The ‘Squad’ sets up villainous spectacle

The ensemble of “Suicide Squad” contains an eclectic cast, with heavy use of costume and effects.
SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

Warner Brothers just released a new “Suicide Squad” trailer on Monday leaving fans wanting more. 

The Suicide Squad is a popular comic sect, appealing to fans that prefer crazy antics of anti-heroes and super villains, rather than traditional hero archetype. 

 

History

 

The Squad first appeared in the comic series “The Brave and the Bold,” issue 25 in 1959, and again in the “Legends” miniseries, issue 3.

Their first solo series was released in 1987 and included characters such as Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Count Vertigo, Deadshot, Doctor Light, Enchantress and Poison Ivy.

The 2014 reboot, known as “The New 52,” new members were introduced including Manta, the Joker’s daughter and Reverse Flash.

However, Warner Brothers’ adaptation does not seem to follow previous teams, and has insisted on releasing its own version of the iconic comic book series, including the aforementioned Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), along with Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Boomerang (Jai Courtney).

The brain behind the operation is Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), a government agent who proposes the initial idea of the Squad and acts as its commanding officer. Also known as Task Force X, the Suicide Squad is a secret program designed to grant clemency to super villains, provided they perform “suicide runs,” hence the name.

The genius of the Suicide Squad is stated in the trailer: deniability. Waller reasons that if anything were to go wrong, they could simply blame it on the villains.

 

Meet the Squad

 

The Suicide Squad has always consisted of some of the most notorious villains of the DC Universe. This movie incarnation is no exception, with the big villain’s being played by even bigger stars.

Floyd Lawton, also known as Deadshot, is an expert marksman and deadly assassin. He is known as the DC Universe’s best marksman, rumored to have missed his mark only once. 

Harleen Quinzel is Harley Quinn, a former psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum and known to be the accomplice of Batman’s greatest nemesis: the Joker, who is also set to be in the film. 

George “Digger” Harkness, also known as Boomerang, will appear in the film. Originally “Captain” Boomerang and an enemy of The Flash, he uses boomerangs as his weapon of choice to wreak havoc.

Waylon Jones is Killer Croc, another of Batman’s enemies, who was a former sideshow wrestler due to a genetic condition that gave him a crocodilian appearance and a proclivity for cannibalism. Killer Croc has been described by Akinnuoye-Agbaje as “a cannibal with rage issues,” according to Empire.

Chato Santana, also known as El Diablo, is a former LA gang member with the ability to generate and control fire. His character is different from the rest of the squad, as he has been shown as the only member of the squad reluctant to fight.

However, the villains aren’t the only ones debuting in this movie. Aside from Waller, Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is another government agent and the leader of the squad, in charge of keeping the villains in line.

Tatsu Yamashiro, Katana, played by Karen Fukuhara, acts as a bodyguard to Flag and is not an imprisoned member. She’s a cursed sword-wielding martial artist, the name of whose sword (Soultaker) correctly implies its ability to steal her victim’s souls.

Enchantress, played by Cara Delevingne, is a powerful dark sorceress who is unleashed in the movie by June Moone, whom she then possesses. Not an established member of the squad, it is still unclear what role she will play— friend or foe, adversary or ally. 

“She’s been trapped for so long,” Delevingne said to Empire. “And now she’s finally been let out.”

Slipknot (Adam Beach), whose real name is Christopher Weiss, is another lethal assassin and an expert with ropes. Although his situation in the film is unclear, it appears that he is not one of the major members of the team.

Jared Leto will be playing the iconic Joker role. Media attention has surrounded his method acting in order to portray the character, which has involved sending bizarre gifts — for example: a box of bullets and a dead pig — and playing pranks on fellow cast members. In the trailer he seems to be portrayed as the villain, but whether he is the protagonist is yet to be seen.

Ben Affleck is also set to reprise his role as Batman for a cameo and can be seen in the trailer.

“Suicide Squad” is slated to premiere on August 5 with a sequel already set to start filming in 2017.