The Suicide Squad Has One Weirdly Specific Plot Point In Common With Endgame

[Animous]

James Gunn made the leap from Marvel to DC with The Suicide Squad, but one surprising element came with him thanks to a shared plot detail with Avengers: Endgame. Going from the MCU to the DCEU, and from the Guardians of the Galaxy to Task Force X, meant viewers could see a very different side to Gunn. Pushing his filmmaking skills forward while harking back to his Troma roots, this was the director going weirder, gorier, and darker than the Mouse House allowed him.

The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy represent very different franchises and the different sides of the director’s skills and sensibilities, but there are some commonalities too. Like his work with Marvel, Gunn excels in taking a bunch of oddball losers and criminals and turning them into a loveable bunch of heroes. Similarly, he once again does so in a movie backed by an eclectic mix of pop hits and deep cuts. But the most surprising common ground comes not with the crew of the Benatar, but with a small moment from Avengers: Endgame.

RELATED: The Suicide Squad Introduces An Idea Marvel & DC Have Avoided So Far

The culmination of the first 11 years of the MCU and its Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame features dozens of superhero characters. And yet, one of its most important was a rat, who accidentally (or so it seems…) presses the button that frees Scott Lang from the Quantum Realm, starting the events that allow for the Avengers’ Time Heist and, ultimately, bringing everyone back. The Suicide Squad may not get into time travel, but it does have its own rodent saviour, with Ratcatcher 2 calling upon the army of rats at her command in order to defeat Starro once and for all. Many Task Force X members play their part, but it’s the rats who are perhaps most important of all to the win, echoing their importance in Endgame.

That two of the biggest superhero blockbusters of the last couple of years would rest heavily on the actions of rats is itself curious, though there’s no suggestion The Suicide Squad's Ratcatcher moment was inspired by Avengers: Endgame. Indeed, while the parallel may seem superficial, it does speak to the broader themes of super heroism and inherent goodness that can be found in The Suicide Squad and Endgame, and Marvel and DC properties as a whole. In The Suicide Squad, the idea of rats having purpose is linked to the arc of Ratcatchers 1 and 2, showing that anyone can find their place and meaning in life and, extrapolated further, anyone can become a hero. Endgame doesn't go that far with its own rat hero, but since this is the one version of events where the heroes could defeat Thanos, then it means the rat was absolutely crucial in saving the universe, and it wouldn't have been done otherwise.

Expanding the scope of this, then, it does fit with how these universes approach the idea of what it means to be a hero. It isn't just seen in Ratcatcher 2, but The Suicide Squad's other characters, many of whom are a collection of misfits who'd be looked down upon elsewhere, but can instead rise up to find their purpose and help save the world. This works in the MCU too beyond Avengers: Endgame - not least in Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy - but also that what makes a hero is the person, not the suit; it takes heart, courage, and goodness, and if a rat can have those qualities, so can anybody. The link between the two movies is fun, but it also shows the reason why both had to be rats.

[Silent Watcher]

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