Suicide Squad: Who Will Survive?

Suicide Squad is a movie about super villains going on incredibly dangerous missions. It’s also been claimed that while Batman v Superman is aimed at a younger crowd, Suicide Squad is more of a comic book movie for adults. That combined with the claim that the DC movie universe is a more grounded one where innocents might get hurt and not everyone who is not another character in a franchise another movie studio owns the rights to might not live through the day and you’ve got a solid chance that some of the Suicide Squad might not even survive the first movie, especially if it’s true to the spirit of the comics.

So I have compiled a list of the known Suicide Squad movie characters (not rumored ones such as Deathstroke) and somewhat informally judged their odds of survival based on several factors (i.e. future potential in the DC movie universe). Read on to find out who’s most likely to survive (or not survive) the squad’s first mission!

Next: ....Captain Boomerang

Captain Boomerang

Odds of survival: Medium

Ok here’s the thing about Captain Boomerang. He’s a really silly villain. I mean, he’s an idiot who throws high tech boomerangs. And he’s right at that level of villainy where he is kind of known (possibly with a higher audience Q thanks to a pretty good appearance on Flash/Arrow) but nowhere near a major league villain, so he’s just important enough to be killed off in that whole “no one is safe!” way. However, going in his favor is that Warner Bros. clearly has big plans for Flash, and he is one of Flash’s few memorable villains (I mean really, it’s Boomerang, Mirror Master, Grodd, Reverse Flash & Zoom, that’s pretty much the list), so Boomerang’s odds of surviving Suicide Squad may hinge on if WB wants to keep him around for a future confrontation with Flash. It would be a shame to never see them clash on the big screen…

Next: ....Rick Flag

Rick Flag

Odds of survival: High

Rick Flag isn’t a particularly important character outside of Suicide Squad, but he is one of only two genuine good guys in the film, making his odds of living through this movie pretty good. He could also be a constant for sequels. Members of the squad come and go, but Flag is a constant. After all, someone needs to keep all these villains in check, and that is Flag’s primary job. What’s working against him is Amanda Waller and how loyal he is to her. If Waller turns on the squad and Flag doesn’t like it, he may die. But he could also not like it and be loyal enough to her or the government to still work with her in the future. I could certainly see Flag dying somewhere down the line, but if they want to at least leave the door open for a sequel even a tiny bit, I think Flag’s death would be best saved for a later film.

Next: ....Katana

Katana

Odds of survival: Low

Katana could be a very cool character with a long history in the DC movie universe if treated correctly, but sadly the odds of her surviving her first movie are pretty slim. Since she is a hero there by choice, she might be the only sympathetic death we get as opposed to any of the villains. On top of that, she’s a c-list character at best, so she could easily be killed off without much repercussions to the movie universe at large. I mean, if we might be getting a Birds of Prey or Outsiders film down the line, I place her odds higher, but she may not survive to be in those. Katana is Rick Flag’s bodyguard, so it’s pretty easy to see her sacrificing herself to save Flag. But hey, I’ll be incredibly pleased if she lives and is a kickass female character appearing in plenty of future DC films.

Next: ....Enchantress

Enchantress

Odds of survival: Very Low

Simply put, Enchantress is the likely “villain” of the Suicide Squad movie. According to various reports and rumors, she’s either just a mega-powered villain the squad has to defeat, or she’s a potential weapon for Amanda Waller that the squad must ultimately keep out of her hands. Either way, it’s most likely going to be the squad’s primary mission to stop her, and since they are villains in a mature, supposedly “grounded” film, it’s most likely going to be in a way that ends in her death. Pretty much the only thing Enchantress has going in her favor is that she’s not necessarily a villainous person, she just often gets out of control and goes nuts. There’s also another personality, June Moon, who is possessed by the Enchantress entity. Suicide Squad could conceivably end with June being “rescued” from the Enchantress entity in some way (maybe Katana’s sword that steals souls?), but given that the team is lacking anybody versed in the more mystical aspects of the DC universe and Enchantress just ultimately is not a very important character, I don’t see her surviving this film.

Next: ....El Diablo

El Diablo

Odds of survival: Very Low

El Diablo seems like the kind of villain you only use if you intend to kill them. I mean, he was a member of the Suicide Squad in the New 52 continuity, but seriously, who has this D-lister ever even been a serious threat to? I mean, I guess if they ever make a Martian Manhunter movie, a dude who can breathe fire would be a good villain to use, but I just don’t see that happening. The only way I could see El Diablo surviving is if he’s the plucky comic relief, but that seems more Captain Boomerang’s role if it’s anybody’s. Of course, he may survive just because it’s unexpected that someone like him would survive. But unless Jay Hernandez turns in a particularly memorable performance, I don’t see a whole lot of reason in keeping El Diablo alive beyond this one film…

Next: ....Amanda Waller

Amanda Waller

Odds of survival: High

So much of Amanda Waller’s survival depends on what Warner Bros. sees her as. The simplest thing is to have her as the true villain of The Suicide Squad and have the Squad kill her at the end of the movie. But there’s so much wasted potential there. I mean, she could easily be the Nick Fury of The DC universe, just popping up in almost everything in some capacity, mostly during her dirty work behind the scenes. Also, without Amanda Waller there really is no Suicide Squad, so if they see any franchise potential in this killing her off would be a poor idea as well. If Waller is the true villain of the movie, it might be hard to explain her keeping her job assuming she stays alive. But then again, since she’s mostly dealing with criminals on super secret black ops, maybe she’ll just be able to keep it quiet.

Next: ....Slipknot

Slipknot

Odds Of survival: Lowest of the low

I don’t think there is anyone in the Suicide Squad movie more likely to kick the bucket than Slipknot. Because he’s such a ridiculous character. I mean, his whole deal is he made special ropes and an awesome ability at tying knots to kill people. Sure, he’s a “highly trained” assassin as well, but the DC universe is practically drowning in those, with Slipknot way at the bottom. He is the textbook example of a character brought in to show the stakes are real by killing him. I think this happens one of two ways. Though not confirmed, it’s likely that Amanda Waller puts some sort of lethal device in the members of the Suicide Squad to ensure their cooperation, often something explosive. Slipknot could easily be the one who decides to bail if things get rough, and then he explodes. The other way is that Enchantress easily disposes of him to show she’s powerful and a real threat whenever she shows up in the film. Or hell maybe Deadshot just shoots him. However you slice it, I think Slipknot is a virtual lock to die in Suicide Squad.

Next: ....Killer Croc

Killer Croc

Odds of survival: Medium

While I am a big fan of Killer Croc, and he is one Batman’s classic villains, I think his odds of surviving the Suicide Squad movie are actually just a tad lower than say Captain Boomerang. Why, you ask? Well Croc is a Batman mainstay, but he’s just not a strong enough character to be the primary villain in a Batman solo movie (of course, he could always be the muscle for someone else) so that sort of limits his future potential. Also, he’s just well known enough to be a villain you can kill off in a movie like this to show the stakes are real and it’s a more grounded universe. And odds are he’d actually die in an at least somewhat heroic fashion. Maybe he bonds with one or more of his teammates and goes down protecting them. Like I said, I am a big fan of Croc, and I hope he survives his first film appearance in Suicide Squad, but he’s also just at that important enough level where killing him would be a big deal without having much in the way of repercussions for future movies or the extended universe in general.

Next: ....Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn

Odds of survival: Guaranteed

The one character who I am absolutely, positively 100% sure will not die in Suicide Squad is Harley Quinn. Just not going to happen. She’s the most popular female comic book character period right now. She’s a mainstay of the Suicide Squad, and of course she just has way too much future potential. I mean, whether it be as Joker’s damaged girlfriend, Poison Ivy’s twisted soulmate, or just breaking out on her own. Suicide Squad is Harley Quinn’s first big screen appearance and I have a feeling this movie is going to be a showcase for Harley Quinn, and set her up for a potentially big future. Maybe even a solo film if this movie does well. Harley Quinn is my one lock of 100% guaranteed survival for this movie.

Next: ....Joker

Joker

Odds of survival: 99%

It’s very unclear exactly what level of involvement Joker has in Suicide Squad. He’s definitely not part of the Squad, which has led some to believe he must be the villain of the piece. Because he’s The Joker. Even the strongest heroes on Earth are afraid of the Joker, because he’s nuts, but also crazy smart in ways you never think about. But odds are he’s not the villain, and just really in an extended cameo role. And you don’t kill the Joker, especially not in a non-Batman film, right? But here’s my reasoning why there’s a TEENY TINY sliver of a chance Joker might die in Suicide Squad:

Deadshot

Odds of survival: High

Though ultimately I ranked his odds of survival high, I think Deadshot is the biggest question mark in Suicide Squad in terms of surviving. He’s a very important DC universe character who is not only a Suicide Squad mainstay, but he’s also the only one where who is playing him is a huge factor. Will Smith is one of the biggest box office stars in the world (although his last hit was probably I Am Legend). You don’t generally hire this big a name for a role in a film with the intention of killing him. Deadshot is probably also the only one of the Suicide Squad who might be considered more of anti-hero than a full on villain, as we’ve seen in some leaked photos that his connection with his daughter is an important part of his character, giving him a more sympathetic edge than pretty much any other character in the film.

But the big star factor may also work against him. After all, what better way to shake things up than killing off the big star everyone thought would be safe? To be sure, it wouldn’t be like say Steven Segal in Executive Decision, where he dies at almost the start of the film, but he could easily sacrifice himself saving the day at the end of the movie. I think that has low odds of happening and we probably see Deadshot in at least one future DC film, but it’s an outside possibility.

More from Bam Smack Pow

And there are your odds of every known character in Suicide Squad actually surviving the film. One thing is for sure, with everyone claiming that not only is DC a “more grounded” universe with real consequences and Suicide Squad supposedly being a mature film about bad guys that are forced to go on suicidal missions with almost no chance of survival, the only disappointing outcome would be if everyone survives….

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