SPOILER WARNING for Suicide Squad: Get Joker #2!
Comic book superheroes are easy to look up to as they’re always saving the day, but the Suicide Squad has exposed a huge prejudice that these do-gooders tend to hold. Unfortunately, teams like the Justice League are fairly selective about who gets to fight alongside them, judging others based on much more than morality and selflessness. In addition to being cruel, one of Task Force X’s new members also points out how this exclusivity can have the adverse effect of pushing would-be heroes into a life of villainy.
The three-issue miniseries Suicide Squad: Get Joker follows a new batch of Task Force X initiates on a mission to eliminate the Clown Prince of Crime. With Red Hood taking the lead, the team begins to follow the Joker’s trail, but the infamous Batman rogue continually stays a few steps ahead of his pursuers. By the end of the first issue, in fact, he gets his hands on Amanda Waller’s detonator box and immediately decides to test it out on the Squad’s resident pyromaniac Firefly. As the arsonist gets incinerated from the inside out, all the rest of the group can do is look on in horror and hope that they can avoid a similar fate.
The hunt for the Joker continues in Brian Azzarello, Alex Maleev, Matt Hollingsworth, and Jared K. Fletcher’s Suicide Squad: Get Joker #2, with Red Hood searching for a way to remove the explosive implants inside his team. While he’s doing this, many of his teammates are simply trying to get their minds off of their dire situation. This includes Meow Meow, who decides to spend her time eating ants she finds outside. Normally sporting a mask that conceals the bottom half of her face, though, the young woman uncovers her monstrous mouth, which features a long tongue with multiple tendrils on the side, only to be spotted by the Silver Banshee.
Initially embarrassed that she’s been seen, Meow Meow puts her mask back on, but Silver Banshee decides to start a conversation and get to know her associate a little better. After discussing some of the acts that got them added to the Squad in the first place, Meow Meow unmasks once again and ponders, “I wonder, Banshee, given different circumstances, if I could have been a hero.” Caught off guard by her young ally’s remark, Silver Banshee responds, “Aaah, I’m not… I don’ think so.” It’s a simple answer, but it shows that Silver Banshee understands that Meow Meow’s gross powers would never allow her to be accepted into the superhero community, even in a different life.
Sadly, the interaction rings true with both in-world and meta ideas of heroism in comics. As a general rule, superheroes are fairly good-looking with humanoid appearances. Meanwhile, those with grotesque or inhuman features are often deemed “monsters” and are forced to act as villains for the “true heroes” to defeat. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, with heroes like Swamp Thing and Jonah Hex fighting for good despite their looks. Most of the time, though, giving a comic book character a “disgusting” appearance or ability means that they will likely be seen as an antagonist, meaning that Meow Meow is condemned to only be seen as a villain in a way that she can’t really escape.
Recently, Lobo called out this behavior in Justice League: Last Ride #4, claiming that DC’s premiere team prioritizes the well-being of humans and humanoids, leaving all of the other “uggos” throughout the galaxy to fend for themselves. When combined with Silver Banshee’s comment, it seems that the Justice League is definitely prejudiced in a way that many villains notice. Hopefully, DC’s heroes will see the error in their ways and begin to adopt more accepting mindsets. If they don’t, the Suicide Squad will likely take in many more could-be heroes like Meow Meow.