Joining the Suicide Squad is More Painful in the Comics Than the DCEU
So far, there have been two separate Suicide Squad movies in the DCEU, and while each of them were brutal in their own ways, neither even came close to the gruesomeness shown in the comics, specifically, the Suicide Squad’s horribly painful initiation ceremony.
The Suicide Squad is a team of imprisoned villains with an ever-changing roster depending on who’s available when the team is needed. The team truly lives up to its name as the Suicide Squad is famous for its surprising deaths. While liberties were definitely taken, both film adaptations remained true to the many versions of the team present in DC Comics. However, when readers had a look at one iteration of the team in the comics, it became apparent that the Suicide Squad members in the movies had it a whole lot easier.
In the New 52’s Suicide Squad #1 by Adam Glass and Federico Dallocchio, the current members of the Suicide Squad, including Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Savant, were being tortured by unknown villains. The masked sadists were working the team for information about Amanda Waller and Task Force X as a whole, and while most of the team kept their mouths shut (with Harley weirdly enjoying the torture), Savant broke under the pain and spilled his figurative guts about the whole operation only to be killed moments later. Once it became clear that no one else was going to talk, it was revealed that Amanda Waller was behind this facade herself to ensure her team was air-tight in terms of loyalty. There's a reason Amanda Waller is considered one of DC's best villains.
In both DCEU movies Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller simply vets the villains she wants for Task Force X, collects them, and sends them on their way. Waller keeps them in line by threatening to blow up their heads with a bomb implant, but other than that it’s a pretty painless initiation. As shown in the comics, however, Amanda Waller has a bit more trust issues and doesn’t think the fear of having their heads explode is enough to keep the Suicide Squad in line, so she tortures them until she is sure they won’t give up any valuable information. What's worse is that this is far from abnormal for her. Waller has several disgusting alternatives to the neck bombs if those prove ineffective.
With the popularity of the DCEU’s Suicide Squad, it is almost certain that there will be more films to come in the franchise. Like the comics, the latest movie version of the Suicide Squad was a bit different than the previous one, proving that it is a franchise that constantly evolves both in the films and on the page. While this brutal form of initiation could one day be adapted into the movies, as it stands, joining the Suicide Squad is way more painful in the comics than in the DCEU.