Amanda Waller Reviews

She may not possess the dangerous feminine charms or impressive superpowers of a villain like Poison Ivy, but Amanda "The Wall" Waller is as deadly a foe as any in the DC pantheon.

Waller, who first appeared in Legends#1, is a widow from Chicago who used her bright mind to escape a hard life in the Cabrini-Green housing projects -- her daughters and her husband were murdered there. She studied political science, and became a congressional aide. Early in her career, she discovered the existence of the Task Force X/the Suicide Squad, an undercover group of supervillains who are contracted out by the government in return for amnesty. Waller saw an opportunity to improve the program, made a pitch to the White House, and was placed in charge of the Squad.

President Lex Luthor promoted Waller to Secretary of Metahuman Affairs, but Waller was jailed when his administration collapsed. She is soon released, however, and becomes involved in the covert-ops Checkmate organization -- first as Black King, and then as White Queen. She is later implanted with nanotechnology which allows her to control Chemo during missions.