Saturday, February 11, 2012

El Diablo on "A Stairway to Heaven" with Task Force X?

Getting readers into the cross over characters from the old DC Universe into the relaunch like Waller, Deadshot or Harley Quinn has proven to be a challenge for DC writers. So you can imagine how difficult it must be to write new characters (new to me) for readers to get into. In the case of El Diablo (real name unknown as of yet) it's certainly working so far at least as far as I am concerned.
So let's talk about what we know about what I described before as the "conscience of the group". Not to mention Harley Quinn commented before how El Diablo wasn't very "super villainy". El Diablo was some sort of Latino gangbanger that accidental killed a family with his powers during a gang related turf battle. At some point (probably during his incarceration) it appears as if he "found Jesus" and now works on the Squad for some manner of redemption. Certainly not the most original back ground story but it works for El Diablo in part because it adds yet another element of friction on the team and because his sincerity seems to be so genuine. Willing to bend over back wards to avoid killing, we also have seen that he is quite capable to making some one as dead as fried chicken if need be such as in the case of the last issue in which the Squad was used to quell a prison riot.His pyro-kinetic powers are perhaps his biggest mystery of all. As of yet we don't know if he has his power as a result of a mutation, some kind of science experiment or accident or if his powers are super natural in origin. The only thing that seems to be fairly certain is that they have some connection to his tattoos. Whenever he unleashes his power he temporarily looses some of his body ink. And as such it returns as he recuperates.
One of the most ironic things here about this character is that he is probably the one member on the Squad who has "seen the light" and yet his operative codename is The Devil. You almost gotta love the character for that alone. Based on the preview art for upcoming issues it appears El Diablo will be around for a bit longer at least. I certainly hope so but then again this is the Suicide Squad which means very little . . and hardly anyone lasts forever.

12 comments:

  1. Nice post - in the few issues I did pick up Diablo was the most interesting character. Hopefully the momentum he's getting doesn't stop climbing.

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    1. that's right, as far as i'm concerned Diablo is the surprise break out character in the SS relaunch. you're gonna be sorry you dropped this book from your pull list mark my words. that decision like a boomerang is gonna come back on ye mate, dead cert ;)

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  2. Yes!
    He's the human factor in the story.
    Gives it more dept and makes the reader confortable, which is a feat in Suicide Squad.
    I hope they'll keep him a good character.

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    1. Aliera my Portuguese beauty, i feel the same way but you know what they say "nice guys finish last".

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  3. Actually David, I believe his real name IS revealed, and in the very first issue of the SS reboot too. I'll look it up and get back to you when I get to school (which will be in a few minutes or so. Class doesn't start until 2:00 my time, so I have plenty of time lol). I've been bringing all of my issues of SS with me to school starting when I got issue #1, so it's no prob lol.

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  4. Yeah. Found it. Unless it's his gangster handle (which I personally honestly doubt), El Diablo's real name is Chato Santana.

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    1. Dios mio . . you're right! i feel like such a pendajo now, muchos gracias my dear :)

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    2. Is name is Chato? A Chato in Portuguese is either a boring person or crabbies :) I have to ask about that name to spanish friends LOL!

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  5. As much as I like Diablo and this new Squad. I miss the original crew. You know what though, this line up could do a belivable sci fi movie.

    I hope the Tiger, Flag and a few others show up in some book somewhere. And heres to hoping that King Shark finishes chewing up yo yo.

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    1. funny you should mention that about Yo Yo. you'll see what i'm talking about as soon as i finish writing my review for issue 6 which should be done within the hour.

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    2. It seems he comes and goes. Like me in this post.

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