Suicide Squad

The scene shifts to reveal Harley Quinn suspended upside down, her vibrant personality contained within a cell more akin to a gilded cage. Griggs' arrival sets off a chain reaction, as he orders a guard to electrify the bars when she ventures too close. The sudden jolt sparks a flashback in Harley's mind, transporting us back to the moment she first arrived at this foreboding facility, her descent into madness still unfolding.

Cutting to the present, Amanda Waller convenes with her trusted associates Admiral Olsen and Dexter Tolliver to discuss the inception of Task Force X. The concept is simple yet ominous: assemble a team of the most formidable villains to mitigate any potential catastrophe that may arise in the wake of Superman's tragic demise. As Waller delves into her files, she begins to outline her proposed recruits.

The first candidate is Floyd, an expert marksman known as Deadshot. A flashback whisks us away to witness Deadshot preparing for a target practice session. With calculated precision, he goads his employer into doubling his pay, only to demonstrate his unparalleled skill by using his bullet's ricochet to take out the target. This calculating individual is driven by more than just monetary gain; Floyd's motivations are rooted in a desire for validation and acceptance.

As we delve deeper into Deadshot's backstory, we find that he has a daughter named Zoe (Shailyn Pierre-Dixon), a precocious young girl who looks up to her father despite his checkered past. A poignant flashback reveals the tender moments between Floyd and Zoe as they discuss her moving in with him. However, their mother refuses to allow it, citing Floyd's notorious reputation as a killer. Even Batman (Ben Affleck) has caught wind of his exploits.

Floyd's dilemma is palpable as he stands poised to take out the Caped Crusader, but Zoe's heartfelt plea stays his hand. He relents, opting for a quiet surrender instead. This glimpse into Deadshot's complex personality serves as a potent reminder that even the most hardened villains are capable of harboring deep-seated emotions and motivations that drive their actions.

As Waller's gaze falls upon the next candidate for her twisted game, it's Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) who catches her eye. Once a well-intentioned therapist, Dr. Harleen Quinzel was consumed by her last patient, The Joker (Jared Leto), and instead of healing him, she found herself ensnared in his madness. Her descent into insanity was fueled by the Joker's relentless torment, leaving Harley with a psyche as fragile as porcelain and a fearless spirit that Waller can't help but covet.

In vivid flashbacks, we see Harley dancing at a nightclub, where she's courted by the Joker and Monster T (Common), a notorious gangster. Her offer of companionship is met with rejection, sparking a deadly outcome for her new acquaintance. The Joker and Harley make their escape, only to be pursued by the Caped Crusader in his iconic batmobile. A thrilling chase ensues, culminating in their vehicle careening off the road and into the river's depths. Batman (Ben Affleck) springs into action, rescuing Harley from the watery grave before delivering her to the authorities.

Waller's roster of misfits also includes Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), a cunning thief with a penchant for betrayal and an arsenal of razor-sharp boomerangs. His downfall comes at the hands of The Flash (Ezra Miller). Next in line is Chato Santana, aka El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), a former gang enforcer turned pyrokinetic force to be reckoned with. Having surrendered himself to the authorities, he brings his unique abilities to Waller's table. Then there's Waylon Jones, also known as Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), a brutal thug afflicted by an unusual condition that grants him scaly green skin. Tormented by society's revulsion, Croc lashes out at anyone who crosses his path, earning him a spot on Waller's list.

Lastly, Dr. June Moone (Cara Delevingne) falls under Waller's scrutiny. This archaeologist had the misfortune of discovering an ancient idol, unleashing the malevolent spirit of Enchantress, a 6,000-year-old witch. As the spirit takes hold of June's body, Waller seizes control by carrying the heart of Enchantress with her, ensuring her dominance over the possessed doctor. Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), driven by his deep affection for June, becomes an unlikely ally in Waller's quest to exploit these rogues for her own twisted purposes.

As the esteemed representatives of Task Force X convene at the Pentagon, the weight of responsibility hangs palpably in the air. Waller, flanked by Tolliver and others, presents a plan that sparks skepticism from the chairman. However, it's Enchantress who ultimately seals the deal with her mesmerizing display of magical prowess. As she morphs into the witch, Waller takes control, his fingers probing her heart with a mixture of fascination and dominance - an action that elicits pained reactions from both Enchantress and June, once she reverts to normal.

With the plan greenlit, Waller sets out to assemble her team, accompanied by Flag and June. Their first stop is Belle Reve, where they meet Floyd, whose list of demands includes freedom from his sentence and custody of his daughter. Flag refuses to negotiate, but it's clear that Floyd has already made a deal with Waller.

As night falls, June undergoes a transformation, her identity morphing into Enchantress. Flag, desperate to reach Amanda, is instead bombarded by visions of June's death, courtesy of Enchantress's psychic assault. The witch then sets her sights on Waller's home, seeking an ancient relic - the idol containing Incubus's spirit. With the idol in hand, she resurrects her brother, Incubus, and reunites with him at the Midway City train station.

As Incubus takes control of a commuter's body, he unleashes chaos on the tracks, slaughtering three men before reclaiming his true form and wreaking havoc. Amidst the destruction, Enchantress reveals her plan to create a machine capable of eradicating humanity. Incubus, now free to express himself in his true form, joins forces with his sister, their malevolent intentions set on reshaping the world in their image.

As chaos erupts, Waller springs into action, activating Task Force X to rectify the situation. The villains are extracted from their cells and injected with nano bombs, which will detonate should they falter or attempt escape. With their new "suicide squad" designation by Flag (Viola Davis), the formidable team is whisked away to a secret base for mission briefing. Their objective: infiltrate Midway City and retrieve a crucial mark. The last recruit, Slipknot (Adam Beach), arrives, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake as he takes down an FBI agent. As Flag outlines their setup, Floyd's ominous reference to their "Suicide Squad" moniker sends a shiver down their spines. Kitted out with custom attire and equipped with deadly weapons, they prepare for the battle ahead.

Meanwhile, the Clown Prince of Crime (Jared Leto) receives a visit from one of his henchmen, who delivers devastating news about Harley's predicament. Joker's response is swift and brutal as he tortures Griggs at a high-stakes casino, extracting every last detail about the nano bomb project. The Joker then unleashes his wrath upon the Van Criss research facility, where the sinister doctor is forced to aid him after the kidnapping of his wife.

As tensions escalate, Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) undergoes a transformative metamorphosis courtesy of Incubus's dark magic, rendering her an even more formidable force. Task Force X's chopper takes flight towards Midway City only to be brought down by Enchantress's precision-guided assault. The team is forced to abandon their aircraft and make the perilous trek to their destination on foot.

Slipknot's attempted escape is short-lived, as Flag triggers his nano bomb, putting an end to the would-be traitor's plans. As they regroup, the team faces off against hordes of mutated minions, once human males now twisted into monstrous creations under Enchantress's control. Each member brings their unique skills to bear: Deadshot (Michael Shannon) unleashes a hail of precision shots; Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) wields her trusty mallet and bat; Katana (Karen Fukuhara), with her sword imbued with the souls of her victims, slices through the enemy ranks; and Boomerang (Jay Hernandez) uses his deadly boomerangs to devastating effect. Despite Diablo's reluctance to engage, the team must put aside their differences to survive this apocalyptic battle.

As the team approaches their objective, Harley takes a detour via elevator, only to be ambushed by an onslaught of minions. With her signature flair, she dispatches them with ease before rejoining Flag and his squad. However, their tranquility is short-lived as more henchmen emerge, prompting Deadshot to coax Diablo into unleashing the full fury of his pyrokinetic abilities. The resulting blast incinerates the minions, leaving the team unscathed.

As they proceed to their destination, Harley's gaze drifts down a staircase, transporting her back to a fateful night when Joker orchestrated her transformation. In a flashback, she relives the moment when she voluntarily submerged herself in a vat of chemicals at his behest, with Joker following suit and extracting her with maniacal glee.

Upon arriving at their target location, Flag enters a room to find Amanda Waller waiting in ambush. As they discuss their mission amidst four other agents, Waller brutally eliminates them due to their newfound awareness. The rest of the team is left stunned by Waller's sudden appearance. Together, they make their way to the rooftop for extraction, only to discover that the chopper has been hijacked by Joker and his cohorts. One of his minions disables Harley's nano bomb, allowing her to escape with Joker's guidance. Waller orders Deadshot to take her down, promising custody of his daughter in exchange. However, Deadshot intentionally misses his mark, opting instead to prioritize Harley's safety. Subsequently, Waller directs his men to destroy the chopper, sending Harley plummeting onto a rooftop as she watches Joker meet his demise alongside the crashing helicopter.

Meanwhile, Amanda Waller falls into the clutches of Enchantress's minions and is brought before her, allowing Enchantress to delve into Waller's psyche and extract knowledge she already possesses. The ritual also enables Enchantress to reclaim her stolen heart, amplifying her powers.

As Harley reunites with the team on their path, Deadshot stumbles upon Waller's case file, revealing the truth behind their mission. He demands an explanation from Flag, who reluctantly confesses that three days prior, he and June went underground together to set something in motion, only for her to morph into Enchantress and abandon him. The team promptly disavows Flag as Deadshot seeks solace in a nearby bar.

As the squad gathers at the bar, Deadshot's words cut through the camaraderie like a razor's edge: he knows they're merely pawns in Amanda Waller's grand scheme. The somber tone is broken only by Diablo's poignant tale of woe, his voice heavy with regret as he recounts the devastating consequences of his past actions. He once had a family - a wife, Grace (Corina Calderon), and two innocent children - but his double life as a gangster ultimately led to their tragic demise. The scars of that fateful day still lingered, a constant reminder of the destruction he had unleashed.

Just then, Flag bursts into the bar, bearing an unexpected offer: in exchange for their freedom, the squad can walk away from the mission and leave the fate of Incubus and Enchantress to chance. As if on cue, he produces a detonator and defuses the bombs strapped to each team member's chest, freeing them from Waller's grip. For Deadshot, however, the revelation comes in the form of letters penned by his daughter - a daily reminder of her love and devotion that rekindles his resolve to see the mission through.

With renewed purpose, the squad hatches a plan to infiltrate the Enchantress's lair and eliminate Incubus. Croc joins Flag's men as they venture into the sewers to plant the bomb, while the rest of the team lies in wait, poised to strike. Unbeknownst to them, Enchantress has been monitoring their every thought, her powers allowing her to infiltrate their minds. She presents each member with a tantalizing vision: Deadshot envisions himself standing victorious over a fallen Batman; Harley sees herself and the Joker living a idyllic family life; Flag imagines June by his side; and Diablo is transported back to a time when he was whole, surrounded by loved ones.

But only Diablo remains aware of Enchantress's manipulation, his instincts screaming at him to reject the false promise. With a fierce determination, he transforms into his true form - a towering inferno of flames - and charges at Incubus with unyielding fury. The ensuing battle is a spectacle of fire and brimstone as Diablo holds Incubus in a fiery grip, buying time for Croc and the others to plant the bomb. As the device explodes, claiming both Incubus's life and Diablo's own, the squad is left to ponder the true cost of their actions.

As the Enchantress's wrath reaches a fever pitch, she unleashes a torrent of magic against the squad, with Croc rejoining the fray. The powerful witch proves too elusive and formidable for any one member to take down, so she makes a tantalizing offer: join her, and she'll grant their deepest desires. Harley, seemingly swayed by the promise, approaches Enchantress, only to betray the witch's trust by slicing out her heart with a sword. With Enchantress momentarily stunned, Croc seizes the opportunity to lob an explosive device at her machine, while Deadshot readies his gun to take down the contraption. The Enchantress attempts to deceive him by conjuring an illusion of Zoe, pleading for mercy; however, Deadshot remains resolute and fires a shot that destroys the machine, severely weakening Enchantress.

Flag seizes the opportunity to exact revenge, holding Enchantress's heart aloft as he orders her to release June. The Enchantress refuses, insisting that her captive will not be returning. Flag then crushes the heart, ending Enchantress's life. As the witch's skin begins to peel away, revealing June's normal form, she is reunited with Flag in a moment of tender triumph.

As the squad prepares to depart, Amanda Waller emerges, revealing that they have been granted 10 years off their sentences, accompanied by certain... privileges. Floyd is permitted to spend a brief period visiting Zoe before being escorted out by Flag; Croc is granted cable access in his cell; Boomerang is relegated to solitary confinement due to his demands; and Harley is given an espresso machine.

Moments later, a group of mercenaries infiltrates the penitentiary, dispatching guards as they make their way to Harley's cell. The Joker, still very much alive, materializes, embracing Harley as he whispers in her ear: "Let's go home..."

As the credits roll, Waller meets with Bruce Wayne at a restaurant, seeking his protection in the aftermath of Enchantress's destruction. In exchange, she provides him with case files detailing the exploits of Barry Allen (Flash) and Arthur Curry (Aquaman). As Bruce departs, Waller cautions him to "stop working nights," to which he responds that she should shut down her operation, as he and his new allies will be taking care of the situation.