With the Suicide Squad trailer surpassing Batman v Superman’s in YouTube views, there was little doubt that this highly anticipated film would be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, even though many critics and fans don’t seem to be excited by or happy with what they’ve seen. However, there’s a lot of buzz about the movie’s unusual story, which focuses on (not to say glorifies) a bunch of antiheroes, lunatics, and supervillains. So, if you happen to be a casual moviegoer who never had heard of this comic, there’s no doubt you will have a lot of ground to cover in case you want to understand what is going on in the film.
With the exception of the Joker, there’s a strong chance that most ordinary movie fans won’t have a clue who most, if not all, of the characters in the notorious Suicide Squad are. So, here’s where we enter your life and attempt to enlighten you about one of the lesser-known but also longest lived of DC Comics’ groups with the following 25 Intriguing Things You Should Know About The Suicide Squad.
25
Many people wrongly consider the Suicide Squad a relatively new addition to the world of comics, but in reality it’s a bit old. Originally, we met the first version of the team back in 1959, when they appeared in The Brave and the Bold Vol. 1, #25.
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If you’ve ever wondered why DC Comics felt the need to create a squad of supervillains to work for the US government as special agent operatives, it’s because the good guys (some of your favorite superheroes) didn’t want to do their job.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: YouTube 23
That’s why when the squad was first introduced, it was a team of almost crazy adrenaline “junkies” who were sent out against extremely dangerous threats that seemingly guaranteed their deaths. Usually, they would find themselves fighting against dinosaurs, giants, and other monstrous creatures.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: BagoGames via Flickr22
The original Suicide Squad was Rick Flag Jr., Karin Grace (Flag’s girlfriend), Dr. Hugh Evans, and Jess Bright. All four decided to join the squad because they had managed to survive experiences where everyone around them had died.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: Wikipedia 21
The second version of the Suicide Squad was created by John Ostrander and debuted in Legends #3 (1987).
Source: dccomics.com, Image: Wikipedia 20
At the height of the Suicide Squad comics during the late 1980's, DC had meetings with writers and producers to discuss the possibility of a Suicide Squad TV series. According to John Ostrander, the ideas were pretty bad, and nothing ultimately came of it.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: Wikipedia 19
The comic has recently been relaunched (one of the many times during the past few decades) by writer Sean Ryan and artist Jeremy Roberts. The current lineup for the team includes Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Manta, Duella Dent (Joker’s daughter), and Harley Quinn.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: commons.wikimedia.org18
This is the third live-action version of the Suicide Squad but the first on the big screen. The team had previously appeared on Smallville and Arrow.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: commons.wikimedia.org 17
However, this is the first comic-based film to feature a team of supervillains as the main characters. At the same time, this is the third installment in the DC Extended Universe, following Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
Source: dccomics.com, Image: Wikipedia 16
Harley Quinn might have been brought in as the Joker’s girlfriend in Batman: The Animated Series, but she gradually became so much more than that. As Dr. Harleen Quinzel, she was the Joker’s therapist at Arkham Asylum who got lured into a twisted love affair with the villain. Her ruthless efficiency in the field has made her into a sort of crazy team leader alongside Deadshot and one of the main figures in both the comics and the film.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: commons.wikimedia.org15
While Deadshot and Harley Quinn have pretty much become the protagonists of the current Suicide Squad, they’ve traditionally been led by Rick Flag, who’s the big boss in the eyes of most fans of the comic series.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: Wikipedia 14
The Flash can briefly be seen in the flashback to Captain Boomerang’s initial arrest. In the comics, Captain Boomerang originated as a regular villain of the Flash’s and was part of his Rogues Gallery.
Source: imdb.com, Image: YouTube 13
The big news in this film is that Gotham City is revealed to be located in New Jersey according to Waller’s files on Deadshot and Harley.
Source: imdb.com, Image: Wikipedia 12
Part of this film is set in Midway City. Hard-core comic fans probably already know that in the DC Comics, this was the home of the superhero couple Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
Source: imdb.com, Image: commons.wikimedia.org11
Jared Leto took inspiration from the Batman comic Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, which portrays the Joker as a transcendent, unsettling, and seductive person. He also cites gospel music, shamans, and Mexican cartels as an influence on the character.
Source: imdb.com, Image: YouTube 10
The baseball bat used by Harley Quinn was given to Kevin Smith (Silent Bob from Clerks) as a “thank- you” for hosting Dawn of the Justice League.
Source: imdb.com, Image: Wikipedia9
In an interview with Empire magazine, Zack Snyder stated that each member of the Suicide Squad has a vendetta against Batman, as he is the one responsible for them all being behind bars at the start of the film.
Source: Empire Magazine, Image: Wikipedia8
To prepare for his role as Deadshot, Will Smith shaved his head and spent time training with Navy SEALS and Army Rangers, practicing firing a Glock 9mm handgun and an AR-15 rifle.
Source: imdb.com, Image: YouTube 7
Despite Jared Leto being one of the main figures in the promo material for the Suicide Squad marketing campaign, the Joker was never part of the team in the comics.
Source: YouTube, Image: Wikipedia6
To try and find the perfect Joker laugh, Jared Leto publicly tried different laughs in New York City and Toronto to see which ones made people the most uncomfortable.
Source: imdb.com, Image: Wikipedia5
Tom Hardy was originally cast as Rick Flag but dropped out due to his role in The Revenant. At one point in Suicide Squad history, Bane was a member of the team, whom Hardy portrayed epically in The Dark Knight Rises.
Source: imdb.com, Image: Wikipedia4
In case you’re not a DC Comics fan and are wondering why the squad is called a suicide one, it’s because the squad is literally a “suicidal” team. Because the team is comprised of convicts and criminals, director Amanda Waller put a fail-safe in place to control them. Each member is implanted with a microbomb that can be remotely detonated by her if she feels like a member has gone mad or against her plans.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: Wikipedia3
During the late 1980's, the story lines in the Suicide Squad series followed significant political events and the Cold War quite closely, to the point where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev made “guest-star” appearances in the comics.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: Wikipedia2
Despite some fans falsely connecting Suicide Squad’s character by the name of Slipknot with the popular metal band of the same name, there’s no connection between them. It was drummer Joey Jordison who suggested renaming the band Slipknot from Meld after the song that eventually appeared on their demo, Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat!
Source: rollingstone.com, Image: YouTube 1
Even though most fans know them as Suicide Squad through the DC Comics and the current film, the team has an alternative name: Task Force X. This name, however, was only used in the animated series Justice League Unlimited because the producers believed the word “suicide” would be too much for the children who would watch it.
Source: dccomics.com, Image: YouTube Lists Going Viral Right Now
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