It was 40 years ago today that DC Comics started a new series that introduced a new threat to the DC Universe, and it also introduced one of the most persistently antagonistic villains to the comic book world. The series was titled Legends, and the main villain here was Darkseid, who still ruled Apokolips but felt something was missing because the heroes of Earth continued to defy him. Because he said that Earth’s heroes were defined and inspired by their legends, he needed to destroy the legends to finally bring Earth to its knees. However, at the same time, there was a human with no powers on Earth who had started a vendetta of her own and moved into a powerful position in the United States government.
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On August 28, 1986, DC Comics released Legends #1 by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne, and it introduced the world to the antagonistic Amanda Waller.
Amanda Waller Debuted in DC Comics 40 Years Ago Today
Legends was a packed series. The main storyline ran for six issues, and other DC titles crossed over with what was happening in the series. The six-issue miniseries worked well when read by itself, but there were 22 individual chapters that told the entire story for anyone who wanted to see what all the heroes were doing, as this was the first major DC Universe crossover after Crisis on Infinite Earths. What really makes it stand out is that Legendswas the launching point for several new comic book series.
After Legends, there was a new Flash title, a new Justice League series by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, the post-crisis debut of Shazam, a rebooted Wonder Woman, and a new villain-based black ops comic about the Suicide Squad. That latter team is what was set up in Legends #1 when Amanda Waller made her DC Comics debut and hired Rick Flag to run the new black ops team of villains who Waller would kill if they got out of line.
In the actual DC Universe, Waller was not a villain to the world, as she was running the black ops team for the government. Her methods were evil and underhanded, but she had the President of the United States supporting her methods and giving her permission to do with the team what she wished on a provisional basis. That all started here when she had Flag set up the Suicide Squad and sent them out to kill the villain Brimstone. What worked was Flag serving as Waller’s counterpoint and refusing to kill his teammates if they fulfilled their duty, including rejecting her order to kill Captain Boomerang.
Legends then led to the Suicide Squad series by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell, where Waller sent the team out to take on impossible missions, and over time, she became more and more unhinged. Thanks to the events with the Checkmate organization and the “Janus Directive” storyline, Waller ended up going to prison for her actions while running a black ops team and stepping over the line when it comes to her power and control.
Amanda Waller Remains a Threat in the DCU
Amanda Waller has become a full villain in DC Comics more than once, especially when she decided to go after the Justice League and then took things one step too far in the “Absolute Power” storyline, when Waller decided to rid the Earth of all superpowered beings. She turned much of the public against superheroes and then launched a coordinated attack against everyone, using Failsafe and the Brainiac Queen to strip heroes of their powers. By the end, Waller was in prison once again.
This antagonistic role is what began to play out in the DCU, although Waller got her start before that in the DCEU when she debuted in Suicide Squad, played by Viola Davis. After making a second appearance in The Suicide Squad, then in Peacemaker Season 1, and finally in Black Adam in a cameo, Waller made the jump to James Gunn’s DCU. She was mentioned in Peacemaker Season 2, as her daughter remained part of the series, and there was a Waller streaming series in development, although it never entered production.
Her power was immense, and she proved she was not a good person. In Suicide Squad, when she needed to be rescued, she murdered everyone working for her to keep them quiet. She tried to kill the entire team in The Suicide Squad when they attempted to save citizens’ lives. Amanda Waller works for the U.S. government in the DCU, same as she did in the comics, but she is a loose cannon in both places. It all started 40 years ago in Legends #1.
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