Jedi by Knight

So I finally went to see Suicide Squad on Monday, and while I liked the characters a lot, the movie had some problems (as you may have heard haha).  Though I haven’t read a lot of their comics, I’ve been a fan of DC since I started watching the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) cartoons like The New Batman/Superman Adventures back in the 90s.

So whether you loved the movie and want more, or just want something to wash the taste out of your mouth, here are some recommendations for further viewing of the Suicide Squad and its members.

Harley Quinn

You may have heard that Harley was originally created for Batman: The Animated Series by Dini and Timm; I’ve been a fan ever since.  Margot Robbie absolutely nailed the role in the current movie!  However, the relationship between Harley and the Joker was not portrayed as well.  If you want to see how it should be done, check out my all-time favorite episode of The New Batman Adventures, based on the award-winning comic of the same name.

Watch: “Mad Love”

Batman: The Animated Series, season 4, episode 21

Available on Amazon Prime

Killer Croc

Croc was rather wasted in this film (plus he looked like he had smallpox ewww), but he also gets time to shine in Batman: The Animated Series.  He’s got several good episodes including one explaining his origins, but my favorite is where a group of villains tell tales of how they almost defeated Batman.  “I threw a rock at ‘im!”  But maybe that’s not a fair representation…stick around for the twist at the end.

Watch: “Almost Got ‘Im”

Batman: The Animated Series, season 2, episode 18

Available on Amazon Prime

Captain Boomerang

Another wasted character in the film–I didn’t find him particularly funny, endearing, useful, or really anything except meh.  But this Flash villain can be so much more entertaining when teamed up with others from that Rogues Gallery, as in this fun episode.  Plus, who doesn’t enjoy Mark Hamill as the Trickster?

Watch: “Flash and Substance”

Justice League Unlimited, season 2, episode 5

Available on Netflix

Katana

I was probably most disappointed with Katana’s character development in Suicide Squad, because there really wasn’t any.  I loved the inclusion of her character on Arrow, and they had to ditch her character on that show for this??  She’s introduced early in the 3rd season as Tatsu Yamashiro, but because I didn’t know the character’s “real” name, I didn’t realize it was her until she dons her trademark attire at the end of the season.

Watch: “This Is Your Sword”

Arrow, season 3, episode 22

Available on Netflix

Amanda Waller

The Wall, as she’s known, was another highlight of the movie; I hope to see more of her in the future DC movies.  I really enjoyed the mid-credits scene, because I loved seeing her face off with Batman, just like in Justice League Unlimited.  In that show, the first time she meets Batman, she snidely refers to him only as “rich boy.”  He retaliates by breaking into her house to hand her a towel as she’s getting out of the shower.  Viola Davis did a wonderful job in the movie, but to me Waller will always be C.C.H. Pounder.

Watch: “The Doomsday Sanction”

Justice League Unlimited, season 1, episode 16

Available on Netflix

El Diablo

Honestly, this character was new to me, but he completely stole the show.  After the movie I said to my husband, “Well, that was a great El Diablo movie, but it was about 80 min too long and for some reason called Suicide Squad.”  He even got some great lines, like “Ya te chingaste, güey” haha.

Anyone have any recommendations for more of him?

Belle Reve prison

We meet our convicts of the squad at the New Orleans prison called Belle Reve (“sweet dreams” in French) under pretty crappy conditions.  No wonder our team wants out.  Belle Reve is typically shown as a prison for metahuman criminals.  It features in a great episode of Young Justice, where Miss Martian and Superboy go undercover to help stop a prison break–Amanda Waller shows up as the warden with Hugo Strange as the prison psychologist.

Watch: “Terrors”

Young Justice, season 1, episode 11

Available on Netflix

The Suicide Squad, aka Task Force X

Nearly every DC franchise gets around to doing a Suicide Squad at one point or another.  Arrow did it in season 2.  Justice League Unlimited did a particularly good version in the first season episode “Task Force X.”

But if you want to see another possibility of what the Suicide Squad movie could have been, try Batman: Assault on Arkham.  It takes place in the same world as the recent video games, and is done in the currently popular Korean animation style (that I personally like).  It has a killer cast of voice actors, develops the characters pretty well, and has some good twists.

Watch: Batman: Assault on Arkham

Available for rent/purchase on Amazon Video (I borrowed it from the library)