Happy Cinco de Mayo, interweb-slingers! We're about 15 months away from Warner Brothers third DC Cinematic Universe's (DCCU) release; The Suicide Squad!
This is a an ambitious project for Warner Bros. I say that because so far we have only seen Man of Steel, and we've yet to see the follow up Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (BvS) which is due out March 25, 2016. It's also ambitious because the movie is about a motley crew of villains that are forced to team up with each other (more on this shortly) AND the cast consists of some very big names in Hollywood! Will Smith! Jared Leto! Margot Robbie! These are names people know.
Here are the names most people don't know. Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Rick Flagg Jr., Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn, Katanna, Enchantress, and Killer Croc. These are some of the members of the Suicide Squad. Let's take a deeper look at who the Suicide Squad is.
The premise of the Suicide Squad is an interesting one. The US Government needs a group of people (some super powered, some not) to go on Black Ops missions in which death is nearly guaranteed. How do you get someone to volunteer for that? Well, you don't, you force someone to. Amanda Waller is a former Congressional Aide that discovers an old government program that used prisoners as agents in their secret Black Ops missions. She takes elements of the old program and brings her newish idea to the White House. From there Waller is put in charge of a brand new incarnation of the Suicide Squad.
Waller's ideas still include using criminals, but how do you make bad guys do what you want them to do? The whole idea of super villains and bad guys in general is that they act out of pure selfishness; right? Well these villains are already captured, so the first step is to entice them into signing up. This is done with an offer of release from imprisonment upon completion of a mission or missions. Once the bad guy signs up we find out why the team is called the Suicide Squad. It's not just a reference to the type of missions they'll be sent on, but also a wink at how these villains are controlled. What's to stop them once they're outside prison? How about a mini-bomb surgically implanted in their head or spine that will explode if they do not comply? I'd say that's one heck of a motivator.
The Squad first debuted in 1959, but didn't get their own solo series until 1987. Since then the team has had many different members. Today we're only going to look at the members that will appear in next year's movie. Here's a character breakdown:
Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis): as stated before, she is a former congressional aide who reforms the team with explodable super villains. She's a widow from the projects of Chicago. She escaped with her remaining family after one of her daughters, one of her sons, and her husband were murdered. Before she became an aide, she received her doctorate in Political Science.
Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie): Besides The Joker, Harley Quinn is the most recognizable name on the team. Originally created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm in 1992's Batman: The Animated Series; Harley has grown to be one of the most popular characters in DC comics. Harley is most famous for her romantic interest in The Joker. Yeah, that's right, this chick has got a crush on one of the most psychopathic villains ever created. That's a red flag right there. Her origins include time spent as a Psycho-Analyst at Arkham Asylum around one of the times the Joker was imprisoned there. During some of their sessions, Harleen Quinzel (her real name) began to sympathize and eventually grew to love the Joker then became obsessed him. Since then her popularity amongst comic fans have led to a solo series of her own and a membership with the Suicide Squad.
While he's fresh in your brains...The Joker (Jared Leto) is actually not a member of the Suicide Squad. But because of his connection to Harley Quinn and the DC universe, he will play a role in the film. Details are still sketchy on whether The Joker will fight alongside the other members or just appear in a few scenes. So don't get too excited that he's in the movie. He might not get much screen time.
Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman): is a non-powered human with strong loyalty to Amanda Waller and his country. In the comics there are 3 different Rick Flags; Rick Flag Sr., Rick Flag Jr., and Rick Flag III. They're all related, with Rick Flag III being just a child. It is most likely that Rick Flag Jr. will be the one that Joel Kinnaman's performance is based on. Flag also functions as the field leader for the Squad.
Deadshot (Will Smith): Floyd Lawton (his real name) is also a non-powered human, an anti-hero in the comics fighting as both a bad guy and good guy. He's most often seen as a villain of Batman, and referred to as "The World's Greatest Assassin." Deadshot has a reputation of having never missed a shot until he faced the Batman. He's a master marksman, who has a cybernetic eye which ensures his accuracy and also shows him mission updates and target information. He's a consummate professional, so as long as he's paid, he will kill anyone put in front of him. However, if somehow the payment is cancelled or stopped, he won't go through with his mission. He's an interesting character that's been shown on CW's Arrow TV show.
Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney): aka George "Digger" Harkness is another non-powered human, this time with the ability to throw boomerangs with deadly precision. He's also known for his arsenal of weaponized boomerangs; bladed, electrified, explosive, and incendiary. Captain Boomerang is primarily a villain of The Flash, but has teamed with the Suicide Squad a number of times.
Enchantress (Cara Delevingne): June Moone is a blond haired free-lance artist who transforms into the black haired and costumed Enchantress upon saying the word, "ENCHANTRESS". Clever huh? Her powers are magic based if you couldn't tell by her name already. She's a villain of Supergirl's, which also says she's not really that popular. I also have no idea who Cara Delevingne is...hang on, looking her up.....She was in Anna Karenina or Annanna Kareninininininina as I like to say, and she'll be in a Peter Pan movie called "Pan" this year as....a mermaid. Hmmm...
Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje): Waylon Jones was born with a form of atavism that gives him traits similar to reptiles. He was originally depicted as a human with basic human proportions, but over the years Croc has evolved into a more bestial form. Earliest renderings of Killer Croc show a powerfully built man covered entirely in scales. Recently leaked set photos show a weird looking green skinned dude in a hoodie; he looks pretty big though, and I think pretty damn good! He's part of Batman's famous Rogue Gallery.
These are most of the main characters of the movie. As you can see it's pretty crowded already and there are a buttload of names I haven't mentioned! Right now I am unsure of the level of the other's involvement, but some familiar names include:
Hugo Strange (Ike Barinholtz)
Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)
and the legendary Dark Knight himself Batman (Ben Affleck)
who was recently spotted in Toronto IN COSTUME!
This movie has a lot of potential to be a major hit, especially if Batman v. Superman does well. Suicide Squad is in a similar position that Ant-Man is in this year. A major blockbuster was released a few months prior, and the excitement from the that movie should wash right into the later movie's release.
