credit: The Suicide Squad
The argument that one character or another is completely relevant to a story or a franchise is one that has been ongoing for years since, to some people, a character might not make a lot of sense when and where they’re placed in a story. To others, however, this might not be the case since they might figure that this character is situated perfectly where they need to be. But in the case of Amanda Waller, it’s fair to say that she feels almost completely irrelevant since far too often she’s come off as a character who could be easily replaced by another person, be they man or woman, and that she’s been given the type of power she has for reasons other than a storyline.
Now, to be fair, she has been a part of the DC universe since the mid-80s, so it’s not as though she just showed up and started causing trouble. But it is fair to state that despite being in the DC storyline for decades, she didn’t gain the type of prominence she has now until the past decade when the Suicide Squad movies started to show up. Were she a new character, it would be far easier to dismiss her, but since she’s been there for a while, it’s a little more difficult to say that she has no place in this franchise.
credit: Peacekeeper
She has more power and authority than she should, and no, it’s not because she’s a woman.
The way that Waller has been set up in the DC universe implies that she’s been devoted, ruthless, and has the kind of willpower that it takes to get ahead and step over whoever she needs to in order to get to her position. One big problem with this, however, is that she has nearly unlimited power in the movies, and because of her position, she can get away with quite a bit without repercussions.
Granted, she’s a fictional character, but giving someone absolute power in a story and not showing that they’re susceptible or beholden to anyone or anything is kind of boring since it implies that no matter what happens, their plot armor is going to be strong enough to take care of anything that might come their way. It’s ridiculous enough with superheroes, but it’s even more so with regular human beings that should fear for their life when faced with the consequences of double-crossing beings that are infinitely more powerful than they are.
The fact is that the people she deals with are smart and ruthless enough to end her if they choose to do so.
There are men and women alike who would no doubt want to see Waller dead, and yet despite the drawback of her being human, they’re never allowed to get close enough to become a serious threat. Yes, Bloodsport did have a pen in hand and could have driven it through Waller’s neck in Suicide Squad, but the fact that she was holding his daughter over his head, metaphorically, and had a room full of gun-wielding guards was enough to make him stand down.
In other words, it’s very easy to be impressed by a character that’s given the ability to stand down dangerous criminals and even superheroes since she has many ways of manipulating them. But were she to be constructed as a truly impressive character, it feels that giving her more than a one-note personality would be a lot more successful. Taking a look at Lex Luthor, it’s fair to say that he’s popular because he’s shown that he’s more than just a villain, as he’s kept people guessing for years.
credit: The Suicide Squad
She has no true regard for anyone, even her own family.
Waller is ruthless, there’s no doubt about it, and she’s even sent her own daughter into the fire, so to speak, when she decided to send her in as a spy in the Peacemaker series. There was no way to know if her daughter was going to make it through her given mission in one piece, but Waller apparently didn’t care. She was all about the mission and nothing else. Thankfully her daughter outed her, but it’s very unlikely that this is going to be the end of her.
I’ll say it again. She could be easily replaced by a faceless entity that sets up people to take the fall when needed.
It wouldn’t matter if this faceless entity was male or female, but having someone in this position that couldn’t be reached and didn’t have the lack of range that Waller does would be preferable. It might even be more terrifying than the current character since, too often, it feels that Waller is on a power trip, and she’s loving it. A nameless, faceless individual that operates from the shadows is far more effective since it keeps people guessing and can push a story in a manner that will leave the individual’s motives in the dark.
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