Bring on the bad guys!
Get ready to get down, dirty and dangerous as Warner Brothers unleashes the worst heroes ever in Suicide Squad this Friday.
A new Joker and the motion picture debut of other classic Batman and Flash villains will blitz across the big screens with director David Ayer running the asylum and revving up the DC Comics film franchise.
But who’s who? Where are the good guys? What this could mean for the future of DC movies?
If you’re a veteran comics fan or new to the dark side of DC, here’s our Suicide Squad for Virgins:
The version of the team that inspired the movie was conceived by a trio of legends: writer John Ostrander with writer Len Wein and artist John Byrne.
The team’s first mission was against Brimstone, an elemental creature unleashed by Darkseid who was plotting to conquer Earth. The Justice League film villain is said to be Steppenwolf, Darkseid’s ruthless general. Given the comic book canon connections, could the Squad and League team up in a future movie in the war against Darkseid? (Exciting but let’s get back to the new movie!)
Who’s who?
Viola Davis is Amanda Waller, the ruthless government operative respected and feared in the political and espionage circles of the DC Universe. Waller was a widow from the Chicago projects who got her doctorate, became a rising political star and quickly became a major player in covert operations. The Wall, her nickname, is a powerhouse figure in spy organizations A.R.G.U.S. and Checkmate but is most famous for creating and running Task Force X aka Suicide Squad and her research into hero and criminal metahumans.
Joel Kinnaman is Rick Flag, a dishonored war hero given a new mission of redemption. No powers, no problems. Flag is a weapons and hand-to-hand combat expert. There have been three men named Rick Flag in the comics. This film version is the second, Flag Junior, who had a lost love and child in protective custody after an overseas mission gone wrong which led to his imprisonment and new assignment: run the Suicide Squad.
Karen Fukuhara is Katana, a martial arts master and fully trained samurai anti-hero. Katana has been a member of Batman’s Outsiders, Birds of Prey and the Squad. In the film Katana works for Flag and does not appear to be a super criminal like her other team members. In the comics Katana has a soulsword which captures the soul of everyone she kills and allows her to communicate with that soul.
Adam Beach as Slipknot, a chemist who developed unbreakable ropes uses as a master assassin.
Jai Courtney as Boomerang, the Flash villain using a variety of boomerarangs as weapons. Digger Harkness is a blatant racist and “clown” of the team in the comics with his boomerang covered costume but filmmakers have given this Flash Rogue a darker, deadlier, more insane edge.
Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, June Moore is an artist who became possessed by a Dzamor, an evil spirit who granted her supernatural powers and her darker appearance. After first fighting Supergirl, Enchantress accepted an offer to join Task Force X is they could help her keep her evil alter ego in check.
Will Smith as Deadshot aka Floyd Lawton, a master assassin capable of killing with a variety of weapons but is known for his twin wrist mounted guns. Lawton isn’t suicidal but aims to die in a spectacular fashion. Lawton has not super powers but “never misses” his targets. Deadshot is a frequent Batman villain.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc aka Waylon Jones, a sideshow wrestler with a genetic condition that made gave him a reptilian appearance including razor teeth and claws, scaly skin. Croc is a super strong tracker with hyper senses and a healing factor. King Croc sought to rule the Gotham City underworld before devolving into an insane cannibalsitic predator and loses all humanity.
Jay Hernandez as El Diablo possesses the power of pyrokinesis. Lazarus Lane, Rafael Sandoval, Chato Santana have all taken the infamous moniker in comics.
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn – need we say more? Dr. Harleen Quinzel first appeared on Batman: The Animated Series and became so popular she was made part of comics canon and stars in multiple comic series. Quinzel was the Joker’s psychiatrist in Arkham Asylum but the patient transformed the doctor into his an insane object of affection. Harley quickly evolved from the Joker’s girlfriend into fan-favorite anti-heroine.
Jared Leto as Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime. Seriously, need we say more? We will say this: the ultimate Batman villain ever appeared in the Suicide Squad in the comics.
Burning questions:
What’s the mission?
When you watch the trailer, we never see Joker with the rest of the team. Is the Squad’s mission to capture an escaped Joker? It would be a huge embarrassment (and start a panic) if the infamous villain escaped.
Does the Joker know what Lex Luthor knew in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Wouldn’t unleashing cosmic forces (from Darkseid’s dimension) be the kind of crazy chaos the Joker would revel in?
When’s the mission?
Our theory is that the film is set after the events of Batman v Superman. What if the Dark Knight put this wild bunch of rogues behind bars? Ben Affleck is appearing in the film but are they flashbacks showing Batman capture Joker, Harley, Croc and Deadshot or will he jump into the action when the mission goes wrong…or both?
What’s next?
Suicide Squad cameos in Justice League?
Margot Robbie in a Harley Quinn spinoff movie?
Ben Affleck and Jared Leto in The Batman standalone film?
Suicide Squad opens Friday.
Suicide Squad: Rebirth and Harley Quinn #1 are in comic book shops now.
Click here for a collection of classic and modern Squad stories to order.
By Editor