Deadshot And Batman
If you are coming into Suicide Squad with little knowledge of the comic book history of Deadshot, then the scene in which the hitman encounters Batman (Ben Affleck) is a great moment. Deadshot – also known as Floyd Lawton – is walking through Gotham with his young daughter. He is divorced from the girl’s mother, and is concerned to hear that the mother-daughter dynamic is a troubled one.
Deadshot explains to his daughter that he has a plan, and that he is working hard to ensure she can soon come to live with him, and they can live happily ever after. But, his daughter knows about Deadshot’s chosen career, and asks plainly if they will be living from the proceeds of him killing people. He is uncomfortable with this line of questioning – not least because she assures him she still loves him, and this makes him wonder what the impact of his lifestyle will have on his offspring.
Rounding a corner into an alleyway, Batman suddenly descends behind them, growling that it’s all over for Deadshot. The moment, in and of itself, is thrilling because we are seeing Batman from a different perspective for the first time. Deadshot has just been set up as a loving father who only wants to provide a good life for his daughter, and here comes this masked vigilante who is threatening that future. In this scene, it is Batman who is the antagonist rather than the hero – and that is a fascinating twist on the usual dynamic.
It’s also a great moment because it builds upon the new version of Batman that began with Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice – the Batman that is kind of creepy and intimidating, and lurks in the shadows waiting to pounce. The way in which he drops into the alleyway behind Deadshot, and states very simply that this is justice catching up with the hitman, really is ‘proper’ Batman.
