Feature: Meet The Suicide Squad!

The Suicide Squad movie is real! It has a cast and a production date! But wait, who is the Suicide Squad? If you aren’t that steeped in DC lore. you may have no idea, as the members of Suicide Squad have often been B and even C level villains, some of which have made few if any appearances outside of the comics. It might be a good idea to have a basic knowledge of the cast of anti-heroes, so here’s a primer on your Suicide Squad team.

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Firstly let’s talk about the Suicide Squad itself. The Suicide Squad (sometimes also called Task Force X) is a bunch of criminals. These criminals are often facing either a very long (possibly life) sentence with no possibility of parole or sometimes even facing the death penalty. They are offered a choice: Stay where they are, or join the Suicide Squad, taking on covert deadly missions that if they manage to survive, will shave time off their sentences or even grant them a pardon.

The Joker
Played by: Jared Leto

The one character in Suicide Squad who needs no real introduction is the clown prince of crime, Batman’s arch-nemesis, the Joker. The real question is how they are going to portray him, as this Joker obviously needs to be different enough to stand out from the previous iconic performances of actors such as Jack Nicholson & Heath Ledger (not to mention Mark Hamill, who definitely voiced the Joker for decades). He is actually an odd fit for the Suicide Squad, as he is pretty much just an agent of chaos, doing whatever his twisted mind finds amusing, even if there’s a good chance it’ll get him killed. I actually have a theory on that, I wouldn’t be completely surprised if Joker is in fact not a member of the Suicide Squad itself. The plot has not been revealed and it could easily be that the Suicide Squad is actually trying to stop the Joker from pulling off some mad plot he has. Just a theory, but with that you have an easily identifiable popular villain, and some easy conflict as well.

Harley Quinn
Played by: Margot Robbie

Probably the second most-well known member of the Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn debuted in the Batman: The Animated Series show that ran in the 90s. She started out as Joker’s sidekick/muse (she was actually originally his therapist in Arkham Asylum but apparently found the Joker fascinating and became obsessed with him) but has since carved out quite an identity of her own, arguably becoming DC’s most popular female. She has rarely seen outside of the comic book pages lately aside from appearances in things such as the Batman Arkham games series and the more recent Assault on Arkham movie.. She has a sense of humor just as twisted as the Joker, but has been shown to occasionally see reason and help the side of good. Suicide Squad is obviously a big chance to bring Harley Quinn to a mainstream audience, so we can only hope they do her justice in her big screen debut.

Enchantress
Played by: Cara Delevingne

Arguably the most obscure member of the Suicide Squad (especially since there is a Marvel villain with the same name), Enchantress’ origins are kind of random. Basically she was invited to a party and happened to be bestowed with magical powers. The Enchantress is inclined towards good but has an evil aspect that occasionally takes over, making her a dangerous team member to have. She is pretty much the definition of a C-list comic character, often disappearing for years with no mention until someone decides to bring her back to flesh out a team like the Suicide Squad. Hopefully the movie will at least get her promoted to solid B-list status.

Deadshot
Played by: Will Smith

Deadshot is a highly trained assassin, pure and simple. He also claims that he never misses, though Batman has proved him wrong on multiple occasions frankly. In the comics he has cybernetic eye enhancements to enhance his already impressive aiming skills. Deadshot is proficient in the use of just about any weapon, But Deadshot also has a wish to basically die in a rather spectacular fashion, which makes the Suicide Squad an extremely appealing idea.

Rick Flagg
Played by: Tom Hardy

You wouldn’t trust a team full of criminals to do their job, right? That’s where Rick Flagg comes in. He is an intensely loyal government agent, a soldier through and through. He’d fight the whole Justice League if he thought it was in his country’s best interest. It’s his job to keep the various members of the Suicide Squad in check whether that means making sure they stay on mission or keeping them from killing each other. At least until the mission is over anyways because he’s understandably not too fond of criminals. For all intents and purposes, he is usually the team leader, though babysitter might be more appropriate.

Boomerang

Played by: Jai Courtney

Also known as Captain Boomerang (who you may have recently seen in the recent Flash and Arrow crossover episodes), an Aussie who throws boomerangs may seem a little hokey, but Boomerang can be just as much of a handful as any member of the Suicide Squad. His boomerangs are often outfitted with special tricks, everything from exploding to electricity. He is also often portrayed as the clown of the squad though and often the one causing the most friction on the team. It’ll be interesting to see if they play up that aspect of his character in the movie, as it might even provide some much needed comic relief.

Amanda Waller

Played By: ?

Amanda Waller is the architect of the Suicide Squad. She is seriously distrustful of superheroes, especially of the alien variety. She has certainly helped Superman, Batman and other heroes on occasion when it was clear there was a bigger immediate threat, but almost as often she is at odds with DC’s greatest heroes, often devising plans on how to defeat them when they go rogue (which she always strongly believes they will eventually). She forms the Suicide Squad to often do what no one else is willing, sometimes without her government even knowing. Waller’s stock and trade is shady teams going on shady, usually highly illegal missions. The Suicide Squad is just one of several she has used to achieve her goals.

And that is a brief primer of The Suicide Squad. It’s hard to say what versions of these characters the movie will draw from so we’ll have to wait til we at least see a trailer before we know more. Suicide Squad is scheduled to be out in theaters August 5th, 2016.

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