They Only Think They Escape

It may be too late to put this theory out there, but do you think there's a chance the Secret Six were still in Hell in June's issue?

They'd been told that if Scandal left with Knockout, it would doom Liana to Hell, and judging by Scandal's dialogue, she did bring Knockout with her. If she made that choice, then it's possible they could have run into Liana and her tormentor in Hell. Maybe the gas line in the guy's crap shack exploded and killed them.

Catman seems oddly happy, Scandal and Ragdoll seem to have buried the hatchet someplace besides each other's backs, and Spencer was really strangely accepting of Bane's retelling of history, and his casual killing of that carny*. Everything was going strangely well, which makes me think of that Twilight Zone episode. Where the loser dies and thinks he's gone to Heaven because he has it all, then realizes he's bored and this is actually his Hell? Maybe the Six were allowed to think they escaped Hell, the better to twist the knife of their torment.

Jeanette seemed to be suggesting Scandal didn't need to choose between Knockout or Liana, which strikes me as a good way to end up with neither of them, which would be a painful result. Ragdoll commented on how Black Alice left no trace that she was ever in their house. She didn't accompany them to Hell, so perhaps that's why there's no trace.

The biggest problem is there isn't really a reason for Hell to work so hard to keep them now. The Six will all die eventually, and there's no particular sign they will change their ways sufficiently to avoid their toasty fate**. First thing they did when they got back (if they got back) was torture and kill a guy. A scumbag lunatic the world is better off without, but I have the impression DC's afterlife doesn't take things like that into consideration. So they'll wind up there eventually, so why not let them go.

Also, there wasn't any guarantee that when Scandal took Knockout from Hell it would immediately consign Liana to Hell. That could be years down the road, when Liana's inherent goodness has been destroyed by prolonged contact with Scandal and the world she inhabits. Hell can afford to play the long game. Which doesn't mean they wouldn't play a trick on the Six, just to amuse themselves, but there's no need to.

* I think he killed him. He jammed the knife in the guy's face, which considering Bane's strength means it probably went most of the way through the skull. Probably lethal.

** If it's even possible to do so. Deadshot would have to save a lot of kittens from trees to compensate for all the people he killed.