A biweekly column by Talisha Harrison aka Tali Adina
Welcome to Talking Comics’ Character Spotlight! Every other week, I’ll be spotlighting a character from comics, cartoons, etc. However this week is special as it’s Women in Comics Week! So I’ll be spotlighting five of my favorite female characters each day this week. So today, the spotlight falls on:
Amanda Blake Waller
I was first introduced to Amanda Waller by watching the Justice League cartoon on the Cartoon Network and I find her to such a strong and amazing character. She’s a character who despite not having any superpowers, still wields great power. She’s not nicknamed “the wall” for nothing!
She’s one of the few women of color in the DC universe-and in comic books at large-and up until the New 52, she was a woman who was short and overweight -not skinny like every other female character-with a height of 5’1, weighing 200 lbs pre-52. Her weight wasn’t used for comedic relief, it’s what made her stand out. Waller was a not skinny, middle-aged force to be held in great regard. Here are a few things that you should know about ‘the wall’:
- She was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne and first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986.
- Waller is in charge of the Suicide Squad, a semi-secret government-run group of former supervillains working in return for amnesty.
- She has a doctorate in political science.
- After one of her daughters and her husband were murdered, Waller became a widow and a single parent of three sons and one daughter.
- Titles she has also held are: White Queen of Checkmate, Congressional Aide, Government Agent, Regional Director D.E.O.(Department of Extranormal Operations), and Secretary of Metahuman Affairs.
- Her skills and expertise include: Espionage Master, Firearms Expert, Advanced Hand-to-Hand Combat, Indomitable Will, Intimidation, Master Manipulator, Master Strategist, and Political Analyst. And she routinely carries a gun.
And there you have it my friends, another awesome kick-ass woman in comics. Stayed tuned, as there are two more women that will be featured this week, in this special edition of Character Spotlight!
