SPOILERS: 10 Frustrating Questions You'll Be Left Asking After Watching SUICIDE SQUAD
It's no secret that Suicide Squad is...well, a bit of a mess! As a result, despite its many good points, the movie definitely leaves a lot of unanswered questions which have been driving us mad...
If you've read my review of Suicide Squad, you'll know I liked the movie. Hell, after a repeat viewing, I'd be tempted to add half a star to that verdict. However, there's no denying that the movie is a tad messy, and regardless of whether Warner Bros. or David Ayer are to blame for that, we're left with a lot of unanswered questions as a result. Then again, even the best movies leave us with a list of those!
In the case of Suicide Squad though, many of these unanswered questions are particularly frustrating, especially as they could be considered pretty major plot holes which hurt the movie in some ways.
So, what you'll find here are what I believe to be the ten biggest queries we've been left with now that Suicide Squad is in theaters. Along with a look at the ways the movie leaves us with these, I've also attempted to figure out some answers, though many can probably only be addressed by whoever edited the movie and cut out so many key scenes in order to give it the lighter tone WB wanted.
10. Is Batman's Secret Identity Even A Secret?
After seeing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, it appears as if the Dark Knight's secret identity may very well be the worst kept secret in the DC Films Universe. Neither Lex Luthor nor Amanda Waller appeared to have much trouble figuring out how Bruce Wayne spends his nights, and while it's a little more understandable when it comes to the latter, it's hard to escape the feeling that too many people now know who The Batman is.
Bruce doesn't seem to mind casually revealing his identity either as we've already seen him in Justice League meeting both Aquaman and The Flash out of costume. Still, there's no denying that this mid-credits stinger was pretty cool, especially as it was lifted almost verbatim out of the comic books. Let's just try to keep Batman's identity a little more secretive moving forward though, eh?
9. Where Did Captain Boomerang Go?
Thanks to reshoots and some overzealous edits (ordered by Warner Bros. to make the movie more "fun"), Suicide Squad is something of a mess. As a result, several scenes have vanished, and one of them has to be the moment Captain Boomerang decides to return to the team after doing a runner once Rick Flag deactivated the device controlling the bombs in the team's necks.
Grabbing his beers, Boomerang is out of the door within a split second, but mysteriously returns in time for a cool slow motion walk as the team heads into battle against Enchantress and her CGI brother. Rumour has it that an earlier cut of Suicide Squad explained why the villain decided to return, but that was obviously left on the cutting room floor, so we now have no clue where he went or what made him change his mind about rejoining Task Force X.
8. What Happened To The Joker After That Helicopter Crash?
The Joker isn't quick enough to escape the helicopter which Amanda Waller orders A.R.G.U.S. to shoot down, and so we end up seeing it crash in a ball of fire. While it's easy enough to assume that the Clown Prince of Crime was lucky enough to bail out just before it burst into flame, what happened next to him? How did he leave Midway City and why wouldn't he go looking for Harley knowing that she was out there somewhere?
Well, look at the trailers, and you'll know that he did just that in an earlier version of Suicide Squad. After their battle with Enchantress, The Joker confronted Task Force X in the train station before making his escape by dropping a couple of grenades, but with that no longer the case, we have no idea what happened after the crash. Even Jared Leto was pretty sarcastic about that in a recent interview.
7. Why Would Batman Take Down Deadshot In Front Of His Daughter?
Look, we know that Batman is a bit of a douche, but was it really necessary to take down Floyd Lawton in front of his nine year old daughter? The Caped Crusader even says he doesn't want to fight the villain in front of her, so why not track him and wait until he's alone before doing so? Not only was she put in danger, but the vigilante probably traumatised the poor kid!
Now, an argument can obviously be made that this was Batman's one shot to take the world's most wanted assassin down, but it still feels like this scene could have been handled better. Would a proper fight scene between the Dark Knight and Deadshot not have been a million times better? For that matter, why was Floyd taking his daughter down a deserted alleyway anyway? Who knows, but here's hoping we get a rematch between these two in the near future.
6. What Exactly Do The Chemicals In A.C.E. Do?
Harleen Quinzel appears to be completely batsh*t before diving into them, and while she does seem at least a little more crazy afterwards, why did The Joker bother using electroshock therapy if he knew the chemicals would transform her? For that matter, wouldn't taking a second dip just make him more insane and deformed? Rumours deleted scenes apparently revealed that the electroshock therapy was supposed to be revenge, while he originally intended to let her drown, so we can blame the reshoots on this one.
5. Why Didn't The Joker Just Break Harley Out To Begin With?
The timeline of Suicide Squad can be a little hard to follow, but I think it's fair to say that in the time it took The Joker to formulate a plan to free Harley Quinn from Task Force X, he could have just broken her out from Belle Reve in the first place. After all, it's not like there was less security guarding her at the end, and bear in mind that when the Clown Prince of Crime had that little meeting with Griggs, the team had not yet been dispatched on their first mission.
Ultimately, reshoots can be blamed on this as it's thought that The Joker and Harley's arc was originally going to end with her rejecting him in order to stay behind and help her new friends. The decision to make the relationship between these two less abusive and give them a happy ending of sorts was obviously made later on, hence why the breakout ends up feeling slightly tacked on.
4. What Did Enchantress Want Anyway?
To say that Enchantress' plan is a bit rubbish would be an understatement. She talks about ruling humanity, and seems to believe that doing so will be as simple as building a fairly undefinied "machine" that sends light into the sky and will destroy the world's armies. Throw in her horrible CGI brother and vague talk of destroying humanity as well, and it's fair to say that Enchantress doesn't really know what the hell she's up to.
That makes two of us then, and her ultimate goal in Suicide Squad is frustratingly vague. Why she would want to bring Task Force X to her side is also more than a little confusing; after all, what good will the likes of Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang be when it comes to ruling the Earth? Why not just wipe them out and be done with it? Honestly, I'll happily see these go unanswered if it means no more Enchantress.
3. Why Did Katana Go Into The Bar With Task Force X?
From the moment Katana is introduced, she appears to have nothing but disdain for the members of Task Force X. She's there to protect Rick Flag, and while she doesn't have a bomb in her neck, we never learn whether Amanda Waller is somehow making her take on this bodyguard role or if she's just an ally of the soldier willing to watch his back. Had Suicide Squad shed some light on this, her decision in the final act to abandon Flag and join the rest of Task Force X in that bar might have made more sense.
Why they would even welcome her is hard to say considering the fact that she had been willing to kill any one of them just moments earlier, and while her being angry that Flag had been keeping secrets could play a role in her decision, it's hard to see why she would even care considering the fact she had no qualms about murdering these guys at his request.
2. Why Didn't Harley Just Leave?
When The Joker rescues Harley Quinn, he deactivates the bomb in her neck. So, why at the end of the movie does she go back with the rest of Task Force X to Belle Reve? Yes, Amanda Waller threatens her, but surely that shouldn't matter if the Clown Prince of Crime had rendered the device in her neck useless; after all, if it could just be turned back on,what good would turning it off for a matter of minutes really do anyway?
One possible explanation is that Waller had a way of reactivating, but considering the fact that she believed Harley was dead right up until the moment she was rescued by Task Force X, when would she have had time to reactivate it anyway? If it was as simple as pushing a button on her phone, she could have done so when the helicopter was flying away! As it stands then, this definitely feels like another plot hole in Suicide Squad.
1. Will The Justice League Face Task Force X?
Let's be honest, a fight between the two teams wouldn't go too well for Task Force X, but Batman and company being forced to ask for their help to take down Darkseid would be very cool and ensures that the Justice League sequel is one of the most epic superhero movies ever released.
Do you have any unanswered questions or even solutions to some of these? As always, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.