DC is bringing back James Gunn's Suicide Squad later this year, but not in the way that many were hoping for. Task Force X received its first ensemble flick under director David Ayer in the DCEU, introducing Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and transforming her into a global icon. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn would later soft-reboot the anti-hero unit in The Suicide Squad, marking his first go-round at DC before becoming co-CEO of DC Studios.
The Suicide Squad is officially returning as part of a new DLC for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, serving as antagonists to the newly playable Joker and Harley Quinn. Interestingly, the brick-built Task Force X is closely inspired by the roster and designs from James Gunn's The Suicide Squad (with a touch of David Ayer's Suicide Squad), but one key character has been omitted for a great reason.
TT Games released the first trailer for Legacy of the Dark Knight's new Joker and Harley-focussed Mayhem Collection DLC, which also includes a fresh story mission and the new Mayhem mode. The duo can be randomly attacked by any four members of Amanda Waller's Task Force X (better known as the Suicide Squad, but they are not referred to by that more adult moniker in a LEGO game).
This time, Harley Quinn isn't working with Task Force X in Legacy of the Dark Knight, as she remains allied with the Joker and will instead fight against the team. Gotham's clowny couple will become playable when the Mayhem Collection DLC launches, and Harley Quinn will have her The Suicide Squad suit unlockable amid fears that Margot Robbie may be recast for future DCU projects.
One of The Suicide Squad's most unknown leads, who became a fan favorite thanks to the Gunn Effect, is David Dastmalchian's Polka-Dot Man. Sadly, the polka-dot-hurling anti-hero was killed fighting Starro in the blockbuster, so it's exciting that fans will see him again in the LEGO Batman realm.
Despite walking free with the surviving members of Task Force X in The Suicide Squad, Creature Commandos revealed that King Shark is back in ARGUS custody and will officially be joining Task Force M's next generation in 2027's Season 2, even though Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone isn't expected to return.
Flula Borg's Javelin may not have survived the beaches of Corto Maltese in The Suicide Squad, but he is bringing his blue-and-yellow look and golden javelin to Legacy of the Dark Knight. That javelin was crucial to The Suicide Squad even after his death, as Harley Quinn used it to impale Starro through the eye.
The Suicide Squad's purple-laiden alien warrior Mongal was another victim of Corto Maltese, who was brutally burned alive after crashing a helicopter. Mongal isn't to be confused with her brother, Mongul, a ruthless conqueror, also from the planet Warworld, who may have a chance at being a future DCU villain after now-debunked theories that he could have featured in Man of Tomorrow.
Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang was one of the very few squaddies to appear in both Ayer and Gunn's movies. Despite being brutally torn apart by a helicopter blade, many are hopeful he may be revived in a future project (as The Suicide Squad is only loosely canon to the DCU) since it would be a missed opportunity for the next Flash to miss out on fighting one of his most iconic rogues.
In his DCEU Suicide Squad appearance, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag Jr. led Task Force X on behalf of ARGUS and struck up a relationship with Enchantress that carried forward to the DCU. He later returned in The Suicide Squad, only to be killed by Peacemaker on Amanda Waller's orders, although he got one last shot at DCU glory with a minor role in Peacemaker Season 2.
When James Gunn announced the DCU's Chapter 1 slate, Viola Davis was expected to lead her own HBO Max spin-off series. Sadly, as Waller and another DCU show have reportedly been scrapped, Davis' incarnation of the infamous ARGUS boss will be relegated to brickified form for the time being.
Legacy of the Dark Knight's Suicide Squad is taking heavy inspiration from James Gunn and his pseudo-DCU epic. But there are equally clear homages to David Ayer's Suicide Squad, through the costumes worn by Captain Boomerang and Rick Flag, as well as the inclusion of Katana, Deadshot, and Killer Croc.
The brickified experience has even thrown in characters like Deathstroke and Bronze Tiger, who were absent from either take on Task Force X. Those inclusions only highlight major absentees like Bloodsport, Ratcatcher II, and, most notably, Peacemaker, arguably the most prominent Suicide Squad alum in recent years.
What's Next For Peacemaker & The Suicide Squad in James Gunn's DCU
While James Gunn introduced John Cena's Christopher Smith as yet another member of Task Force X in The Suicide Squad, he has grown far beyond his begrudging anti-hero team on HBO Max in two seasons of Peacemaker.
Despite being more of a douchebag than the average superhero, the DCU's Peacemaker is striving to be a better man and leave his murderous ways behind, even making a play to try and join Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl in the Justice Gang.
Even Peacemaker's public seems to have improved, as he appeared on TV for an interview with Cleavis Thornwaite in Superman to reveal his thoughts on the Man of Steel's bubbling controversy after the damning Jor-El message leaked.
That said, one person who won't be letting go of his grudge with Peacemaker is Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr., the new head of ARGUS, whose son, Rick Flag Jr., was killed by the anti-hero under Amanda Waller's orders in The Suicide Squad.
DC Studios may have set Peacemaker up for a major role in Man of Tomorrow, when Flag exacted his revenge by trapping his son's killer in Salvation, the new alternate dimension prison that he created with Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor.
As a founding father of the new spy agency Checkmate with Leota Adebayo, John Economos, Emilia Harcourt, and more familiar faces from Peacemaker, there is bound to be a search party out for John Cena's DCU icon very soon, which may become part of Man of Tomorrow or a future spin-off show.
The outlook appears bleak for the Suicide Squad in the DCU, as Task Force X was dismantled after Peacemaker Season 1, when Adebayo exposed Amanda Waller's shady blacks ops unit to the world. In a way, Creature Commandos is currently serving as the Suicide Squad's replacement project in the DCU, as Task Force M was Waller's successor initiative to circumvent legal obstacles.
As King Shark returns for the first time since The Suicide Squad in Creature Commandos Season 2, audiences may receive updates on where Bloodsport, Ratcatcher II, and Harley Quinn ended up after their mission in Corto Maltese. Then again, DC Studios might not be eager to make any commitments on a major character like Harley Quinn, who they may wish to revamp with a new Joker.
