Will Smith will be in the Suicide Squad movie. But what is the Suicide Squad

On Tuesday Warner Bros. dropped big news regarding its adaptation of DC Comics's Suicide Squad Tom Hardy Jared Leto Margot Robbie and Will Smith were officially signed to star in the film. Those are high profile names and will no doubt add to the accelerating superhero movie arms race between DC/Warner Bros. and Marvel a race that will stretch to 2020.

But while we are familiar with those actors much more so than we are with some of the actors and actresses playing iconic heroes like Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and the Flash (Ezra Miller) the Suicide Squad doesn't have the pop culture recognition of the Justice League the Avengers or even the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thus you might have some questions. We have answers

What is the Suicide Squad Why are they called the Suicide Squad

(Suicide Squad/DC)

The Suicide Squad is the name of an elite government team in the DC universe that takes on top secret black ops with life threatening stakes (ergo suicide ) that no one else would dare tackle.

The first incarnation of the Suicide Squad appeared in a comic called The Brave and Bold in 1959. They were a team in charge of saving the world from a red tidal wave that incinerated everything it touched. The issue ends with a giant reptile being sent into space on a rocket. Which yes is bonkers.

Hardy Leto Robbie and Smith will be reprising a modification on the Suicide Squad instituted by writer John Ostrander. In this iteration the Suicide Squad is led by a woman named Amanda Waller who recruits super powered villains to carry out these missions. By recruiting villains the government has an out and can deny any involvement in missions that went south. (There are a lot of character deaths in the Suicide Squad.) And in exchange for completing these missions the Squad members get reduced sentences. The team made its first official appearance in Legends no. 3.

(DC Comics)

Stylistically the Squad is important in that it allows these villains who didn't seem all that menacing when superheroes were wrecking them and sending them to jail to show off just how insane cruel and grim they truly are. The Squad's members aren't afraid to kill or exhibit flashes of sociopathic tendencies like say idly watching while a teammate they may not particularly like gets a bullet in the back

Boomerang is a jerk. (DC Comics)

Which characters will Hardy Leto Robbie and Smith be playing

Can you see Margot Robbie playing this character (DC Comics)

Here's a brief rundown

Jared Leto/The Joker Leto will be playing the most familiar character in the movie a character that we've seen Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger bring to life. So he has some big shoes to fill. In the comics the Joker isn't seen as part of the Suicide Squad so seeing how he's brought into the film adaptation is for now a mystery.

Rick Flag (DC Comics)

Tom Hardy/Rick Flagg Jr (or Flag) Flagg is the field commander of the Suicide Squad and is Waller's point of contact. He isn't a villain per se and there's an ongoing theme in the comics about how he resents the villains he's working with. He is possibly the only current Suicide Squad member who has fought a yeti.

Margot Robbie/Harley Quinn Quinn is the Joker's mentally unstable violent sidekick/romantic interest. Out of all the characters in the Suicide Squad (members rotate) Harley Quinn is arguably the most iconic because she's continually been written as a villain with antihero tendencies a seamless fit for the Suicide Squad team. In 2011 we see her unwillingly join the Suicide Squad and she remains a member. This could be an amazing role for Robbie probably best known for The Wolf of Wall Street who will get to show off a darkness we haven't yet seen from the actress.

Will Smith/Deadshot Deadshot is an expert marksman hired gun and the other iconic member of the Squad. He's macabre fatalistic and has no regard for human life which is why people are surprised Smith who is usually seen playing comedy and welcoming people to Miami was chosen.

Wait Will Smith as Deadshot That is a surprise

GAIL SIMONE ( GailSimone) December 2 2014

Note I'm not bugged that Will Smith is Deadshot because Will Smith is black. I'm bugged because Will Smith is Will Smith. SuicideSquad

Jeff Yang ( originalspin) December 3 2014

Are there going to be more Squad members

The Enchantress (DC Comics)

Yes. While Leto Robbie and company will be spear heading the film that's only three or four members. (My guess is that Joker is an antagonist and isn't actually in the Suicide Squad.) The Squad will be rounded out by Boomerang (Jai Courtney) the Squad's most dysfunctional and less than dependable member and Enchantress a sorceress played by model Cara Delevingne.

Is there anyone who hasn't been cast yet

Suicide Squad's Amanda Waller (DC Comics)

The Suicide Squad's leader Amanda Waller hasn't been cast yet and she's integral to the team. According to Variety Warner Bros. want Oprah Winfrey Octavia Spencer or Viola Davis to play the role.

Davis who plays the snarly merciless Annalise Keating on How to Get Away with Murder seems like a perfect fit for Waller who has to be ruthless enough to send people to their deaths. Though it also seems likely that people would pay upwards of $15 just to see Oprah tell everyone they're getting suicide missions.

When does Suicide Squad come out What should I read to get familiar with it

Suicide Squad has a scheduled release date of Aug. 5 2016 which means you have a lot of time to catch up with the source material. (And as always that release date could slip and become a later one.) Ostrander's 66 issue run is comic book gold but understandably not everyone will want to read all of that. The truth is you can't go wrong with any of Ostrander's first 20 issues.

Ostrander's greatness is a double edged sword. His run became what subsequent reboots and reiterations of the Squad were held up against and to be quite honest a lot of those reboots haven't been very good. But there's hope the comic relaunched in July under writer Sean Ryan and it's actually become a great sharp read.

Articles Source here