The trailers for DCs upcoming “Suicide Squad” movie promises to give viewers a potentially better movie than “Batman V Superman.” But that can’t happen if casual moviegoers don’t know what they’re about to watch. So here’s a little walkthrough about what Suicide Squad is all about.
Let’s say you’re a comic book fan with a limited collection or a simple, ordinary non-comic book person who watched movies and cartoons about your favorite superheroes. There’s one question that often comes to mind. What happens when for instance Batman captures a super villain? They go to jail of course. Then after a few issues or episodes later, they’re suddenly back, and our friendly neighborhood superhero has to put them back in jail again (after committing a crime of course). Jails can’t be that flimsy and easy to escape from. So there must be some other way? Bail? Probably, but bail can’t be possible for someone like The Joker who kills like nobody’s business. There must be something else? Well, there’s still hope for mass-murdering supervillains to actually do some good or at least be useful. It’s called the Suicide Squad or as the government calls it, Task Force X.
If you’re a supervillain or just a notorious bad guy, you can have all your charges erased or lifted if you volunteer to do something for the government. That something could very well cost you your life if you’re not careful. It’s a high-risk black ops operation which the government can easily disavow, and you’re free to kill as is your nature if you have to. The Suicide Squad is a government-sponsored program that allows them to achieve goals that goody-two-shoes super-powered individuals will shy from. So they employ questionable super-powered individuals to do the job for them in exchange for their freedom.
The Suicide Squad film is to be the third installment in DCs own cinematic universe. But, how? Why so many? Haven’t we seen them before? In Batman V Superman, it’s suggested that Batman’s been in business for quite a while now. He’s bound to have captured a lot of villains since then, and most of the villains featured in Suicide Squad are part of Batman’s rogue gallery. Let’s get to know them.
Amanda Waller – played by Viola Davis supervises the Suicide Squad. She’s the DC Universe equivalent of Nick Fury except she functions only as a bureaucrat. You might remember her character in the Green Lantern movie played by Angela Basset.
Harley Quinn – played by Margot Robbie, debuted in the 90s Batman the Animated Series as a love interest for The Joker. She was a psychiatrist named Harleen Quinzel obsessed with The Joker until she fell in love with the psychotic villain. Rationality flies out the window and thus was born Harley Quinn. Her costume and antics are in theme with Jokers.
Deadshot – played by Will Smith is an expert assassin for hire and has crossed paths with Batman in the comics. Deadshot is an expert marksman but unlike Marvel’s Bullseye, can’t use anything as a weapon. He’s a mainstay in the squad, and his main motivation is to die spectacularly while doing good or being useful.
Killer Croc – played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is one of the many Batman villains that didn’t get to be on the big screen. He’s so named because of his cannibalistic nature, and reptilian features.
Captain Boomerang – played by Jai Courtney is another squad regular. He’s also from Flash’s rogue’s gallery. Hailing from Australia, his theme and weapons of choice are weaponized trick boomerangs. Kind of like Marvel’s Hawkeye’s multi-purpose arrows.
Enchantress – played by Cara Delavingne is not to be confused with Marvel’s Asgardian sorceress. She’s not part of Batman’s rogue’s gallery but more of an opponent for heroes like Supergirl and Green Lantern. She’s more of an antihero now in the DC Universe and currently a member of Justice League Dark along with other magic users of DC.
El Diablo – played by Jay Hernandez is depicted as a former LA gang member who has the power to summon flames. He’s also not as psychotic as the other squad members. There are three incarnations of the character in DC comics, but the movie character will be based on the third, an ex-criminal named Chato Santana. Like Deadshot and Enchantress, he’s one of the group’s anti-heroes.
Rick Flag – played by Joel Kinnaman, is the requisite military officer who leads the team. In the comics, Rick Flag is the name of three generations or servicemen all of whom are Suicide Squad regulars. The first Suicide Squad was actually a military outfit in World War II.
Katana – played by Karen Fukuhara is more of a hero than the rest of the squad. She’s armed with a magical sword called Soultaker which imprisons the souls of her enemies. In the comics, she was a member of Batman’s own team of young heroes known as ‘The Outsiders.’
The Joker – played by Jared Leto. Well, everyone by now knows The Joker. He’s not a member of the Suicide Squad and may be the target of their mission. This Joker may be the most twisted version yet. In the comics, his daughter is a squad member.
Want to get to know the Suicide Squad better before watching the movie? Pick up the animated film Batman: Assault on Arkham, which is actually quite close to the movie itself. Having childish doubts because it’s animated? Well, don’t.