Its pretty much a cliche at this point to say that heroes are only as good as their villains. That isnt entirely true, or Iron Man would be considered one of the worst heroes of all time due to his sub-par list of enemies. But what is true is that villains are an interesting and vital part of comic books. Many of them are as complex if not more complex than the heroes they face, and have their own legions of fans. So, naturally, it only makes sense that the creative teams at DC and Marvel would give us some opportunity to cheer for our favorite bad guys. Magneto joined the X-Men. Lex Luthor led a team of villains to fight the Crime Syndicate. And the Suicide Squad exists. The Suicide Squad, officially called Task Force X in the comics, is a group of convicted felons with life sentences. They are recruited by the American Government when bombs are inserted into their spinal cords, allowing those in control to monitor them and kill them whenever necessary. With this failsafe, the villains of DC are coerced into serving their country by going on suicide missions, doing jobs that are too dangerous or too sensitive for the good men and women who work in the military and C.I.A. If they fail, they die, and if they succeed, they get years off of their sentences. And the one holding the leash is Amanda Waller, one of the best characters in DC Comics. Not truly a hero or a villain, Amanda is simply a tough as nails leader with nothing but the best interests of her country guiding her actions. And I love her. The idea of the Suicide Squad was to take advantage of DCs expansive list of villains that werent really being for anything and throw them together to see what they could do with them. When the stars of a comic are Deadshot and Captain Boomerang and the rest are pretty disposable and interchangeable, you know arent dealing with a typical comic book. Suicide Squad was violent, unpredictable and decidedly different from anything else DC was doing. Thematically, it was a challenging title, putting criminals in a situation where they were sympathetic situation and the good guys were holding them at gunpoint. Not exactly pure white hats and black hats, is it? The Suicide Squad was recently confirmed to be Warner Brothers Studios next entry into the DC Cinematic Universe after Batman v. Superman, and casting rumors have been flying left and right. While it doesnt have the same built in audience that Flash, Wonder Woman or even Aquaman would probably have, I get why they are doing a Suicide Squad movie. The profile of the concept has increased exponentially in the last few years, as DC put one of their most popular characters on the title: Harley Quinn, Jokers girlfriend. The beloved Batman villain is pretty much a license to print money, and its made the comic successful and given them grounds to make an animated Suicide Squad movie. They may have called it Batman: Assault on Arkham, but it was definitely more about the Suicide Squad than the Dark Knight. I dont know how I feel about Warner Brothers doing this idea so quickly into their launch of a cinematic universe. Part of the reason the idea works is that theres a bunch of minor characters that nerds will recognize, and this movie wont have that luxury. Which is probably why they are looking to get The Joker involved somehow. But while Im leery of the movie, Im glad for the exposure for the idea. Suicide Squad is a great concept and showcases a side of the DC Universe that many people might be unaware of. Its not just boyscouts in capes; there are shades of gray if youre willing to put some effort into looking for it.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 05:57:56 +0000
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