Injustice 2's Suicide Squad Helps Killer Croc Propose to Orca

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Injustice 2 #69 by Tom Taylor, Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, Rex Lokus and Wes Abbott, on sale now.

The Suicide Squad is all about business -- it just so happens their business is killing, surviving and taking superheroes down at Amanda Waller's behest. And while they do draw some degree of sympathy from the reader, being hooked up to explosives and held hostage as mercenaries and whatnot, it's still tough to root for them because, let's be real, they are villains, and ruthless ones at that.

In the Injustice universe though, we've often seen they do have a soft spot and are indeed more repentant, truly looking for a path out of their murderous way of life.

This comes full-circle in Injustice 2 #69 as the Squad decides to undertake their most diabolical mission yet, one which will take some meticulous planning: The wedding of Orca and Killer Croc.

Here, we see that despite their rugged, seasoned history as soldiers, they are hopeless romantics and do want each other to find happiness in a world ravaged by war. Deadshot, Katana, Man-Bat and Captain Boomerang scour the sewers of Gorilla City (Ra's al Ghul's new estate) to find Croc, because they believe he should take his relationship with Orca to the next level. They see the matrimony as a ray of light in an otherwise bleak reality, and remind Croc that such hope isn't prevalent in these dire times.

Sure, they've all done nasty things -- eating Ted Kord on live television, for example -- but under Ra's' guidance, they've all become eco-terrorists; villains, yes, but villains who simply want to live in a better world. They've had enough of tearing things apart while fighting with the so-called heroes, and have come to feel like the Earth's just collateral damage in all the battles over the years, which is why creatures like Croc and Orca (who's pregnant, by the way, with Croc's child) gravitated to Ra's' cause in the first place.

The Squad knows it won't be easy; they're still wanted for their crimes against humanity and are being hunted, after all. That said, they reveal Solovar, the king of the gorillas, can oversee the wedding and marry the couple, while Ra's and his ambassadors try to strike an alliance with Atlantis and the surface world (led by Batman).

It's a sentimental interlude, with the endearment factor taken to new heights as Croc tries to propose with the Squad spying and urging him on. It's a funny (and somewhat awkward) scene watching them monitoring the intimate moment, which seems to be ripped straight from a rom-com flick. A nervous Croc decides to do things his way, however, and proposes to Orca underwater in a lake, right where their species belong. His teammates see this and are filled with joy for them, living vicariously through the duo and escaping briefly from the war-torn world.

Sadly, there's an ominous sign encroaching in the shape of Grodd. Having been excommunicated from the group by Ra's and Solovar for insubordination, he's now aligned with Brainiac and is coming for revenge. With the camp missing key members, there's a window of opportunity for him to now exploit. And make no mistake, anyone who sided with Solovar is considered an enemy.

Grodd's already using his mental powers to secretly infiltrate the area and it's obvious the Suicide Squad will fall directly into his crosshairs. Croc and Orca were among the many present when Grodd was deemed an outcast and violently kicked to the curb with his followers, thus, this ceremony could be the right time for him to repay everyone for their lack of loyalty.

As it stands, with a vengeful gorilla army stealthily moving in the shadows, this wedding readers want to see so desperately, does seem like suicide. After all, the Injustice alternate reality is known for throwing death into the mix just when we think a happy ending is on the horizon.

CBR

Injustice 2's Suicide Squad Plan Their Most Diabolical (And Romantic) Mission Yet