| Amanda Waller | |
|---|---|
 Amanda Waller as depicted in Suicide Squad vol. 5 #8 (February 2017). Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli (layouts), Francesco Mattina (finished art), and Hi-Fi Design (colors). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Legends #1 (November 1986) |
| Created by | John Ostrander Len Wein John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Amanda Blake Waller |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Suicide Squad Agency Checkmate A.R.G.U.S. Shadow Fighters Team 7 United States Army Justice League of America Cadmus |
| Abilities |
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Amanda Blake Waller (née White), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character featured in some American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Legends #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and John Byrne.[1] Amanda Waller serves intermittently as both an antagonist and an ally to the superheroes of the DC Universe. She is occasionally described as a supervillain.
Though lacking superpowers, Amanda Waller is often portrayed as a ruthless, high-ranking government official who uses guile, political connections, and intimidation to achieve her goals, often in the name of national security. Waller is commonly associated with the fictional government agencies Checkmate and A.R.G.U.S.
Waller is a former congressional aide and government agent in charge of the Suicide Squad, a quasi-secret government-run group of former supervillains working in return for amnesty. She later serves as Secretary of Metahuman Affairs under President Lex Luthor before being arrested because of Luthor's public fall from grace. She later serves in leadership roles in Checkmate and A.R.G.U.S. In 2020s comic books, she heads up more ambitious attacks on the superhero community, even serving as the primary antagonist of the Absolute Power (2024) company-wide crossover event.
The character has been adapted into other media on a number of occasions, notably voiced by CCH Pounder in her animated debut in the DC Animated Universe, with Pam Grier originating the character in live action on the TV show Smallville. She first appears in film played by Academy Award winner Angela Bassett in Green Lantern. Most prominently, she has been portrayed by Academy Award winner Viola Davis in the DC Extended Universe series of films and TV shows, starting in Suicide Squad (2016), acting as one of the franchise's most prominent recurring characters.
- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 322. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.