Suicide Squad: it doesn't sound like your average comic book, because it very much isn't. The basic premise of the original series was that a bunch of C-list supervillains from the DC Universe were brought together by a secret government organisation, fronted by the formidable (and superpowerless) Amanda Waller, tasked with wrangling them into doing dangerous missions which could very well result in their death. Hence: Suicide Squad. Part of the draw of the comics was the constantly rotating cast of characters. Waller managed to sucker each of the villains into becoming at the very least anti-heroes by offering an elimination of their jail time - even though theyd probably break out by their next appearance anyway, as comic book bad guys are wont to do - with the potential for their next mission to be their last forever hanging overhead. As such there are countless colourful characters who turned up in the pages, and plenty for the filmmakers to cherry pick from.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
