Security at Arkham Asylum is something of a joke, even within the DC Universe. Despite the skill Batman shows in capturing various villains, it isn’t long before they’re back on the streets. Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum addresses this point, even as it parodies a frequent comics trope.
Written by John Layman with art by Jesus Hervas, Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #2 is set in the world of Batman: Arkham Trilogy. The comic details the nightmarish conditions in the new Arkham Asylum. Managed by Amanda Waller, the new facility is more prison than hospital. Worse yet, Waller actively recruited guards who were fired from other prisons for excess cruelty. This turns Arkham Asylum into a powder keg, which explodes after an apparent accident frees the inmates.
The Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League prequel comes to focus on Deathstroke, the Great White Shark, and Deadshot. As they ponder an escape plan, they stumble across a small armory containing their costumes and gear. This prompts Deathstroke to comment on the stupidity of storing this equipment in the same facility as the supervillains who created it. This hangs a lampshade on the fact that Arkham Asylum is usually depicted as having a room where the weapons and costumes of criminals are stored.
Arkham Asylum is a Suicide Squad Testing Ground
Logically, there is no good reason for Arkham Asylum to have a supervillain armory. Medically, the doctors working the hospital would want to eliminate reminders of their patients criminal pasts. It is also a massive security risk, for the reasons outlined by Deathstroke in Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #2.
However, there is method to Amanda Waller’s madness. The reason why she made the new Arkham Asylum so horrible was to set up the perfect audition for her Suicide Squad. The supervillain armory was intentionally established to empower those inmates who survived long enough to make use of it. This also enabled Waller to observe the villains in action and see who operated the best after weeks of torture and mistreatment.
Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #2 is now available in comic shops everywhere.
