Goodreads asked Riley E. Smith:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Riley E. Smith My inspiration for Cardinal came mostly from two of my favorite characters: Deadpool and Harley Quinn. Right after I saw the first Suicide Squad, I wanted so much more Harley Quinn media. So I wrote my own!

Originally, the story also incorporated zombies, because I wanted an anarchist tint to it. There needed to be some reason Cardinal could do all this freewheeling violence without consequences. But zombies complicated the story a bit too much, and having the Citadel be simply a separate entity cut off from the rest of the country accomplished the goal well enough.

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