A major Batman villain has been revealed as the mastermind behind DC’s zombie Suicide Squad. Since the Task Force Z comic series launched last year, fans have been wondering who the mysterious handler of Task Force Z, “Director Crispin” really is. Well, thanks to Task Force Z issue #3 we now have that answer! Red Hood (Jason Todd) has been riding a very sharp fence when it comes to working with Task Force Z – both in terms of the company he’s keeping (Bane) and the fact that his squad are actual zombies who have almost eaten him alive. Jason uses his Batman skills to finally turn the tables on his mystery boss, and what he finds is:
Two-Face is the one running Task Force Z!
All throughout Task Force Z #3, Jason Todd is struggling with the moral quandary of working with nefarious (and dead) teammates like Bane, who murdered Alfred Pennyworth in Batman’s infamous “City of Bane” story arc. However, Crispin seems to have the angles covered to keep Task Force Z on the leash: if they stray too far, they don’t get the precious “Lazarus Resin” that restores their corpses to life – the more resin they get, the more “alive” they are. Unlike Task Force X’s constant threat of death, Task Force Z’s promise of life is an inescapable trap.
…Or so Crispin thinks.
Task Force Z’s latest mission to stop a Kobra Cult heist nearly goes as disastrously as its first, when Cheshire shows up. The master assassin poisons the entire Task Force Z team, and nearly takes them out; however, Red Hood puts aside his grudge with Bane long enough for the two to take Cheshire down as a tag team. It’s in the glow of the team’s big victory that Jason finally makes his move: he tosses Bane off a skyscraper, and disappears from his handlers’ view in the way that only a Batman family member can!
By the time “Crispin” realizes that Red Hood is missing, Jason shows up in the shadows of his office to confirm that it is Harvey Dent / Two-Face who has been running the show!
There’s no telling what the implications are of Two-Face running Task Force Z. The character has largely been on a something o fa back-burner for years, but this reveal suggests that Harvey Dent has landed in a much different kind of role in the DC Universe after Gotham’s infamous “A-Day” event (which saw Arkham Aslyum destroyed in a horrific attack). It will be interesting to see what Task Force Z does with Two-Face in an Amanda Waller-type role. It doesn’t bode well for this zombie squad that their nefarious leader is a psychotic split-personality type.
Task Force Z is now on sale from DC Comics.
