus because this is great. I love how Ostrander uses the medium to build a story with plenty of action, but also grow various characters. It’s some excellent work.
Legends #1-7 ⧫ 4 Stars
This contains the entire Legends event where the modern Suicide Squad first appeared! It’s a pretty cool event with some excellent planning by Darkseid. The ending is a little naive in 2025, but it was common in the 80s before mainstreaming conspiracy became popular. Still, great start to the collection.
Secret Origins #14 ⧫ 3 Stars “The Secret Origin of the Suicide Squad”
It’s a nice recap of the Squad’s history, though it’s a little rushed and somewhat bland.
Suicide Squad #1 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Trial by Blood”
This has a great hook and good setup to the team. I love the stakes and inter-team banter. It’s something the more star-focused films struggle with, and I love that the team has such low-level villains that I really don’t know who is going to die or how.
Suicide Squad #2 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Trial by Fire”
This is a good conclusion with maybe one too many betrayals. I feel like it could have used another issue, though that wasn’t typical of the era.
Suicide Squad #3 ⧫ 4 Stars “Jail Break”
This expands the moral complexity of the concept with Waller doing morally dubious mind wiping and the villains refusing to stop the jail break. It also ends in the team’s outright defeat, which is great for the third issue.
Suicide Squad #4 ⧫ 4 Stars “William Hell’s Overture”
White supremacy, ego, and deception collide as the team faces a duplicitous fake hero. The plan is essentially a better executed, smaller scale version of taking down Godfrey in the Legends event. It also leans in on making Deadshot more somber and relatable.
Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #62-64, Annual #5 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Ground Zero”
Honestly, I was expecting these to bring down the collection, but Ostrander strings a tight series of comics together here. The cliffhangers had me jumping to the next one. Ronnie and Stein get more character development here than in every other Firestorm appearance I’ve ever read, including some meant to reintroduce the character. I actually ended up finding and reading #65, worth it. Though I will say it goes back to more typical fare after that. The squad are sidelined more, but there are enough needed developments that I’m really glad they included this arc.
Suicide Squad #5 ⧫ 4 Stars “The Flight of the Firebird”
Great setup, great twist.
Suicide Squad #6 ⧫ 4 Stars “Hitting the Fan”
This definitely lives up to the title, twice: both at the beginning and the end. It’s essentially a pretty cool 80s action movie with likeable characters and a cool plot.
Suicide Squad #7 ⧫ 4 Stars “Thrown to the Wolves”
I suppose I might quibble a little with who died this adventure, but I can argue it is satisfying. The increased stakes with the Enchantress, more Deadshot, and the continued gray morality of the series make it very fun.
Suicide Squad #8 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Personal Files”
This is essentially an update on the main members of the team and how they feel about the events of the last mission. I’m a sucker for a great downtime issue, and I really liked this. Solid concept, great characters, and one heck of a cliffhanger.
Suicide Squad #9 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Final Price”
Part of the Millennium event, which I don’t think I’ve read. I purposely didn’t look it up to see how well these issues fared without the extra knowledge. It has some good twists, but it’s solidly one of the weaker issues of the series. The threat is neutralized in the main even, making our heroes look rather superfluous. This also ends one of the love subplots that I didn’t really care for, but I also didn’t care about it ending. It does let some bombs go off that have been simmering, but not enough.
Detective Comics #582 ⧫ 3 Stars “Sole Survivor”
Part of the Millennium event, and it really is the event that impacts these stories. It’s not terrible, but I don’t care about much of what’s going on and the crossover section with the previous issue makes the events more silly. I was not expecting to enjoy Firestorm more than Batman…
Suicide Squad #10 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Up Against the Wall”
Batman comes in, faces the Squad, maybe makes a rookie mistake? It’s a decent end for this collection, and I’ll be picking up the next one.
Other Comics Reviews
DC Finest - Superman 1938-1940: The First Superhero
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Power Girl: Power Trip
Challengers of the Unknown
DC Finest: Doom Patrol 1963-1966: The World's Strangest Heroes
Jack Kirby’s The Fourth World Omnibus
Orion Omnibus
Roots of the Swamp Thing
Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman: The Deluxe Edition
Batman Black and White Vol. 1
Batman Black and White Vol. 2
Batman Black and White Vol. 3
Batman Black and White Vol. 4
Batman Black and White Vol. 5
DC Finest - Batman 1896-1987: Year One & Two
Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus
Legends of the Dark Knight: Michael Golden
Batman: Tales of the Demon
Legends #1-7 ⧫ 4 Stars
This contains the entire Legends event where the modern Suicide Squad first appeared! It’s a pretty cool event with some excellent planning by Darkseid. The ending is a little naive in 2025, but it was common in the 80s before mainstreaming conspiracy became popular. Still, great start to the collection.
Secret Origins #14 ⧫ 3 Stars “The Secret Origin of the Suicide Squad”
It’s a nice recap of the Squad’s history, though it’s a little rushed and somewhat bland.
Suicide Squad #1 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Trial by Blood”
This has a great hook and good setup to the team. I love the stakes and inter-team banter. It’s something the more star-focused films struggle with, and I love that the team has such low-level villains that I really don’t know who is going to die or how.
Suicide Squad #2 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Trial by Fire”
This is a good conclusion with maybe one too many betrayals. I feel like it could have used another issue, though that wasn’t typical of the era.
Suicide Squad #3 ⧫ 4 Stars “Jail Break”
This expands the moral complexity of the concept with Waller doing morally dubious mind wiping and the villains refusing to stop the jail break. It also ends in the team’s outright defeat, which is great for the third issue.
Suicide Squad #4 ⧫ 4 Stars “William Hell’s Overture”
White supremacy, ego, and deception collide as the team faces a duplicitous fake hero. The plan is essentially a better executed, smaller scale version of taking down Godfrey in the Legends event. It also leans in on making Deadshot more somber and relatable.
Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #62-64, Annual #5 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Ground Zero”
Honestly, I was expecting these to bring down the collection, but Ostrander strings a tight series of comics together here. The cliffhangers had me jumping to the next one. Ronnie and Stein get more character development here than in every other Firestorm appearance I’ve ever read, including some meant to reintroduce the character. I actually ended up finding and reading #65, worth it. Though I will say it goes back to more typical fare after that. The squad are sidelined more, but there are enough needed developments that I’m really glad they included this arc.
Suicide Squad #5 ⧫ 4 Stars “The Flight of the Firebird”
Great setup, great twist.
Suicide Squad #6 ⧫ 4 Stars “Hitting the Fan”
This definitely lives up to the title, twice: both at the beginning and the end. It’s essentially a pretty cool 80s action movie with likeable characters and a cool plot.
Suicide Squad #7 ⧫ 4 Stars “Thrown to the Wolves”
I suppose I might quibble a little with who died this adventure, but I can argue it is satisfying. The increased stakes with the Enchantress, more Deadshot, and the continued gray morality of the series make it very fun.
Suicide Squad #8 ⧫ 4.5 Stars “Personal Files”
This is essentially an update on the main members of the team and how they feel about the events of the last mission. I’m a sucker for a great downtime issue, and I really liked this. Solid concept, great characters, and one heck of a cliffhanger.
Suicide Squad #9 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “The Final Price”
Part of the Millennium event, which I don’t think I’ve read. I purposely didn’t look it up to see how well these issues fared without the extra knowledge. It has some good twists, but it’s solidly one of the weaker issues of the series. The threat is neutralized in the main even, making our heroes look rather superfluous. This also ends one of the love subplots that I didn’t really care for, but I also didn’t care about it ending. It does let some bombs go off that have been simmering, but not enough.
Detective Comics #582 ⧫ 3 Stars “Sole Survivor”
Part of the Millennium event, and it really is the event that impacts these stories. It’s not terrible, but I don’t care about much of what’s going on and the crossover section with the previous issue makes the events more silly. I was not expecting to enjoy Firestorm more than Batman…
Suicide Squad #10 ⧫ 3.5 Stars “Up Against the Wall”
Batman comes in, faces the Squad, maybe makes a rookie mistake? It’s a decent end for this collection, and I’ll be picking up the next one.
Other Comics Reviews
DC Finest - Superman 1938-1940: The First Superhero
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Power Girl: Power Trip
Challengers of the Unknown
DC Finest: Doom Patrol 1963-1966: The World's Strangest Heroes
Jack Kirby’s The Fourth World Omnibus
Orion Omnibus
Roots of the Swamp Thing
Detective Comics: 80 Years of Batman: The Deluxe Edition
Batman Black and White Vol. 1
Batman Black and White Vol. 2
Batman Black and White Vol. 3
Batman Black and White Vol. 4
Batman Black and White Vol. 5
DC Finest - Batman 1896-1987: Year One & Two
Batman by Neal Adams Omnibus
Legends of the Dark Knight: Michael Golden
Batman: Tales of the Demon
March 26, 2025
I really enjoyed this collection. DC Finest is a new line of TPB reprints from DC and it is trying to mimic the Epic Collection line from Marvel. The price point is solid, the page count good at around 500+ pages for each collection, and the printing and paper is good. Although my cover did tear at the top.
Some comic collectors are getting ever collection from this line but I am sticking to ones that interest me. This version of the Suicide Squad (Task Force X) is the one you know from the movies and the show Peacemaker. While the characters used are different from the movies the premise is the same - Amanda Waller assembles a team of convicts (and heroes) to do special missions. With the promise the villains go free if the mission is successful.
This collection starts with the 6 issue mini series Legends plotted by John Ostrander (script by Len Wein) and drawn by John Byrne. This is after Crisis on Infinite Earths so was part of the reset by DC n the late 80's. Now is a good time to discuss how I feel about "extras" like this. On the one hand a comic reader is thrilled to have the comic issues that aren't part of the Suicide Squad run but involve the Suicide Squad. On the other hand...how much do you include? Even a small cameo? Do you include the issue where they appear but is part of a larger story and you get no context for the larger story? Also - if you do that too much - future collections will involve a lot of double dipping (stories that appear in multiple collections). A lot of the answer for me is "it depends".
For this collection - the inclusion of Legends is great even though Suicide Squad only appear in a small part of the larger story. Because a) this mini won't be collected in too many other collections - if any b) it has art by Byrne - which I love c) it is the first appearance of the team so historically it is important d) it is the first writing by John Ostrander - the writer on the Suicide Squad series - so that gives it an extra connection.
In the inclusion of Secret Originas issue (of the suicide squad and Amanda Waller) made sense - but the story was the weakest of all the stories in this collection.
The inclusion of the 4 part Firestorm story was...less than great. Yes it is also written by John Ostrander but the Suicide Squad cameo is not a key part of their story and while it was an okay story it was 100% a Firestorm story first - so I could have waited until the Firestorm collection to read it.
The inclusion of the Millennium side stories were fine - there was really only the Batman issue and that led nicely into the following Suicide Squad story which ended this collection.
And the 10 issues of the Suicide Squad were amazing. I read them as they came out in the 80's and they still hold up. I love the art by McDonnell (yes it is a little static but I still love the style), and the writing by this new comer to comics John Ostrander is top notch. He knocks it out of the park. Balancing the action, the character development, the behind the scene intrigue. Just amazing. Love how the credits on the first issue of Suicide Squad look like the credits in a movie. Love the feel of Mission Impossible. Love Captain Boomerang, Deadshot (this is the series that shot him to fame in comics), and Amanda Waller. To me, it is an example of one of the best comic series. The stories are self contained but the character development keeps it from feeling it is too episodic.
All in all - Love this collection but wish 1/5th of it wasn't dedicated to an out of place Firestorm story. Crossing my fingers they continue the run in DC Finest.
Some comic collectors are getting ever collection from this line but I am sticking to ones that interest me. This version of the Suicide Squad (Task Force X) is the one you know from the movies and the show Peacemaker. While the characters used are different from the movies the premise is the same - Amanda Waller assembles a team of convicts (and heroes) to do special missions. With the promise the villains go free if the mission is successful.
This collection starts with the 6 issue mini series Legends plotted by John Ostrander (script by Len Wein) and drawn by John Byrne. This is after Crisis on Infinite Earths so was part of the reset by DC n the late 80's. Now is a good time to discuss how I feel about "extras" like this. On the one hand a comic reader is thrilled to have the comic issues that aren't part of the Suicide Squad run but involve the Suicide Squad. On the other hand...how much do you include? Even a small cameo? Do you include the issue where they appear but is part of a larger story and you get no context for the larger story? Also - if you do that too much - future collections will involve a lot of double dipping (stories that appear in multiple collections). A lot of the answer for me is "it depends".
For this collection - the inclusion of Legends is great even though Suicide Squad only appear in a small part of the larger story. Because a) this mini won't be collected in too many other collections - if any b) it has art by Byrne - which I love c) it is the first appearance of the team so historically it is important d) it is the first writing by John Ostrander - the writer on the Suicide Squad series - so that gives it an extra connection.
In the inclusion of Secret Originas issue (of the suicide squad and Amanda Waller) made sense - but the story was the weakest of all the stories in this collection.
The inclusion of the 4 part Firestorm story was...less than great. Yes it is also written by John Ostrander but the Suicide Squad cameo is not a key part of their story and while it was an okay story it was 100% a Firestorm story first - so I could have waited until the Firestorm collection to read it.
The inclusion of the Millennium side stories were fine - there was really only the Batman issue and that led nicely into the following Suicide Squad story which ended this collection.
And the 10 issues of the Suicide Squad were amazing. I read them as they came out in the 80's and they still hold up. I love the art by McDonnell (yes it is a little static but I still love the style), and the writing by this new comer to comics John Ostrander is top notch. He knocks it out of the park. Balancing the action, the character development, the behind the scene intrigue. Just amazing. Love how the credits on the first issue of Suicide Squad look like the credits in a movie. Love the feel of Mission Impossible. Love Captain Boomerang, Deadshot (this is the series that shot him to fame in comics), and Amanda Waller. To me, it is an example of one of the best comic series. The stories are self contained but the character development keeps it from feeling it is too episodic.
All in all - Love this collection but wish 1/5th of it wasn't dedicated to an out of place Firestorm story. Crossing my fingers they continue the run in DC Finest.
April 26, 2025
Un puñado de cómics bien escritos, incluso alguno bien dibujado (los de Legends, de Byrne, y los primeros de Suicide Squad, debido al superlativo entintado de Karl Kesel). Lo que pasa es que al tomo lo lastran los cruces con otras series. El primero, con Firestorm, es, para mi gusto, completamente superfluo: no añade prácticamente nada a la historia principal y, además, es aburrido y el arte es el peor de todo el volumen. El otro cruce, con Millennium, resulta, por otro lado, imprescindible, y además Ostrander hace todo lo que puede para que sea interesante por sí mismo, pero se hace durillo para los no familiarizados con el evento (en realidad, yo lo leí hace treintaytantos años, y ya me pareció flojísimo, y eso que tenía el criterio del votante medio de un señor cuyo apellido empieza por T y termina por P. Actualmente, lo único que recuerdo de él es debido a los cruces con la Liga de la Justicia y el Escuadrón). Aun así, es la brillantez del concepto básico lo que convierte a este cómic en algo realmente especial. El Escuadrón Suicida es una idea maravillosa, aunque solamente su creador, John Ostrander, le supo sacar todo el partido posible. Lástima de la rigidez de Luke McDonnell, un dibujante de tercera que a veces logra engañar y parecer decente gracias a la labor de algún entintador realmente brillante, como ya he apuntado al principio de la reseña. Con un artista como Byrne, Breyfogle o (ya puestos, soñar es gratis) Alan Davis, esta serie habría sido probablemente LA SERIE de los ochenta. Pero a Ostrander casi siempre lo han emparejado con mediocridades, vaya usted a saber por qué. En fin...
April 14, 2025
I had a lot of fun reading this book, I found every story to be enjoyable. I will say, my biggest issue is that my two favorite stories were both not actually suicide squad stories, but were the firestorm and limited series that featured the squad in them. at the end of the day, if that's my biggest nitpick then clearly I think it's safe to say I enjoyed it.
December 20, 2025
Features the beginning of the Suicide Squad in the Legends event and the start of the Ostrander run these are great comics that have conflicting characters my favorite being Captain Boomerang of all people. Covers 1986-1988.
August 31, 2025
This was spectacular. More thoughts to follow.
December 10, 2025
when it's cooking, it's incredible. but the collection is unfocused and diffuse.
July 2, 2025
Legends #1-6, ☆☆☆
Secret Origins #14, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #1-2, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #3, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #4, ☆☆☆☆
Fury of Firestorm #62-64+Annual #5, ☆☆☆☆*
Suicide Squad #5-7, ☆☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #8, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #9, ☆☆☆
Detective Comics #582, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #10, ☆☆☆
*Seems odd they would include a full Firestorm arc but leave out the concluding issue because the Suicide Squad isn't in it. I'd rather not have the issues at all, rather than have an incomplete story.
Secret Origins #14, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #1-2, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #3, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #4, ☆☆☆☆
Fury of Firestorm #62-64+Annual #5, ☆☆☆☆*
Suicide Squad #5-7, ☆☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #8, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #9, ☆☆☆
Detective Comics #582, ☆☆☆
Suicide Squad #10, ☆☆☆
*Seems odd they would include a full Firestorm arc but leave out the concluding issue because the Suicide Squad isn't in it. I'd rather not have the issues at all, rather than have an incomplete story.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews