In the trailer for James Gunn's highly-anticipated film, The Suicide Squad, fans of the Belle Reve convicts turned reluctant Task Force X members are treated to a visual feast of action and violence. This ensemble cast of wildly dysfunctional characters is dispatched on a high-risk mission to destroy a Nazi-era laboratory on the prison island of Corto Maltese. Even though there are many unique team members for the audience to discover this time around, one curious-looking newcomer stands out among the rest: the Weasel, aka John Monroe.

This untamed animal-human hybrid is not to be trusted nor underestimated in a fight. While the Weasel may seem goofy in the DC Extended Universe, he's surprisingly one of the deadliest members of the team, with the trailer revealing that he's done time for heartlessly killing 27 children. Although his comic book counterpart is more ferocious and intimidating in appearance, the Weasel from The Suicide Squad is clearly not someone to appoint as a chaperone on a school field trip, or leave yourself vulnerable to, for that matter.

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In the comics, John Monroe was a friendless outcast and a bullied student turned vindictive murderer, but he didn't become the Weasel overnight. It took years of social isolation and abuse to push Monroe over the edge and bring him to the point of no return. Finally, after years of being harassed by his peers and called a “weasel” at Stanford University, he graduated and took a job teaching at Vandemeer University. He managed to escape their mistreatment of him, if only for a short amount of time.

Unfortunately, several of his old classmates then became his colleagues, which unhinged Monroe. Consequently, he convinced himself that his college enemies were standing in his way of obtaining tenure as a means to justify his obsessive need for revenge. In response to his trauma, Monroe donned the Weasel costume and ambushed his college tormentors, killing them and causing widespread terror on campus.

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Upon learning that his former professor at Stanford University, Dr. Martin Stein, also known as one half of the superhero Firestorm, had taken a position at the school teaching physics, Monroe hatched a plan to kill him, too. He twice attempted to murder his new colleague, but his vengeful plot was foiled when Firestorm defeated him in battle. Thus, the Weasel was apprehended and his secret identity revealed. Firestorm sent Monroe to Belle Reve, where he was imprisoned for his violent crimes. Rather tellingly, Stein didn't even remember Monroe from their time at Stanford University, adding insult to injury.

The Weasel The Suicide Squad Trailer

Following his recruitment to the Suicide Squad on a dangerous rescue mission, Monroe went feral. During a wild and deranged murder spree, the Weasel slashed his comrade in arms, the Thinker's, throat and killed him, to which Rick Flag Jr. responded by putting on his fallen Task Force X team member's helmet. In doing so, Flag hoped to take control of the rapidly spiraling situation and save their mission. However, when a lingering dying thought in the Thinker's helmet compelled Flag to kill the Weasel, his death was ignored and his corpse was left to rot on the island alone. Sadly, John Monroe died as he lived: forgotten and dismissed.

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Based on the trailer, the Weasel in the DCEU may have gained his humanoid weasel appearance from an experiment. While some team members are initially concerned over his animalistic behavior and appearance, Flag assures them that he's mostly harmless. Nevertheless, the Weasel has viciously killed 27 children, implying he is unstable enough not to be trusted or trifled with. In contrast to the comics version of the Weasel, James Gunn's DCEU version seems to lack the intelligence Monroe possesses.

His appearance is also a considerable difference between the two mediums, with the movie universe Monroe looking like an anthropomorphic weasel, whereas the character in the comic universe appears as a human in a weasel suit. Both iterations are agile and skilled hand-to-hand combatants, but the DCEU Weasel benefits from a heightened sense of smell and hearing, as well as his inherent animal instincts. At the same time, in the comics, the Weasel is capable of more complex thought processes. Despite the fact that The Suicide Squad version of the Weasel clearly won't be receiving his Ph.D. anytime soon, his razor-sharp teeth and claws surely make up for what he lacks in brainpower.

Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Mayling NG as Mongal, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Alice Braga as Solsoria, Sylvester Stallone as King Shark, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Sean Gunn as Weasel, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, John Cena as Peacemaker and Steve Agee, Taika Waititi and Storm Reid. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Aug. 6.

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