“The worst of the worst.”
Suicide Squad has been one of the most talked about movies of the last few months and there’s still a year to go before it hits screens. Guest JOE contributor Keeley Ryan has cast her eye on what’s to be expected from one of the biggest upcoming films of 2016.
Note, there’s some very mild spoilers on offer for those who want to stay in a Suicide Squad free world. Why so serious?
The plot and background
Speculation has been building with each casting announcement, behind the scenes photo and finalised trailer because fans want to know what’s going to happen in the dark comic-based film. Some people, eh? They just want to watch the world burn.
The film will follow a group of supervillains that are coerced into conducting black-ops, high-stakes missions to help the US government in exchange for time off their sentences.
Despite the villainous team being a long-standing fixture in the comics, this is their first chance to shine in the DC Cinematic Universe and here’s the squad posing for their nice team photo.
What is the Suicide Squad?
The team, officially named Task Force X, is a secret group of villains that have been captured by the United States government.
If they succeed in their mission? They’re one day closer to being released. If they fail? The government can just write them off.
The team operates out of Belle Reve prison, where they are managed by the hard-nosed Amanda Waller, played by Viola Davis.
She keeps the villainous crew on a tight leash by using a series of explosive devices that are planted into each member of the squad – if one person causes any trouble, she can detonate the explosion remotely.
The members of the Suicide Squad changes frequently throughout the comics, featuring a rotating cast of some of the more obscure villains in the DC Universe but Warner Bros have narrowed down their motley crew of anti-heroes to nine. Here they are.
The Joker
Batman’s arch-nemesis has never been a member of the Suicide Squad. In fact, he’s one of the villains that the US government enlist the team to deal with.
However, that hasn’t stopped speculation from building over what Jared Leto’s role in the film will be.
One of the biggest rumors is that the Joker, for the most part, will be locked up in Belle Reve prison as a way to keep his girlfriend, Harley Quinn, in check after she teams up with the Squad.
The Comic-Con trailer for film supports this theory, with the narration at the beginning seemingly suggesting that Amanda Waller has ‘The Clown Prince of Crime’ locked up in a hole and has thrown away the key.
As for the footage of the character reeking havoc?
The same theory suggests that during a major jailbreak towards the end of the film, the killer clown gets unleashed into the world again.
Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quinn)
Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum until she fell in love with one of her subjects: the Joker.
Devoted to her newfound love for the killer ‘Mr. J’, she reinvents herself as Harley Quinn.
The Joker has a sizeable impact on her psyche, she becomes erratic and dangerous – leading to some potentially major cinematic fireworks between the two.
Though the character has been a comicbook staple over the last few years, she actually originated from the beloved Batman: The Animated Series in 1992.
Deadshot
Long-time Batman foe Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, is heading for the big screen – cybernetic eye-piece and all.
Lawton is a notorious sharpshooter and assassin-for-hire that claims to never miss.
He first appeared in Gotham City as a vigilante crime fighter, aiming to replace Bruce Wayne as the city’s defender – before he was revealed to be behind a murderous, evil plot to take over.
Deadshot #SuicideSquad pic.twitter.com/HEF0jFeMsO
— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) May 4, 2015
Often pushed back to a second-string Batman foe, the villain became popular again when he appeared in Suicide Squad, as a charming yet immoral man with a death wish – he wants to leave the world in a memorable way.
Deadshot tends to put himself in dangerous situations which of course, makes him the perfect candidate for the team.
Will Smith will play Deadshot, marking one of the few times the actor has played the villain role.
Rick Flag Jr
Rick Flag Jr is the field leader of the Suicide Squad – and one of the few non-criminal members of the team. A soldier and government agent, he is usually shown as being willing to do whatever it takes to help his country – even working alongside criminals and villains that he detests.
Flag is often at odds with sharpshooting assassin Deadshot and after Tom Hardy stepped down from the role, Joel Kinnaman landed the chance to play the former Special Forces operative in the character’s first big-screen adaptation.
Captain Boomerang
Growing up in Australia, George ‘Digger’ Harkness became a skillful boomerang thrower and he used his skills with the weapon to become a performer, before eventually turning to a life of crime.
Even though he’s a long-time foe of the Flash, Boomerang is a regular member of the Suicide Squad.
In the comics, the half-Aussie villain has a tendency to sit back when the mayhem began – happy to take a step back when things got ugly, which drew the fury of his teammates.
The movie may shift focus slightly, choosing to showcase the character’s expertise with the projectile weapons or having Boomerang provide some of the more light-hearted comedy moments. The villain will be played by Australian actor Jai Courtney.
Amanda Waller
As mentioned earlier, Amanda Waller, aka the Wall, is the woman in charge of the Suicide Squad.
The government agent is merciless and often murderous – though she is committed to her country and does what she believes to be “the greater good”, whether it be eliminating supervillains or superheros that she believes to be a threat.
She sees the members of the Suicide Squad as expendable – excluding former Special Forces member Flag.
The anti-hero won’t hesitate to neutralise any of the members, epsecially if she believes that they’re standing in the way of a successful mission.
Suicide Squad will be Waller’s second big-screen adaptation after she appeared in Green Lantern.
Enchantress
One of the founding members of Suicide Squad, there isn’t much known about Enchantress.
In the comic books, June Moore was a normal teenager. She was at a costume party at the Terror Castle when she discovered a demon waiting for her in a secret passage.
The demon tells her that she’ll become a mystical hero – and any time she says the word “Enchantress”, she transforms into a costumed hero with magic abilities.
Her new powers eventually cause her to snap, turning her into a criminal.
Looking to keep her villainous powers in check, June joins Suicide Squad – making her one of the only characters to willingly join the team.
It’s unclear how her origin story will be tackled in Suicide Squad, though footage in the trailer suggests that her meeting with the demon will happen underwater instead of at a costume party. Model-turned-actress Cara Delevigne will play Enchantress.
Killer Croc
The monstrous Batman foe Waylon Jones is another one of the Dark Knight’s villains that’s heading to the silver screen.
Jones, who goes by the alias Killer Croc, has genetic atavism – a condition that manifests in reptilian scales covering his body and serving as a protective layer that’s akin to armour.
He has a variety of special abilities, such as regeneration, superhuman strength, endurance, speed and heightened senses. He also has reptilian-like teeth and claws.
Even though Killer Croc isn’t typically a Suicide Squad character, he fits in with the rest of the team fairly well.
Not much is currently known about the character’s role in the film, though many of his characteristics from the comic books have been shown in the trailer.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, in very heavy makeup, will tackle the heavy role for the character’s film debut.
Katana
The Squad isn’t only made up of villains – sometimes heroes, such as Katana, join in the group’s adventures.
An occasional ally of the Dark Knight, she’s a master of hand-to-hand combat and is deadly with her soul-stealing sword.
In the comics, Katana is Tatsu Yamashiro – a Japanese woman that begins samurai training after her husband and children are killed by the Yakuza.
Armed with Soultaker, she begins her career as a vigilante in the US.
Given that the character is traditionally a superhero – she’s even a member of the Justice League – it’s unclear why she is accompanying the Suicide Squad.
Karen Fukuhara, in her first on-screen appearance, will be playing the heroic master martial artist.
Slipknot
Slipknot, otherwise known as Christopher Weiss, is an assassin that specialies in all things that are rope related.
In the comics, he was introduced as a chemical company employee and his job was to help develop stronger ropes, he would ultimately use his own creations during his time as an assassin.
His impressive skills caught the eye of Amanda Waller, who convinced him to join the Suicide Squad.
Another character that will appear for the first time in a live-action film, Adam Beach will be playing the rope-wielding assassin.
Though Beach doesn’t have a lot of big action movies on his resume, he definitely looks convincing from Slipknot’s brief spotlight moment in the trailer.
El Diablo
Though there are three El Diablos in the comics, the film is believed to be adapting the third and most recent: Chato Santana.
The gangster, who has pyrokenetic powers, once burned down a building to collect a debt owed by local gang members and killed everyone inside.
Guilt-ridden after he realised innocent women and kids were killed in the blaze, he turned himself over to the police – which is how he wound up at Belle Reve prison and eventually joined the Suicide Squad.
He took on the mantle of El Diablo after he encountered the original man to take on the name, Lazarus Lane.
Jay Hernandez will bring the character to life for the first time.
So there you have it guys, who else is itching to see this film?
Clip via – Warner Bros. Pictures
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