Amanda Waller was the director of "The Agency", a government organization and federal intelligence service. One of the toughest people known in the United States, she was ruthless and willing to take control through any means necessary. She became the reluctant ally of Bruce Wayne/Batman and a rival to Commissioner James Gordon.
Biography
Not much is known about Amanda Waller, aside from being a former congressional aide and having a PhD in political sciences. Her career within the Agency is not well specified. However, by the time she took control, accusations of the organization's unethical methods, such human rights violations and unauthorized black sites, seemingly disappeared. It is implied that she had worked with James Gordon before the events of the series, though when and why was never explicitly stated.
After the Riddler, a criminal thought to be dead, broke a number of inmates out of Peña Duro Penitentiary, Waller began to search for him, believing him to have helped a group of master criminals called the Pact break out. Believing the Riddler would be her way into the organization, she set out to capture him and his crew, chasing him to areas such as Sudan and, eventually, Gotham. Waller was also aware of the Batman and his war on crime in Gotham, having heard about him by the time she arrived in Gotham. It's possible she deduced he was actually the billionaire Bruce Wayne before their first encounter.
Batman: The Enemy Within
The Enigma
After learning about the Riddler's attack on the Virago casino, owned by Rumi Mori, Waller and her agents arrived at the casino to try and capture the criminal. However, they arrived just after he escaped, though they were able to help capture a number of his men. Whilst helping clear up, Waller was introduced to Batman and tried to convince him to cooperate with her and the Agency, to help capture the Riddler. She also scolded Gordon for his method of assaulting the Riddler's men, though Batman can take the blame for this, having ordered it himself. As Waller left to organize a detail of Mori at Gotham General, she left agents Iman Avesta and Vernon Blake to talk with Batman and give him a psychiatric report on the Riddler. As Batman left, she threatened that if he did not cooperate with her and the agency, he would find it hard to operate in Gotham whilst they were in the city.
During the week, Waller had her agents search for the Riddler, during which one of her agents, Mario Hernandez went missing. She also ordered the brutal interrogation of Eli Knable, the Riddler's second in command and one of the men Batman defeated in the casino. When Batman and Gordon managed to find the Riddler's hideout, they can inform her, but she will be unable to back them up, due to her being in a meeting at the time. After they beat the Riddler's death trap, Gordon told Waller about Hernandez's fate, as well as the Riddler's plans to target her agents. Waller was also set back when four of her agents, including Avesta and Blake, went missing without contact. After Batman deduced the Riddler's plans, he can either contact Waller to access the Riddler's second in command or confront Mori by himself. Depending on the decision made, two possibilities will happen:
If Batman chooses to get the information from Mori, she will be enraged when Mori either escapes the country or been assaulted at the Virago. Having learnt about the Riddler's death and either the death of one of her agents or the deafening of Avesta (depending on whether Batman went through with Riddler's game), she is furious at both Batman and Gordon. She then demotes the Commissioner and forces her men to take over law enforcement operations in Gotham. She will also not listen to Batman, knowing that he is responsible for what happened to Mori.
After making arrangements to talk with Batman to talk with Knable, she meets the vigilante in the GCPD. Whilst escorting him to the suspect, she encourages the vigilante to use violence against Knable and brutalize him if necessary. She also observes the interrogation from another room. Depending on Batman's decision to use violence or bluff him with one of Riddler's missiles, she will either stand by as he beats him or objects to his use of misdirection, believing him to be summoning one. After he finished, Batman tells her to send the agents to the Riddler's ship, the Lady of Dublin. If he used violence, she thanks him for doing so and justifies his use of it to Renee Montoya. After arriving on the ship, Waller confronts Gordon on his role in the catastrophe of an operations, with the Riddler dead and one of her agents either dead or deafened (depending on whether Batman went through with Riddler's game), and holds him responsible for what has happened. She then takes the operation out of Gordon's hands, though decides not to demote him. She will also be more willing to talk to Batman, due to his compliance in the interrogation of Knable.
Waller then talks to Batman and tells him why she and the Agency were after the Riddler, revealing that he was a member of the Pact, some of the greatest criminal minds who had banded together. She asked Batman about it and revealed she knew that one of Arkham's psychiatrists, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, was a member of the group. Having lost her way into the Pact through the Riddler, she decided to use Batman to get into the organization, revealing her knowledge of his true identity; Bruce Wayne.
Personality
Waller seemed to be cold and vindictive, holding onto authority and taking it by force when she need to. Whenever she could see use of an asset, she would use whatever means were available to use and control it. She was also willing to use violence and torture to retrieving information, something that put her at odd with James Gordon. Waller would often also shift the blame onto others whenever an operation went south, as she did when they failed to capture the Riddler. It's possible she may have used blackmail, assassinations and other illegal and unethical operations during her time as Director, but hidden the truth through many other means.
Relationships
Bruce Wayne/Batman
Upon first meeting the Batman, Waller seemed interested in working with him to capture the Riddler and infiltrate the Pact. Depending on how willing Batman is to work with her or use her suggestions, there working relationship will either improve or decrease, though it remains to be seen whether she plans to use him for her own ends or for the good of the city. Waller was also aware of Batman's identity of Bruce Wayne, having either deduced it herself or learnt it from another person.
James Gordon
Waller and Gordon both seemed to hate each other, due to their differing opinions on how to use their authority and law enforcement. Waller considered the GCPD to be "cowboys", due to their "sloppy" methods and reliance on the vigilante Batman. After the Riddler was assassinated after being defeated by Batman, she put responsibility on Gordon and the GCPD. She will also demote him if Batman chose not to cooperate with her, implying that she considered him an obstacle to her cooperation with the vigilante.
Quotes
- "You should have called us, Gordon. After all, we're here to help."
- "Meet your new interrogator, Eli. I bet you two have met before."
- "Thunderbolt? I'm the whole goddamn hurricane."
Gallery
Trivia
- The comic book iteration of Waller is the Director of Advanced Research Group Uniting Support/Super-Humans (or A.R.G.U.S. for short), an organization dedicated to international law enforcement and the agency in charge of the Suicide Squad.