Two of the best parts of any Suicide Squad story, be it in a film, comic, or video game, is finding out which characters have been plucked from different parts of the DC Universe to go on a government mission that they may or may not return from and what enemy they're up against, superpowered or otherwise. Seeing the team try to work together without killing each other--or getting killed by the enemy themselves--and bringing their unique skills to the mission is always a pleasure to watch. The Suicide Squad director James Gunn knows this all too well, and while he was given free rein to pick whoever he wanted, he deliberately chose characters he felt would work best alongside each other and serve the story in an organic way. He certainly succeeded on that front.
Gunn has talked about some of the other characters he considered using for the film though, and it's certainly intriguing to think about not only how these other characters could have worked but which characters replaced them in the finished film. While Gunn hasn't disclosed every instance of why one character was used over another one, a look into the history and powers of some of these characters may reveal what the director had in mind.
7 Kite Man Was Close to Being On The Squad Before Polka-Dot Man Was Picked
Once a forgettable C-list Batman villain, Kite Man has found new prominence in recent years thanks to both his expanded role in Tom King’s Batman run and his appearances on the Harley Quinn animated series. The next step in his pop-culture dominance would be to make the jump to live-action, and this was very close to being a reality.
Gunn stated while promoting The Suicide Squad that he considered adding Kite Man to the team, though he came to the conclusion that the character had been used so often as a punching bag in the comics that using him wouldn't be the freshest direction to go in. Gunn decided on using the Polka-Dot Man instead, stating that he wanted to use what many would consider one of “the dumbest supervillains of all time” and add depth to them. Had Kite Man been added, he probably would have taken on this role within the team of being ridiculed and underestimated by other villains for his name and skill set before proving himself to be a valuable asset. And while Kite Man wasn’t used for this film, Gunn hasn’t ruled out the possibility of using the character in another film going forward.
6 It Seems That The Rainbow Creature Was One Villain Option Before Starro
Gunn dug deep into DC Comics history when it came to finding the right characters, though even dedicated comic fans might not know who the Rainbow Creature is. First appearing back in Batman Vol. 1 #134 (September 1960), the Rainbow Creature is a gargantuan, multi-colored monster that possesses different powers based around its colors: red allows it to breath fire while green can turn any nearby object two-dimensional. Batman and Robin fought and defeated the Creature by forcing it to use up all of its powers, rendering it defenseless.
The Rainbow Creature had originally emerged from a volcano in South America during a time of political strife, which isn’t too different from the events happening in Corto Maltese in The Suicide Squad, meaning that Gunn might have considered using the Rainbow Creature instead of Starro as the threat that the Squad must go up against at the end of the film. It could have been quite interesting and funny to see how they could have defeated a monster that can kill them in any number of ways, but Starro worked just as well with Gunn’s style of horror and overall bizarreness.
5 Man-Bat Was Considered Before King Shark or Weasel Took His Place
Dr. Kirk Langstom and his ferocious alter-ego Man-Bat have yet to make their live-action debut but Gunn might have been the one to change that, as he considered using the Batman villain before going with one of two other animalistic characters in Nanaue/King Shark and Weasel instead.
Man-Bat has never been a member of Task Force X in the comics and while he could have made for an intriguing addition to the lineup, he might have seemed at odds with the somewhat wackier tone of Gunn’s film. But here’s hoping that Man-Bat makes his debut soon in another DCEU project, whether Gunn is involved in it or not.
4 Another Villain Option Before Starro Was Chemo
Gunn had mentioned Chemo as a character he considered for the movie, and judging by his large size, he was another backup villain for the Squad to face before Starro was picked. A constant foe of the Metal Men, Chemo is essentially a walking nuclear disaster created from a failed experiment and can spit out chemicals at its enemies to melt them.
Because Chemo barely has any mind of its own, it would have answered to Peter Capaldi’s Gaius Grieves/The Thinker and set against the Squad had it been included in the film. Chemo has actually served as a member of the Squad in the comics, so it isn’t out of the question to think that Amanda Waller would have found some way to keep Chemo alive and under her control going forward.
3 Solomon Grundy Would Have Been the Team's Muscle Instead of King Shark
Solomon Grundy, the monstrous and invincible zombie who's menaced many heroes within the DC Universe, was also considered for a spot on Task Force X. He was most likely going to be the team's muscle before Nanaue/King Shark was selected, and given Gunn's experience with horror, it's not hard to imagine how vicious Grundy would have been on the mission--probably ripping more of his enemies limb from limb rather than eating them.
But just as he did with Nanaue, Gunn would have found the way to make Grundy endearing and funny despite his violent nature, perhaps drawing inspiration from his appearances on the Justice League animated series. Still, Nanaue worked just as well in the film, and it was probably easier to make a talking shark more adorable over a zombie.
2 Plastique Wasn't Picked But Might Have Influenced Ratcatcher 2 To Some Degree
It might be a reach, but Bette Sans Souci/Plastique and Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2, while different in personalities and powers, do have something in common, as they both hail from other countries: Plastique is from Quebec and Ratcatcher 2 comes from Portugal. Plastique is particularly interesting because in the comics she was originally a terrorist that tried to get Quebec to secede from Canada.
Much like how Ratcatcher 2 mentions her experience of being an immigrant and being forced to turn to crime once she came to America, Gunn would have honed in on what drove Plastique’s motivations to become a terrorist and made her understandable to some degree. Ratcatcher 2’s abilities however worked better within the context of Gunn’s story, so that's likely why she was chosen over Plastique.
1 Deathstroke Almost Led Team 2 of the Squad Rather Than Bloodsport
Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke hasn’t gotten much time to truly shine in the DCEU, but he actually came close to taking Bloodsport’s spot in The Suicide Squad, as behind-the-scenes images show concept art that features Slade Wilson leading the second team of Task Force X. Had Deathstroke actually been chosen, it could have made for a very different movie, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Deathstroke’s excellent skills as an assassin and strategist would have made him perfect for the Squad’s mission, but he’s much more ruthless as a character than Bloodsport and this could have led to a different dynamic with Waller and the other Squad members. He would have been more likely to betray the team and defuse the bomb in his neck once their mission was completed, which again could have worked but maybe wasn’t right for this specific film. Bloodsport worked better overall, but Deathstroke could make a much better antagonist for the Squad to go up against in another film rather than serving on the Squad himself.