Amanda Blake Waller. A tough-as-nails top-ranking U.S. Government agent who would have no issues stabbing you in the heart if you gave her the opportunity. Often known as “The Wall”, the director for Task Force X started making appearances in the early pages of the Suicide Squad in the late 1980s. The popular government agent has made a feature live-action appearance, notably on television with Pam Grier playing the titular character in the ninth season of Smallville. Another version was Dr. Waller in the infamous Green Lantern debacle starring Ryan Reynolds. Angela Bassett played the respective role.
Now, Waller isn’t like her supervillain counterparts. She doesn’t possess any powers, but she’s a highly intelligent woman who can easily manipulate the situation in her favor. Recently, the title character has been played by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis, in both versions of Suicide Squad and cameo appearances in HBO Max’s Peacemaker. It’s odd to see such a powerful non-supernatural being in a world with crazed madmen (or women) like Joker or Harley Quinn running around. That aspect alone is a fascinating reason why Amanda Waller should be given her own spin-off. Waller’s original story isn’t too out of the ordinary. In fact, some may call it rags to riches arc. Waller grew up in a crime-ridden Chicago, married her teenage sweetheart at 18, and though both struggled in the beginning, she eventually rose through the ranks to get into the position that she’s in now.
While her story isn’t seemingly riddled with supervillain lore, it’s always an interesting perspective to see how a normal being like Waller grew up in a world filled with people who have supernatural powers. She comes from a crime-stricken neighborhood, was this some ordinary crime like gangs, drugs, or violence? In one of Waller’s backstories, her son was killed in a mugging gone wrong and her daughter was raped by someone known as “Candyman”. That saw her husband seek revenge that ultimately resulted in his and the perpetrator’s death. You understand why she’s tough as nails. She’s dealt with so much tragedy in her life that in some ways, it has gotten to the point of being meaningless. Waller carries herself like a boss not because she likes being a cruel and vindicative person, but due to the fact that she understands the type of world that she must survive in. It could be a complex character study on nurture vs. nature.
Waller didn’t grow up to be this cold and detached human being. However, the environment that she lives in forced her make a choice: live or die. The journey to getting to such degree makes Waller’s backstory so rich. It’s odd that the most intriguing aspect about Waller’s life isn’t necessarily rising through the government ranks, but her life before she became the woman that we all know and hate today. Could you make something out of Waller going up the corporate ladder? Sure, and it’ll definitely be an interesting commentary to explore that option, but the money of how Waller got to that point in her life is where the true story should be told. Now, that isn’t to say that showcasing Waller’s various shady projects within the government couldn’t be interesting. Waller is known to be a supervillain, so to watch her make different choices that goes against her moral code and ultimately chips away a bit of her humanity is an equality thrilling watch. Given the success of Peacemaker and Waller’s ties to the Suicide Squad universe, it would be great if some of the villains showcased in the films ended up making cameos that could give some insight as to why he/she is there in first place.
Why does Amanda Waller trust Rick Flagg as the natural born leader? How does she feel about Harley Quinn? What are her thoughts on Peacemaker’s twisted sense of morals? Obviously, you get her understanding in the respective Suicide Squad and Peacemaker series, but the first interaction upon meeting these characters is a valuable perspective that can shed some more light on her character as a whole. Amanda Waller may not be the Gotham City Police, but how she thrives in a corrupt society is just as important as the cops who try to repair a broken world. Either way, an Amanda Waller character piece would be a great vehicle that gives more depth to the woman who isn’t afraid to break the law. Waller may not be a typical supervillain (and sometimes hero), but that’s what makes her journey fascinating in retrospect.Peacemaker
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