So Deadshot’s movie costume looks awesome. His outfit when he’s out and about as his alter-ego Floyd Lawton? Not so much. The long red trench coat is a questionable fashion choice any day of the week. But adding a fedora (ugh), gold belt, shoe buckles, and fingerless gloves makes Deadshot seem less like an assassin and more like Huggybear Junior. It looks dumb with a capital D. Maybe it’s a nod to his original costume, which was a domino mask with a tuxedo and top hat. But probably not.
On that same note, Harley Quinn’s look is pretty questionable as well. Harley Quinn started out as a fun addition to the DC Universe by way of Bruce Timm’s work on Batman: The Animated Series. She had a simple costume and gimmick, dressed as a “harlequin,” and hopelessly in love with the Joker. Since then, she’s morphed into a shadow of her former self, and seems to have more in common with a fan of the Insane Clown Posse than her animated roots. Then again, if they’re going for someone who looks scary, you can hardly do worse than a fan of the Insane Clown Posse.
Some more set photos seem to indicate that at least one portion of Suicide Squad will take place in Midway City. That’s not one of DC Comics’ more interesting fictional burgs, especially considering that the superhero it’s known for is Hawkman. That’s right: the dude who has wings…and that’s it. One has to wonder why the production team decided on Midway City, considering it’s such a nothing place in the DC Universe, especially since there are so many other interesting cities we’d rather see show up on-screen (Keystone or Opal come to mind). Sure, not everything can take place in Metropolis and Gotham, but Midway? Some say that it’s the DCU’s version of Chicago, but you know what would’ve been more interesting than setting a super villain movie in Midway City? Setting a super villain movie in Chicago. We know what and where Chicago is, and might care when something happens to it. Not so with Midway.
Let’s also not forget that with a few very notable exceptions, very few members of Suicide Squad’s mainstream audience will know a single one of these super powered villains. It’s cool that we get to see some obscure characters in a Hollywood blockbuster, but it seems questionable that audiences are being asked to accept a world where Killer Croc and Captain Boomerang can hang out. Shouldn’t we take some time and establish all these villains in a more grounded world first? If they were recruited for Task Force X from jail, who put them there? As far as this movie universe is concerned, there are only two heroes: Batman and Superman. It seems like we’re putting the cart before the horse here.
