Waller resentfully presumed the situation to be racially charged, related to not only her own status as a black woman, but also Bronze Tiger's own skin tone, although the Tiger himself did not believe this was a factor, instead believing this was a result of mistrust due to the brainwashing imposed upon him by the League of Assassins. Although she proposed the Bronze Tiger, the man she had helped out of his brainwashing, lead the team he was instead relegated to second-in-command, and Rick Flag Jr. The earliest conflict between her and her superiors revolved around the leadership of the Suicide Squad. Despite many successes, she developed a habit of defying her superiors in Washington in order to achieve goals both legitimate and personal on more than one occasion. Waller's tenure as the official in charge of the third Suicide Squad was tumultuous and controversial. Harry Stein would later reorganize the Agency and name it Checkmate. Amanda Waller later promoted Stein to the command position and demoted Vostok. Valentina Vostok brought former NYPD Lieutenant Harry Stein into the Agency as an operative. The Agency was formed by Amanda Waller to serve as a small, quasi-independent branch of Task Force X. Taking elements from both of these, she proposed the development of its third incarnation to the White House and was placed in charge upon its approval. During that time, she discovered the existence of the first two incarnations of the Squad. Waller excelled in political science and became a congressional aide. Art by Luke McDonnell and Geof Isherwood.Īmanda Waller has been established as a widow who escaped Chicago's Cabrini–Green housing projects with her surviving family after one of her sons, one of her daughters and her husband were murdered. Waller was reassigned to the leadership of Checkmate as White Queen, but was forced to resign because of her involvement in Operation Salvation Run.įictional character biography Early history Īmanda Waller in Who's Who in the DC Universe #1 (August 1990). She later served as Secretary of Metahuman Affairs under President Lex Luthor, before being arrested in the wake of Luthor's public fall from grace. Nicknamed "the Wall", she is a former congressional aide and government agent often placed in charge of the Suicide Squad, a semi-secret government-run group of former supervillains working in return for amnesty.
The people most responsible for shaping the character in her earliest appearances were John Ostrander and Kim Yale, in the pages of the Suicide Squad series in the late 1980s. Pounder for various animated projects Pam Grier on the live-action series Smallville Angela Bassett in the live-action film Green Lantern Sheryl Lee Ralph in the animated series Young Justice Cynthia Addai-Robinson in the live-action series Arrow Yvette Nicole Brown in the franchise DC Super Hero Girls and Viola Davis in the DC Extended Universe films Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad, as well as the HBO Max series Peacemaker. Several actresses have voiced or portrayed the character: C. In recent years, the character has been substantially adapted into animated and live-action media. Waller is commonly associated with the fictional government agencies Checkmate and A.R.G.U.S. Although she lacks superpowers herself, the character is a ruthless, high-ranking government official who uses guile, political connections, and sheer intimidation to achieve her goals, often in the name of national security. She is the director for the deadly missions of the Suicide Squad and a specialist who oversees research into people with powers. Amanda Waller is an antagonist and occasional ally to the superheroes of the DC Universe, occasionally described as a supervillain. The character first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986, and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne. 5 #8 (February 2017).Īmanda Blake Waller ( née White), also known as " The Wall", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.