Hey guys!
Welcome back to Top 10 Nerd, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
Amanda Waller is the incredibly tough, sometimes a bit too tough, government agent, probably
best known as the director of Task Force X and the Suicide Squad.
Her fierce stubbornness and inability to take no for an answer rightfully earned her the
nickname "The Wall".
But there's quite a bit about her that some people don't know, and I will not abide ignorance
about Waller.
If you finish this and want more, check out our video on the Top 10 Facts about Miles
Morales next!
But first, get ready, it’s time for the Top 10 Surprising Facts about Amanda Waller!
Number 10: She got the idea for the Suicide Squad from a World War 2 team.
A lot of you guys might have known about her affiliations with the Squad, but I know not
many people know where she got the idea.
Turns out there was a team way back in World War 2 called the Suicide Squadron, full of
expendable criminals, led by Rick Flagg.
They even became a pretty cohesive team by the end.
Waller saw this as a great idea, after seeing her friends and allies killed during the war,
and decided to do the same thing using supervillains.
And I for one am glad she did.
Number 9: ARGUS.
At this point, Waller is more or less synonymous with the Suicide Squad.
However, that isn't the only team in her control.
She has also acted as director of ARGUS, a significantly less suicidal team meant to
offer support to the Justice League.
ARGUS stands for Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans, and they take on tasks that the
League can't deal with, and also help to clean up after the devastating superpowered fights.
Unfortunately, once Waller became Director, her overaggression led to a number of avoidable
mistakes,
Number 8: She was in three live-action works before Suicide Squad.
A lot of people think that Waller was introduced for the first time in the Suicide Squad film,
but she's been around for quite some time.
She was in two tv shows, Smallville and Arrow, and was even in the Green Lantern movie.
Although I'll forgive you for not wanting to remember that.
And it doesn't stop there; she's also been in over a dozen animated works, including
tv, film, and video games.
You can't escape The Wall.
Number 7: She doesn't like the Justice League.
You'd think a government official would be in favor of the team that helps to protect
the planet, but Waller is definitely not a fan of vigilante justice.
Waller knows that if a superpowered individual went bad, they could cause huge amounts of
damage, so she doesn't trust any superhero further than she can throw them.
Although to be fair, she could probably throw them pretty far.
She strong.
Number 6: She founded the New Justice League of America.
Yep, Amanda decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
She was so worried that the Justice League would go, rogue, that she made her own Justice
League, full of superpowered individuals.
She claimed that this was to deal with outside threats, but it was really so she could call
on them to fight the Justice League if they went bad.
After the League was disbanded, some of the heroes went off to Canada to start Justice
League Unlimited.
Ohhhhhh Caaaaaanadaaaaaa.
Number 5: She was all ready for an evil Superman.
Considering how paranoid she is about how dangerous superpowered people can be, it's
no surprise that she's especially worried about the crazy overpowered Superman.
So, she prepared for the worst, stocking up on Kryptonite in order to potentially deal
with the guy if he went rogue.
She created the group Last Line, made to fight Supes, and even made a Doomsday/human hybrid
infused with Kryptonite.
When the group realized this was pretty much just her not liking Superman, they turned
on her, and she went back to leading Task Force X.
Number 4: The Redesign.
Waller was famous for her stocky, sturdy frame and stoic as hell attitude.
But then in the New 52, suddenly she was this super fit action babe.
And it was disappointing to a lot of fans, myself included.
Why would you turn this badass character into some generic action chick?
Imagine if King Pin was reimagined with abs!
No!
I'm not against character redesigns, but changing them to become less interesting and more generic
is just moving in the completely wrong direction.
And it's made even worse because this version was used in Arrow and Green Lantern too.
Thankfully, since rebirth, she's back with her usual look.
Number 3: Psychopathic admirer.
Amanda Waller isn't exactly everyone's type.
She's brash, aggressive, and insanely selfish.
But you know who sees past that hard exterior?
James Gordon Junior.
That's right, Commissioner Gordon's serial killer son, James, is infatuated with Waller.
After seemingly dying in a fight with Batgirl, he came back as a member of the Suicide Squad,
advising Waller.
The feelings definitely aren't mutual, but she kinda lets it happen because he's useful.
I mean, they're pretty perfect for each other...
Number 2: She created Batman Beyond.
This one had to be number one.
Batman Beyond was a staple of many a childhood, and it's super interesting that Waller is
the one who orchestrated the whole thing.
By inserting Bruce's genetic code to overwrite that of Warren McGinnis, Waller was able to
make his son, Terry, actually a genetic son of Bruce, allowing his genes to be passed
onto the boy who would become the new Batman.
This seemed so out of character; she does not like superheroes, and even specifically
had a rivalry with Bruce!
However, as time went on she began to respect the guy, and eventually decided the world
needed a new Batman.
Number 1: She can resurrect dead members of the suicide squad.
This is probably the craziest of the facts on this list.
As common as it is for people to eventually come back to life in comics, there aren't
a whole lot of ways to force resurrection.
But, by studying resurrection man, Waller was able to develop the samsara serum.
She did this because, surprise surprise, too many members of the SUICIDE squad were dying.
The only problem is, the serum is super unstable, and eventually ends up killing anyone it's
used on.
Or, ya know, explode them.
That’s it for today!
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Let me know your favorite member of the Suicide Squad in the comment section down below!
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wash over you, check out our Top 10 Alternate Versions playlist on the channel!
Until next time, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey with Top 10 nerd.
Later nerds!