By now, anyone who had any intention of seeing the new supervillain ensemble film, ‘Suicide Squad’, has finally endured it to the bitter end. Despite mixed reviews and some unfortunate box office drops as of late, there are those that appreciated the movie for what it was and find it to be a healthy addition to the DC Expanded Universe.
With the first (and possibly final) weekend that fans will be flooding the theater to see the first ever cinematic incarnation of Task Force X, there were likely a lot of subtle nods and references that moviegoers overlooked as they were looking at their watches. Here are seven things you might have missed in ‘Suicide Squad’:
SPOILERS AHEAD!
1) Harley Quinn’s Jester Outfit
Probably the most obvious easter egg in the movie, Harley Quinn is shown wearing her trademark red and black jester outfit from ‘Batman: The Animated Series’, where she made her first appearance. What some audiences may not realize is the flashback sequence where they show her dancing in the outfit with the Joker, was actually taken directly from Alex Ross’ famous cover for ‘Batman: Harley Quinn’, her first appearance in the comic universe.
2) Midway City
The city where the Squad is dealing with the impending crisis is Midway City. Many “eagle-eyed” fans of the comics may have been drawn to the name, primarily because it’s actually the home of Justice League veterans, Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
3) “You know what they say about the crazy ones…”
When Rick Flag is telling the team about Katana’s origins, he says her blade (referred to in the comics as the “Soultaker”) is capable of trapping the soul of anyone it kills, to which Captain Boomerang makes the aforementioned crack. This is a sly nod to one of her storylines where she is actually regarded as being clinically insane due to her constant whispering to the soul of her husband, also trapped in the blade.
4) The Flash
One of the more memorable cameos in ‘Suicide Squad’ was Ezra Miller’s Flash capturing Captain Boomerang after his diamond heist. The rest of the Squad made it pretty clear throughout that they have a personal beef with the Bat, but not good ol’ Digger Harkness. The reason why Batman had no hand in his apprehension is because Boomerang is a member of the Scarlet Speedster’s oddball rogue’s gallery, which could easily mean the next time we see the hot-headed Aussie, could very well be in The Flash movie, scheduled for March 16, 2018.
5) John F. Ostrander Financial
The building where the Squad is sent to rescue Amanda Waller was far from random. If you notice, above the entrance shows the name of the company that owns the building, John F. Ostrander Financial. That particular name is more than just passing signage as John Ostrander is actually one of the original creative minds and writers behind the Suicide Squad comics in the 80’s.
6) Enchantress’ “Brother”
While the movie never made it expressly clear who Enchantress’ accomplice was towards the end of the movie, referring to him only as “brother”, but fans may recognize the character by that fact alone. In the comics, the character’s name is Lawrence Eden aka Incubus, whose first appearance was in the ‘Suicide Squad’ comics in the late 80’s.
7) Mid-Credits Scene
The mid-credits scene, while not really doing a great job of supplementing the movie in any real way, it was clearly more for the purposes of world-building. We see Amanda Waller meeting with Bruce Wayne in what appears to be the same restaurant from the beginning of the movie. After a very cryptic exchange, the conversation leads to Waller handing Bruce a file (she likes her files), the contents of which have detailed dossiers on Barry Allen (The Flash), Arthur Curry (Aquaman), and supposedly the other members of the would-be Justice League.
The big takeaway from this isn’t necessarily that Batman is still assembling the JLA, but more so the fact that, just like in the comics, Amanda Waller is fully aware that Bruce Wayne is Batman. While this may not be a confirmation that she’ll be involved in future movies, it at least leaves the door open for Waller to become a useful resource for the Dark Knight to get his hands on some classified evidence in the future.
