When most people think of anti-hero or villain teams in the DC Universe the immediate group that comes to mind is the Suicide Squad. It's certainly a novel concept: A bunch of street-level villains getting bombs stuck in their head and sent out on the kind of missions that no one else is crazy enough or desperate enough to attempt. It's resulted in some pretty classic comics too. No disrespect to Rick Flagg and company, but DC's got a much better villain team on its roster; a gang of damaged or outright deranged misfits who take on some of the most twisted quests ever to pop up in the DCU, that's when they're not hooking up stabbing each other in the back. Behold, the Secret Six in all their unstable, lovable glory.
While a TV adaption was once optioned by CBS, the Secret Six has always been an obscure title. The team originally started as a spy comic of sorts in the 1960s, followed by a reboot in the 80s. The most beloved and interesting version of the team came to form with writer Gail Simone's Villains United mini-series, created as part of the Countdown to Infinite Crisis tie-ins.
Led by a disguised Lex Luthor under the moniker of Mockingbird, the team consisted the Suicide Squad's own Deadshot, and a cadre of D-list villains and new creations like Catman, Cheshire, Knockout, Ragdoll, a random Parademon, and Scandal Savage. While many team-members would be killed off over time or switched with more high-profile characters, Catman, Deadshot, Scandal, and Ragdoll remain mainstays of the team through all of Simone's initial run on the series. While they initially started as villains bent on world domination, in truth, the Six are a lot closer to outlaws or mercenaries. They take on various jobs, some heroic and some outright despicable. Really anything that puts meat on the table. It should also be worth noting that they're all a bunch of weirdos.
Villains United proved to be lightning in a bottle that would spawn an entire run. The series about a group of oddball characters that don't fit in with heroes or villains struck a perfect balance between black comedy and character-driven drama. Every character in the series gets such a unique and fitting characterization. Deadshot is a pornstache personified; Floyd Lawton has never been as skeezy or charming as he is under Simone's pen. Ragdoll is essentially a violent contortionist version of Dean Craig Pelton from Community. Scandal Savage is the badass lesbian ninja and daughter of Vandal Savage, who serves as team leader and voice of reason throughout the series. Lastly, Catman is probably the most remarkable character on the team and the closest thing to the protagonist of the series. Before Secret Six, Thomas Blake was written as an overweight loser who was eaten by a talking Gorilla in Brad Meltzer's Green Arrow series. Simone rewrote the character from the ground up and created one of the most layered and cool Batman knock-off's ever. He also snarls like a cat when he fights.
Apart from the main four team members, Bane and an immortal banshee named Jeannette round out the team for the rest of the series. While Jeannette is simultaneously a frightening and charming character with a unique backstory, Simone's take on Bane is one of the best. Secret Six sees Bruce Wayne's greatest foe trying to turn a new leaf. He's kicked his steroid habit and is acting with utter honor, Bane also immediately tries to be an upstanding father figure to any distressed young woman he sees, resulting in a hilarious running gag throughout the series.
Secret Six is a mature book in every sense of the word. It's packed to the brim with sex and violence, to the point where it's absolutely incredible that DC allowed some of the stuff in the book to happen. Catman bites a man's face off, there's a sex scene between Mad Hatter and one of his hats, and almost everything that comes out of Ragdoll's mouth is jaw-droppingly obscene. But apart from all the blood, and bad words that usually get things pulled off TV, Secret Six features intricate character development and some very grown-up storylines. They find themselves rescuing a group of enslaved Amazons (after they're hired to guard the prison of course). Catman's infant son is kidnapped by a group of psychotic criminals, leading him onto a bloodthirsty rampage. Scandal grapples with the death of her girlfriend for a large part of the series. Then of course there's that trip to hell.
"The Secret Six goes to Hell" may sound like the title of a schlocky horror movie, but it reads like something far different. Each character comics to the realization that they're damned no matter what. While Deadshot and Ragdoll aren't particularly shocked about their own fates, it's a surprise for the rest of the team. For Bane in particular, it's heartbreaking. The series had served as a moving redemption story for the Man Who Broke the Bat, discovering that he won't truly change is a pretty haunting conclusion. However, he's since proven to be pretty irredeemable.
While there are lot's of very dark moments in Secret Six, the tone of the book is never dreary or bleak. A slice-of-life feeling is prevalent in the series that is absent from the bombastic, multiverse shattering world of superhero comics. It's not uncommon to see members of the Six eating dinner together or chilling out in a hot tub. One issue sees Catman pick up a tub of ice cream for a depressed Scandal Savage. Deadshot and Jeanette end up in a fairly healthy and supportive relationship together. And speaking of romance, the other members of the team set Bane up on a date and it's as hilarious as it sounds. Refreshing little asides like this differentiate the book even further from standard superhero fare.
There will never be another team like the Six. No other series from the Big Two will ever be packed with this much humor, tragedy, and outright weirdness. Where else can you see a joke like Catman transform into a compelling character or Vandal Savage get stabbed in the neck with some chopsticks by his own daughter? Where else can you see Bane try to make his team-mates go on a diet or Deadshot get in a Western style duel with Deathstroke? And on that note, there's even a one-off issue that sees an Old West version of the team, and it's awesome too. Gail Simone created one of the ultimate villain comic book teams. A unique series about a group of terrible people who love each other taking down worse people that don't. The Secret Six is one of the funniest and most badass teams in all of comics, and they don't need to be implanted with bombs in their necks to do it either.
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