How The Suicide Squad’s Starro Could Set Up Batman’s Craziest Sidekick Ever

One of the weirdest and most terrifying villains in DC Comics, Starro is set to make quite an impression in The Suicide Squad. But while the giant starfish-like alien is set to be the major antagonist for Task Force X, the film could end up being the gateway for the arrival of another, even stranger DC comics character; one that might not be as terrifying but is no less interesting. We’re talking, of course, about Jarro.

Jarro is, quite literally, Starro in a Jar. He was created by Scott Snyder and first appeared in Justice League Vol. 4 #10 (2018). Since that appearance, the character hasn’t been a major part of the DC Universe, but he’s certainly gathered a fan following — and his whole story is quite a ride, complete with some surprisingly adorable moments. Settle in.

Starro, a longtime foe of the Justice League, ends up working with the group (and others) as part of Team Mystery, a group of both heroes and villains put together by Brainiac to stop a group of entities known as the Omega Titans in Justice League: No Justice. It’s an unlikely partnership and there are definitely moments when Starro is certainly ready to be the villain, but he ultimately sees the merit of being a hero, so much so that he gives his own life to protect his sworn enemies.

Now, one of Starro’s interesting attributes is that he can reproduce asexually and it’s revealed in Justice League #10 that Batman had saved some of Starro’s tissue, using it to create a tiny clone of the entity. That clone, which he kept in a jar (hence the name Jarro) ended up being quite different from the starfish-like alien threat he was made from. Despite struggling with his heritage, Jarro was much kinder and more childlike. To him, Batman is his father and he dreams of one day earning Batman’s praise by becoming the very best Robin. Even with his love for Batman, Jarro does still sometimes struggle with the urge to embrace his darker side, but he does so only to protect those he loves. As we see in Justice League #29, after having a vision of the Justice League being defeated, Jarro puts them all in a trance to hide them from the Legion of Doom and it requires Batman to remind Jarro of the hero he really is.

For all the weirdness, Jarro has become something of a fan-favorite character and with Starro confirmed as the villain of The Suicide Squad, the film very well may offer an opportunity for Jarro to make his way to the DCEU. While details about the film remain understandably scarce, one of the things that popped up in a trailer was something called “Project Starfish”. In the trailer, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is heard instructing Task Force X on their mission, something that sounds like a mission to eliminate all traces of something called “Project Starfish”. With Starro being a starfish-like alien, it’s not too much of a stretch to consider that there’s some sort of covert operation out there somehow entangled with the creature and has now gotten out of hand — and previous footage from the film did show mini Starros fulfilling their comic-accurate role of latching onto faces and controlling people.

If the film sees Task Force X taking down Starro proper, it doesn’t take much imagination to envision someone collecting some evidence or tissue from the big bad that then grows into Jarro. One could even envision a scenario in which Jarro would end up in Batman’s world. After all, Harley is known for having some rather unusual pets and she does have strong ties to Gotham.

While The Suicide Squad might not actually set up for a Jarro arrival in the DCEU, it’s certainly something fun to think about. After all, the very idea of Starro is one that is interesting because he is both complex and ridiculous.

“Starro is hilarious because he’s ridiculous. He’s a giant, cerulean blue starfish, but he’s also f*cking terrifying,” writer-director James Gunn explained in an interview with Den of Geek earlier this year. “When I was a kid I thought that was the scariest thing of all time… and I think that exemplifies what this movie is: it is ridiculous and it’s also terrifying, and serious. So he works really well as the villain of the movie — as one of the villains, actually.”

The Suicide Squad debuts in theaters and on HBO Max beginning Thursday, August 5th.

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