The Suicide Squad's Credits Twist Was Bad (Despite SPOILER's Future)

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James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad had a notably surprising twist in its post-credits scene which is actually bad for the story when reflected on, even though it sets up Peacemaker’s DCEU future. The Suicide Squad is a standalone sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad, bringing in a new team of incarcerated villains to save the world. The team travels to Corto Maltese where they’re tasked with finding a drive containing information on Project Starfish, which ends up testing the Suicide Squad’s loyalties and values.

The true climactic twists in The Suicide Squad begin once the team has found the drive and discovered the secrets of the dangerous Project Starfish, which the U.S. government wants to be destroyed. The antiheroes find out that ARGUS wants it destroyed to cover up America’s involvement in the project where they tested on children and created a giant supervillain monster. Rick Flag, Bloodsport, and Ratcatcher 2 go after the drive which they want to release publicly, showing the world the horrors conducted by the U.S. government. Peacemaker, on the other hand, decides to stick to Amanda Waller’s orders and destroy the drive, which he thinks will create peace, even though he has to kill Rick Flag to get it. In a dramatic fight between Peacemaker and Bloodsport, the latter gets the upper hand and seemingly kills Peacemaker while retrieving the drive.

Bloodsport and the team end up battling and killing Starro, using the drive as leverage to free themselves from Waller. After the film ends, the post-credit scene surprisingly shows Peacemaker is alive and comatose in a hospital room, being recruited by Waller’s associates to continue conducting missions for them. While The Suicide Squad’s post-credits twist is useful for setting up Peacemaker’s future, it contradicts the story the film was actually trying to tell.

Why Peacemaker Returns In The Suicide Squad's Post-Credits Scene

The sole reason for Peacemaker to return in The Suicide Squad’s post-credits scene is to set up the upcoming HBO Max TV show, Peacemaker. If there wasn’t going to be a new series surrounding the Peacemaker character, the post-credits scene could have connected one of the alternate upcoming DCEU projects like Black Adam or The Flash. It’s never even explained how Peacemaker even made it out of the collapsing building considering Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, and Ratcatcher 2 barely make it out themselves. The only point to making Peacemaker survive such an ordeal is to keep him alive for future exploits in the Peacemaker series, which is supposed to take place after The Suicide Squad’s ending. The twist of Peacemaker’s status cheapens much of The Suicide Squad’s progression, simply being used to advertise HBO Max’s Peacemaker spinoff series.

Peacemaker's Return Robs The Suicide Squad Of A Key Character Death

While all of the core characters in The Suicide Squad are meant to be antiheroes, they become so likable that their deaths are truly tragic. All of The Suicide Squad’s Task Force X team 1 is obliterated by the Corto Maltese soldiers in the opening sequence, showing the mission will be especially hard for the second team, which the film truly focuses on. After getting to know the lovable villains and seeing them survive such improbable situations, the deaths of the few on the team have a much more compelling impact. With Peacemaker being revealed to survive in The Suicide Squad’s post-credits scene, the only major deaths in the film are Polka-Dot Man and Rick Flag. The death of Polka-Dot Man was tragic after a miraculous character arc and Rick Flag’s demise signaled a turn in the perception of ARGUS, but Peacemaker’s supposed death meant a lot more for the progression of the major characters in The Suicide Squad.

The Suicide Squad not killing Peacemaker undermined the heroism and morality of Bloodsport, who actually became friends with Peacemaker and had to choose what was right for the greater good over just completing the mission. The members of the Suicide Squad understand that, to the U.S. government, they’re just disposable weapons, though underneath they know they’re much more than that. Peacemaker turning on his own team shows that he really is just a weapon of the United States who would choose “peace at any cost” and follow mandates over what’s right, a stark contrast to his teammates who can’t stomach their involvement in covering up the government’s crimes. By killing Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad showed that their villains are real assets to the world who, as Polka-Dot Man declared, can be heroes. In giving up a compelling character death, The Suicide Squad chooses to put the DCEU’s future over powerful character progression.

Peacemaker Could've Died & Still Had His TV Show

The crux of the Peacemaker twist’s pointlessness is that HBO Max still could have made a Peacemaker series if The Suicide Squad stuck with killing him. The Suicide Squad barely gives any background to the characters aside from a few monologues from Polka-Dot Man and Ratcatcher 2, which leaves room to explore the villains’ origins before the 2021 DCEU film. The Peacemaker TV show is scheduled to follow the character on missions after the events of the Suicide Squad’s battle with Starro, but it easily could have taken place before his recruitment instead. Had The Suicide Squad left Peacemaker dead instead of bringing him back for the post-credits scene, Peacemaker could have explored the character’s origins, life before The Suicide Squad, and the events that led to his incarceration at Belle Reve.

It’s not unheard of to go back and explore a superhero character’s life after they already died in the timeline, just look at Black Widow. Marvel waited a few years after Avengers: Endgame’s finale and Natasha Romanoff’s death to examine her upbringing in Ohio and Russia and what her character was up to before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. DC could have used the same tactic for Peacemaker, which would have left Bloodsport’s progression and a major character death intact while still exploring the fun of John Cena’s character. The new Peacemaker series is still slated to give more information about Peacemaker’s origins, but it would have worked better had it been set before The Suicide Squad.

[Silent Watcher]

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