Before the DC gods deemed us worthy to feast our eyes on a cinematic approach to the world of heroes and villains, these characters have long been brought to life through comic books. For those who are not familiar with Suicide Squad’s “printed” beginnings, here’s a peek at the characters from the 2016 film in illustration form:
Harley Quinn
Known as Dr. Harleen F. Quinzel
Left: Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in the 2016 film; Right: Harley Quinn (2014) cover.
Left: Cover of Harley Quinn #1 (Dec. 2000); Right: Cover of Suicide Squad #1 (Nov. 2011)
Deadshot
Real name: Floyd Lawton
(L to R): Will Smith as Deadshot in ‘Suicide Squad’ movie (2016), Deadshot comic book cover (November 1988) and Deadshot in the Suicide Squad Most Wanted cover (June 2016).
Enchantress
Also known as June Moone
(L to R): Cara Delevingne as Enchantress in ‘Suicide Squad’ movie (2016), the Enchantress in the cover of Suicide Squad comics (June 1987), and Shadowpact (July 2006).
Killer Croc
Born Wylon Jones
Left: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc in ‘Suicide Squad’ movie (2016); Right: Killer Croc in the cover of Batman: Arkham (June 2016)
Captain Boomerang
Real name: George “Digger” Harkness
(L to R): Jai Courtney as Boomerang in ‘Suicide Squad’ movie (2016), Captain Boomerang in Suicide Squad cover (June 1987), and in The Flash (January 2011).
El Diablo
Real name: Chato Santana
(L to R): Jay Hernandez as Diablo in ‘Suicide Squad’ movie (2016), El Diablo cover (November 2008), and El Diablo in
Suicide Squad (2011).
Katana
Born as Tatsu Yamashiro
(L to R): Karen Fukuhara as Katana in ‘Suicide Squad’ movie (2016), Katana in comic book covers (April 2013), Suicide Squad Most Wanted (June 2016).
Joker
Left: Jared Leto as Joker in the ‘Suicide Squad’ movie (2016); Right: The Joker comic book cover (July 1975).
Col. Rick Flagg
(L to R): Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg in ‘Suicide Squad’ film (2016), Rick Flagg from Suicide Squad (June 1987), and Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag (December 2017).
Amanda Waller
The mastermind and “mother” of Task Force X.
(L to R) Viola Davis as Amanda Waller in ‘Suicide Squad’ film (2016), Amanda Waller from Suicide Squad (2011), and Suicide Squad (1987).
Fun Fact: In 1986, Deadshot, the Enchantress, and Captain Boomerang worked together with three other villains for the 1986 Suicide Squad series.
(Suicide Squad, 1986)
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Special appearances from the film in comic form:
Batman
Left: Ben Affleck as Batman; Right: Suicide Squad (2011)
The Flash
Left: Ezra Miller as The Flash; Right: The Flash (1987)
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Do note that the characters also appear across different titles in the DC universe. Suicide Squad is composed of various groups of villains who carried out different missions all throughout the years under the supervision of Amanda Waller. As far as I know, there are groups from 1987, 2001, 2011, and 2016.
Warner Bros. and DC’s Suicide Squad will be invading cinemas starting August 4, 2016. Don’t you dare miss it!
P. S. If you like reading stories about the anti-heroes, I suggest you also check out Birds of Prey which is composed of female baddies.