James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad featured the return of Viola Davis as Amanda Waller in a performance has been widely lauded. The casting of Davis in the previous installment, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, was seen as a brilliant choice. However, beyond her intense performance, one admirable creative decision by the filmmakers was to choose a look for Amanda Waller evocative of her classic character design.
Amanda Blake Waller was introduced in Legends #1 (1986), written by John Ostrander and Len Wein and penciled by John Byrne. She is the ruthless and cunning director of the Task Force X, the famous Suicide Squad of supervillains she uses as cannon fodder for dangerous missions. She is often associated with the fictional government agencies Checkmate and A.R.G.U.S. and is both a valued ally and feared antagonist to the DC universe’s superheroes.
For decades, fans have admired the fact that Waller’s creators broke the mold in the way they drew her. Waller has a commanding presence, with a distinct business casual fashion and stern, serious features. Many fans also appreciate that she is a strong woman of color in a position of power. Furthermore, unlike many (or, frankly, most) characters in mainstream superhero comics, Waller is traditionally not shown as skinny or athletic, but rather as a heavyset woman of short stature with a natural hairstyle. There are exceptions to this rule though, the most controversial being the look chosen for her in the New 52 era of DC’s history. During this time, Waller was depicted as not only taller and extremely slender, but also with glossy, wavy hair. She was also portrayed more often as a standard field agent, rather than a looming figure pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
This redesign of Waller was derided by many as a betrayal of the character, unnecessarily playing up her sex appeal at the cost of what had previously made her fascinating to readers. Waller was never defined by her attractiveness, but rather her intellect and her ability to earn the fear and respect of others. This change in direction was seen as forcing traditional paradigms of attractiveness and what constitutes power upon a character who had previously defied them.
Thankfully, when the time came for Viola Davis to portray the character, the filmmakers chose to stick to what made Waller exceptional. Of course, Viola Davis is beautiful and she is not overweight, but the films still aren’t afraid to show her curves. Her wardrobe and natural afro also perfectly capture the classic Waller look. But more importantly, her looks are not sensationalized like in the New 52. Both movies make sure to highlight above all her fierce demeanor, her clever mind, and her strong voice, rather than the shape of her body.
It would have been easy for the filmmakers to give into DC’s trends and follow the New 52 direction for Task Force X’s leader. However, they were careful to listen to the criticism they had received and found an actor who made more than perfect sense for the character and for the direction they took her in. While the 2016 Suicide Squad film may have had some blunders, casting the immensely talented Viola Davis and choosing not to mess with her look led to easily the most definitive Amanda Waller to appear on screen.
