The Suicide Squad Ending Explained

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad has finally arrived, and viewers are definitely going to be breaking down a lot of elements of the DC Comics blockbuster. Even before the film’s first trailers debuted, the idea of its ensemble cast and madcap plot definitely resonated with viewers — and thankfully, the film’s story arguably exceeded fans’ expectations. While there are some elements of The Suicide Squad that are just too epic for words at this moment, here’s what you need to know about how its one-of-a-kind conclusion unfolds. Obviously, major spoilers for The Suicide Squad below! Only look if you want to know!

The film sees Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) recruiting a group of ragtag superheroes on a mission to Corto Maltese, with the goal of destroying all evidence of something called “Project Starfish.” Ultimately, the team discovers that Project Starfish is being held at Jotunheim, a fortress originally built by Nazi soldiers, and that The Thinker (Peter Capaldi) is their best ticket into the facility.

Once the team arrives at Jotunheim, they learn the truth about Project Starfish — it was an initiative that captured innocent civilians to torture and serve as fodder for Starro, a giant starfish-shaped alien who had been discovered by American astronauts decades before. As it turns out, the American government was actually complicit in the Project Starfish experiments, and part of the Squad’s mission was to erase all evidence of that. This information caused a rift within the team, as some believed the information needed to be made public, while Peacemaker (John Cena) wanted to uphold his mission and keep the peace.

Eventually (after a few more members of the team died in the ensuing skirmish), Starro broke out of Jotunheim, and proceeded to spray its miniature, mind-controlling clones onto the citizens of Corto Maltese. The remaining Squad members — Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and King Shark (Steve Agee) — were instructed by Waller to leave Corto Maltese and let Starro continue to attack, but they disobeyed her orders and fought the beast anyway. Just as Waller prepared to ignite the bombs in the Squad’s head, she was knocked unconscious with a golf club by Belle Reve employee Flo Crawley (Tinashe Kajese).

The Squad then launched a full-fledged attack against Starro, which included each of them using their individual abilities to try to defeat the beast. Ultimately, what did the job was Harley stabbing Starro in the eye with a javelin, allowing Ratcatcher 2’s swarm of rats to invade the beast and eat his blood vessels and nerves, killing him. As Starro died, he remarked to the Squad that all he’d wanted was to live a peaceful life amongst the cosmos, before he was captured and experimented on by the Americans and Corto Maltesians.

The film ends with Bloodsport — who retained the hard drive of information that proved the Americans’ involvement in Project Starfish — uploading that evidence to a secure server, and swearing to leak it if any of the remaining Squad members are killed or even threatened. Waller reluctantly agreed to Bloodsport’s terms, and the surviving four members — Bloodsport, Harley, Ratcatcher 2, and King Shark — left Corto Maltese on a helicopter.

Not only does the ending bring an emotional conclusion to the surviving Squad’s stories (as well as the tragedy of Starro the Conqueror), but it essentially leaves a blank slate for whatever Suicide Squad stories are told next.

The Suicide Squad is now available in theaters, and to stream on HBO Max.

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