Line #65 ComicBook/TaskForceZ


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/task_force_z_vol_1_1_3.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Because in a town like Gotham, there are a lot of good uses for a corpse.[[note]]Top down, left to right: Mr. Bloom, Man Bat, Bane, Sundowner, Red Hood, Arkham Knight[[/note]]]]
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4	'''Task Force Z''' is a 12-issue limited series published by Creator/DCComics, written by Creator/MatthewRosenberg and drawn by Eddy Barrows. Spinning out of ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier, it follows the exploits of [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd the Red Hood]] leading a government task force staffed with bad people and designed to do the sorts of things that superheroes would never dream of dirtying their hands with...
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6	[[Comicbook/SuicideSquad Sound familiar?]]
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8	But where ''that'' squad saw villains working their way to freedom, Task Force Z follows villains who are already dead working for a new chance at life. With the exception of their field commander, Jason Todd, the team is made up primarily of villains who have passed on, half revived and turned into shambling shadows of their former selves. That's right - [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies Task Force Z is staffed with Zombie Supervillains]].
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10	Backed by Project Halperin and its mysterious benefactor, Red Hood struggles to steer Task Force Z to protect the living. He also has to make sure that his team doesn't get hungry. Because if they do, he'll have to start protecting himself...
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12	Task Force Z began publication in October of 2021.
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14	!!Tropes applying to this series include:
15	* AndIMustScream: During the process of being revived after the loss of much of his body, Bane is left without lungs or vocal cords until they are fully regrown. He's fully conscious throughout the regrowth process and, as per Doctor Shelley, is screaming throughout the whole thing despite not making any noise.
16	* ArtificialZombie: The squad members are revived and kept under control by doses of Lazarus Resin. Enough of it will return them to life fully, but the small doses that they're given keep them in a state of constant decay. Without their pills, they can very easily become mindless and predatory.
17	* AtrociousAlias: It's actually Amanda Waller who comes up with the "Task Force Z" moniker. Two-Face isn't a fan.
18	* BodyHorror: The undead cast finds themselves in various, very detailed states of decay when they're not being ripped apart and regrowing limbs. [[spoiler: Bane's resurrection in Issue #5, in particular, leaves him particularly monstrous-looking.]]
19	* TheBusCameBack: The new Task Force that appears at the end of Issue #4 features Madame Crow, who hadn't appeared in almost 5 years, and Copperhead, who also hadn't been seen in some time. The rest of the Victim Syndicate briefly reappears on Issue 7.
20	** Issue #5 has the return of Geri Powers, who hadn't shown up since 2016.
21	** Issue #6 features the return of Mitchell Shelley/Resurrection Man, who hadn't appeared in almost a decade.
22	* CallForward: In issue #9, while sneaking around the Powers labs, Bloom runs into [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond Derek Powers]], who is only a boy here and has no inkling of the [[{{Pun}} blight]] future ahead of him.
23	* CameBackWrong: [[Main/EnforcedTrope Enforced]] by use of the Lazarus Resin. The members of Task Force Z ''could'' be brought back to their full capabilities (both mentally and physically) at any time. But they're much easier to control at a fraction of their strength and by merit of keeping them dependent on pills. When Astrid is torn apart in battle, she is given enough resin to regrow her legs and is temporarily revived enough to look ''mostly'' like she did when she was alive.
24	* CasualDangerDialogue: Once [[spoiler: Deadshot]] joins the team, he and Red Hood make frequent use of this trope.
25	* ContinuityNod: At the end of issue #6, under [[spoiler:Bane's picture in Waller's office it's written "Who is this?", referencing that Bane was revealed to be the one behind A-Day in ''ComicBook/TheJoker2021'', meaning that the Bane that's been with the team the whole time isn't the original.]]
26	* CreepyTwins: With their ghastly pallor and affinity for bringing the dead back to life, Amelia and Delia Shelley are adult versions of this. [[spoiler: Their other sister Celia appears later, making it a cast of Creepy Triplets.]]
27	* DyingAsYourself: When they're alone together, and Bane is given enough Lazarus Resin to be cognizant, Jason makes sure that he has all of his memories back [[spoiler: so that he can make sure Bane knows ''why'' he turns on him and throws him off a building. It's out of revenge for Bane's murder of Alfred back in [[ComicBook/BatmanTomKing "City of Bane"]].]]
28	** [[spoiler: Later, it's {{Subverted}} when it's revealed "Bane" is actually the corpse of Gotham, who was revived and implanted with FakeMemories of being Bane by Mr. Bloom. Once he learns this, Jason [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone does]] ''[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone not]]'' [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone take the fact that he essentially kicked an innocent man off of a skyscraper very well.]]]]
29	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Well, more like [[AmbiguouslyEvil Even Ambiguous Evil Has Standards]] but even Amanda Waller, a woman who regularly sends [[BoxedCrook Boxed Crooks]] on suicide missions, thinks that using undead supervillains is "morally reprehensible". [[spoiler:However, her moral reprehension does not stop her from claiming Task Force Z for herself.]]
30	* EvilVersusEvil: In a similar vein to a more well-known Task Force, this squad pits undead supervillains against other supervillains. Except that instead of fighting to get years taken off of a life sentence, the members of Task Force Z are earning a second chance at life. Even the TokenGoodTeammate field leader is an AntiHero with few compunctions about killing.
31	* FakeMemories: [[spoiler:Mr. Bloom is revealed to be using these extensively in his plan, having dug up the corpse of Hank Clover Jr./Gotham and implanted him with Bane's memories in order to serve on the team, and attempting the same with a random corpse that he dresses up as Red Hood, planning to transfer a mix of Jason's memories and brainwashing into the zombie to serve as an [[TheMole infiltrator within the hero community.]] Unfortunately for Bloom, the zombie gets tricked into blowing itself (and the Powers Industries building everyone is currently in) up by Jason before this can happen.]]
32	* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Jason manages this by the end of the series, ditching Gotham (the city, not the now-zombified superhero) after a corpse Bloom had dressed up in the Red Hood costume that he was going to use to attempt to plant a [[TheMole mole]] in the superhero community is found at the collapse of the Powers Industries building, being reported as dead, with seemingly only Stephanie Brown and Two-Face currently aware of his survival.]]
33	* FriendlyZombie: At least, as friendly as they ever were in real life. Red Hood doesn't have to worry about his teammates turning on him, as long as he makes sure that they take their meds. Otherwise, they can turn into...
34	* FleshEatingZombie: When deprived of their Lazarus Resin, the members of Task Force Z fall into this. Keeping them appropriately dosed is important because when in this state, they don't care whether they're eating friend or foe.
35	* ForScience: This seems to be Amelia and Delia Shelley's prime motivation. When given a team full of dead super-villains who have racked up a staggering body count between them, they instead work on a way to turn them into a team of semi-disposable zombies for the government.
36	-->'''Jason''': "Don't you think that the world might be a better place if you, ya know... ''didn't?''"
37	-->'''Dr. Shelley''': "I'm a scientist. ''Better'' isn't really something we deal with."
38	* HarmlessFreezing: Jason is frozen from the waist down in Issue #2 by Mr. Freeze, but experiences no negative side-effects.
39	* HeelFaceTurn: Two-Face is attempting one by running a government task force. Ostensibly it's to get back to his roots helping people, albeit with "questionable" methods. Absolutely nobody believes that it's sincere.
40	* HeroAntagonist: Batman and the Batfamily all end up opposing Jason and him working with Task Force Z. The notable exception to this (aside from Duke Thomas, who is mentioned but does not appear in the flesh) is Stephanie Brown/Spoiler, who is the one member to never directly oppose Jason, though she does try to warn him away from his current path.
41	* HiveMind: [[spoiler:Mr. Bloom is able to pull off an odd version of this, implanting special {{Brainwashing}} into the revived members of Task Force Z that allows him to activate a copy of his own personality in them to take them over, managing to subvert Copperhead, [=KGBeast=], and Madame Crow this way.]]
42	* HorrorHunger: Naturally, for a zombie story. [[spoiler: Deadshot]] is very worried that he'll start experiencing this once he's brought back to life.
43	* IDieFree: [[spoiler:In the final issue, the zombified Gotham decides to do this once Jason talks him down and he takes out Mr. Bloom, flying off with Gotham Girl to live the rest of the time the Lazarus Resin gives him on his own terms, instead of being left dependent on the resin to live, choosing to live his last days the way he wants to.]]
44	* IdenticalTwinIDTag: Delia and Amelia look identical with the exception of their haircuts.
45	* InsistentTerminology: Mr. Bloom would like to remind everyone that he is ''not'' dead. Despite appearances.
46	* ItsBeenDone: Not only is this task force very similar to another DC property in-universe, but Amanda Waller also wastes no time in likening the titular task force to Film/JurassicPark.
47	-->'''Two-Face''': [[PopculturalOsmosisFailure "I haven't seen it."]]
48	* MadScientist: Amelia and Delia Shelley definitely give off this vibe.
49	** Mr. Bloom delves into this even more than the Shelleys, having helped pioneer the Lazarus Resin's creation, and, as soon as he is given the chance, proceeding to run multiple horrifying experiments on Man-Bat, including dissecting his brain and hooking up machinery to it, partially turning him back to his human form before repeatedly switching off which form Man-Bat is in, and ''much'' more. Notably, Man-Bat is his ''own lab assistant'' during all of this. Additionally, Bloom is guilty of [[spoiler:implanting FakeMemories in corpses of being other people in life to brainwash them and turning the other members of Task Force Z into undead ManchurianAgents with copies of his own mind.]]
50	* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Sort of. At the end of Issue 12, when Two-Face revives the remaining corpses with Lazarus Resin for a yet-unknown purpose, he intentionally does not inject Man-Bat, telling the corpse to "rest", in compliance with Man-Bat's vocalized desire to be allowed to die throughout the series.]]
51	* MrFanservice: Issue 7 has Jason waking up after having a nightmare, only to realize he had no clothes on. This doesn't stop him from getting up, and we are treated to a very good view of his ass.
52	* NotSoAboveItAll: The normally [[SeenItAll unflappable]] Amanda Waller doesn't freak out at the sight of the Arkham Knight's dead body, she just makes a passing comment about the smell. But once Astrid is shown to be ''alive'' as a part of Two-Face's presentation, she flips out like she's watching a horror movie.
53	* NotUsingTheZWord: The scientists and their benefactor try not to use the term "zombie" to describe their squad. Jason, however, sees no issue with it.
54	* OhCrap: While Jason has no problem facing Dick and Tim together, when he sees [[TheDreaded Cass]], he has this reaction.
55	* OlderThanTheyLook: The Sundowner entity within Hanna Hobart has halted her aging, and despite appearing to be Jason's age, she's probably old enough to be his grandmother.
56	* TheOldConvict: Despite not appearing to be old, Hanna Hobart had been in Arkham for many years, and when the place got destroyed during A-Day, she was recruited by Task Force-Z.
57	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: In-universe. More traditional zombies have been confirmed to exist in DC Comics, but these characters are specifically brought back to life and maintained via microdoses of Lazarus Resin. With enough of the stuff, they'll return to life for real. Without it, they'll quickly decay into cannibalistic corpses. Depending on how much dosage they have, they also retain some level of higher functions and personality.
58	* PerkyGoth: Amelia and Delia Shelley both have unnaturally pale skin and white hair, dress in lab coats with bicep-high black rubber gloves, and have a fascination with the undead while also being remarkably chipper about the whole thing.
59	* PhlebotinumDependence: Any characters who are brought back to life via the Lazarus Resin aren't brought ''fully'' back to life. Without more resin, they will quickly decay into shambling, cannibalistic corpses, and then end up dying all over again.
60	* PoweredArmor: [[spoiler:Mr. Bloom ends up using Jim Gordon's mechanized GCPD Batsuit from the ''Superheavy'' arc (ironically enough, the very arc Bloom was introduced in and served as the ArcVillain for) to engage with Jason and Harvey's Task Force Z by the end. The suit ends up turning him into such a [[TheJuggernaut juggernaut]] that it takes Gotham, someone with powers akin to a Kryptonian at their most potent levels, to fly him away to his UncertainDoom in order to take him out, with a prior explosion and the collapse of an entire building right on top of him barely slowing Bloom down.]]
61	** [[spoiler:Granted, however, Mr. Bloom does recover near-immediately from a gunshot to the face and is a HumanoidAbomination par excellence, so how much of the SuperToughness displayed is from the suit and how much is from Mr. Bloom himself is really up in the air.]]
62	* PowerLimiter: To keep someone like [[HumanoidAbomination Mr. Bloom]] under control, who may or may not feel "death" quite like his squadmates, he is given a power inhibitor to make up for a seeming lack of dependence on Lazarus Resin.
63	* TheReveal: Issue 10 reveals [[spoiler:the fake Bane that's been running around with Task Force Z is a modified and reanimated Henry "Hank" Clover Jr./Gotham.]]
64	* SameSexTriplets: [[spoiler: Amelia, Celia, and Delia Shelley are all identical triplets.]]
65	* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: On Issue 7, [[spoiler:after Mr. Freeze is told there's only enough Lazarus Resin to fully revive a person, he simply takes it for himself and leaves the rest of the Task Force out to dry.]]
66	* ShowerScene: Readers are treated to seeing Jason Todd in the Decontamination Shower after coming into contact with Man Bat's bodily fluids. However, the gnarly scarring that he's accumulated all across his back provides some FanDisservice.
67	* ShoutOut:
68	** The lead scientist in charge of reviving and reanimating the undead corpses is named Doctor [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Shelley]].
69	** Project [[Film/WhiteZombie Halperin]] is an organization dealing with people being turned into Zombies.
70	** Mr. Bloom is derogatorily referred to as [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas "the skeleton from that singing Christmas movie."]]
71	* SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration: The Lazarus Resin offers the entire scale, depending on the dosage.
72	* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Mr. Bloom was deeply involved with the creation of the Lazarus Resin, and is none too happy about getting absolutely nothing out of the deal. He spends the first arc of the story scheming against his handlers in order to get free, and ends up being the FinalBoss of the mini.]]
73	* StringTheory: Jason has one dedicated to uncovering the mysteries behind Task Force Z.
74	* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:Deadshot sacrifices himself to prevent Jason from getting executed by [=KGBeast=]. When Waller calls out Knyazev, he argues that he was giving Lawton a MercyKill.]]
75	* TheMole: What Jason is acting as during his stint as Field Leader of Task Force Z. Batman attempts to pull him out multiple times, but he refuses.
76	* ThemeTwinNaming: All Doctors Shelley are named as following, Am''elia'', D''elia'' [[spoiler: and C''elia'']].
77	* ThisIsGoingToSuck: Jason's reaction at the end of issue 7, since he knows he's gonna have to [[spoiler:steal the last sample of Lazarus Resin from the Batcave]].
78	* {{Troll}}: Jason plays this role to the hilt during his fight with Tim, Dick, and Cass, constantly taunting and trash-talking them. [[spoiler:{{Justified}} due to this being an integral part of Jason's plan, [[WeNeedADistraction distracting the Batfamily]] after he manages to sneak the stolen sample of Lazarus Resin to a disguised Sundowner early on in the fight, continuing to taunt them to DrawAggro and ensure they focus on him, giving Hanna time to get away with the serum. Granted, even once he's found out and Hanna is long gone, Jason continues to intentionally rile Dick up as much as possible before he makes his escape, even asking Cass to use her body reading abilities to confirm how mad Dick is, just because he can.]]
79	* TwoGirlsToATeam: Astrid Arkham and Hanna Hobart are the two females in the first incarnation of Task Force-Z.
80	* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Mr. Bloom's final moments in the mini are him being grabbed by an angry Gotham before Gotham zooms away into the sky, coming back down and saying "not to worry" about Bloom. We're never told whether this means Gotham killed Bloom or not, or what Gotham even did to him.]]
81	* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: The mysterious benefactor of Task Force Z, "Crispin" does not show his face to the team and only communicates via intercom or from behind a screen without ever showing his face. Or rather, he doesn't show either of them, because "Crispin" is actually [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two-Face]].

Context ComicBook / TaskForceZ