- As for you, Deadshot the Assassin may be beyond redemption... but I will find a way to redeem Floyd Lawton, the man.
- — El Diablo
Suicide Squad (Volume 4) #5 is an issue of the series Suicide Squad (Volume 4) with a cover date of March, 2012. It was published on January 11, 2012.
Synopsis for "Abandon All Hope"
Charged with neutralizing a supermax prison riot at Belle Reve Penitentiary in less than twelve minutes, the Suicide Squad races to comply before the nano-bombs implanted under their skin detonate. Yo-Yo expands in order to deter the inmates while Deadshot indiscriminately begins killing them, merely to thin their numbers. El Diablo doesn't appreciate Deadshot's methods, prefering to simply create a perimeter and urge the inmates to return to their cells.
Amanda Waller, creator of the task force, keeps track of her squad from two floors above. Realizing that even more inmates are on their way, she orders Yo-Yo to seek out King Shark and bring his muscle to the fight.
Meanwhile, Black Spider is in the infirmary with gunshot wounds. When some inmates decide to break in, they find Black Spider waiting, having just smothered a sick inmate to death. He explains that as a vigilante, nothing pleases him more than the opportunity to kill more convicts. Putting him in prison is like putting him in a candy store. The inmates recognize that he is injured and make their move, but despite his wounds, Black Spider manages to overtake them all. Unfortunately, the action was taxing, and he collapses on the floor.
Deadshot and El Diablo rush out into the courtyard and find themselves quickly surrounded. The latter holds the inmates off with his flames, pointing out a guard tower with a riot gun on it. Deadshot heads toward the tower while El Diablo makes a last ditch attempt to convince the inmates to return to their cells. Unfortunately, the inmates are unwilling to listen to his promises of redemption, and they knock him out with a crowbar.
Waller wonders where Harley Quinn has gone, checking in on Yo-Yo's progress. He remarks that King Shark is behaving strangely as he uses his elasticity to fit through a ceiling grate in the Shark's holding tank. King Shark simply states into space as Yo-Yo approaches until suddenly his mouth yawns open and he chomps down on Yo-Yo's head, devouring the rest of his body within moments. Meanwhile, the inmates are working their way in to Waller's office.
Waller manages to kill her assailant, but Deadshot is not faring well. He makes it to the top of the tower and prepares to use the gun mounted on it, but his muscles begin to rebel as he is suddenly affected by the Rot Virus that he contracted on an earlier mission. Giving up, he allows the prisoners to throw him from the top of the tower.
Realizing that her entire squad has been incapacitated, Waller makes an outside call to her husband. She tells him she loves him, and apologizes for being out late. She promises that she's with friends, as she reflects on her team's loss. After ending the call, she prepares to disperse a nerve gas in the prison, and kill all of its inhabitants.
Before Waller can release the gas, El Diablo suddenly comes to, and realizing that his attackers have no desire for redemption, he brings them hell on earth. He unleashes a massive wall of flame which incinerates the prisoners in its wake. He warns the survivors to return to their cells as Deadshot makes a brief return to consciousness. Turning to his companion, El Diablo promises that while he doesn't appreciate Deadshot the assassin, he will find a way to redeem Floyd Lawton, the man. Surprised, Waller decides to shave half the time off of El Diablo's sentence.
Three hours later, Floyd Lawton wakes up in stasis. Amanda Waller explains that the bomb inside him has been deactivated for now, and that she is working on curing him of the virus. She promises that she hasn't forgotten the deal she made with him.
She arranges a visit between Floyd and a young girl named Suchin. It has been set up so that she can't tell where he is or what he is. He hugs her and asks her about her life, and she responds smiling, happy to see him. Behind a two-way mirror, one of Waller's men informs her that they did a headcount of the morgue, infirmary, and cell blocks. The only prisoner unaccounted for is Harley Quinn. Waller realizes that Quinn caused the riot in order to escape.
After just a few minutes, the guard takes Suchin away. Angrily, Floyd turns to the fake mirror and shouts that the deal was for an hour. Waller responds that he can have the hour he wants if he can find Harley Quinn. Her nanite bomb was deactivated, so they can't stop her remotely. Two guards have gone missing, but she believes she knows where Quinn is headed: Gotham City. Waller is going to put a new Squad together, and they will be tasked with hunting Harley Quinn down, and bringing her back - dead or alive.
Appearing in "Abandon All Hope"
Featured Characters:
- Suicide Squad
- Deadshot
- El Diablo
- Black Spider
- King Shark
- Yo-Yo (Apparent Death)
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
- Harley Quinn
- Belle Reve Inmates
Other Characters:
- Suchin Lawton
- Joseph Waller (Phone call only)
- Wonder Woman (Mentioned only)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles: