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How Suicide Squad Shook Up A Whole Genre

It is an undeniable fact that modern cinema is increasingly dominated by comic book movies. These celluloid adaptations of comic book characters plough into theatres, propelled by the awesome power of Hollywood studio marketing machines. From Richard Donner’s Superman in 1978, to Bryan Singer’s X-Men in 2000; from Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989 to Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men In Black in 1997; from any number of unconnected franchise attempts, to the coordinated approach of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe – the comic book movie genre has gradually evolved to become the big ticket item for those production companies lucky enough to hold the rights.

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The DC Extended Universe began with Man Of Steel – another variation of the white male superhero story – and it is unfortunate that it came after five years of Marvel films. Superman is one of the most recognizable comic book characters ever created, so it is to be expected that his tale would be the foundation of any cohesive DC film universe. Inevitably, however, it became a part of the milky white soup of comic book good guys being poured onto our big screens – as did its follow-up, Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which featured two white guys fighting, while being manipulated by, you guessed it, another white guy.

And so we arrive at summer 2016 – drowning in white male superheroes, while filmmakers (more men) desperately scramble to reinvent the wheel, and make the formula feel fresh and new. Let’s do it in 3D! More explosions! More minions for the villain! Let’s have them fight among themselves! Unfortunately, there is only so much life to be wrung from a single perspective and, having flooded the marketplace with this very particular kind of comic book superhero, there was a very real sense in the earlier months of this year that this beloved movie genre might simply collapse under the weight of its own pale testosterone.

Marvel guru Kevin Feige can now regularly be heard in the media, conjuring up increasingly complex reasoning to explain why Marvel has so far only made movies about white men. To paraphrase, making movies about people that aren’t white men is really hard, apparently. It’s not entirely clear how the studio has reached this conclusion, since they don’t appear to have tried in the same committed way they approach niche, white male characters such as Ant-Man – but that’s the party line, and they seem to be sticking to it. This is the line that is used to encourage audiences who may be finding this all a little tedious to hang in there. Just be patient. You can have a movie about someone other than a white guy when we think you’re ready to handle it. In other words, this may be 2016, but you still have to wait another two years before we begin to practice some semblance of real inclusion.

Meanwhile, over at DC and Warner Bros., the universe planners revealed their long-term plan, involving a franchise of 13 films, of which only six are currently expected to be led by white male superheroes. Having kicked things off with projects focusing on Superman and Batman, the fourth film of the universe will be Wonder Woman (also directed by a woman), released in 2017. For those keeping score, this means that the DCEU will have launched itself as a whole, developed itself as a franchise, and released a female-led, female-directed instalment before the 10-year-old MCU even begins shooting one. But it is the third film in the DCEU – Suicide Squad – that has proved to be the real game-changer.

It can be argued that a rising tide lifts all boats, but if you also take the view that Marvel and DC are competitors, then DC’s slate makes great business sense. In a generally flawless venture, Marvel’s biggest mistake has been placing all their eggs in the basket of white men, and leaving them there for a full decade. Nothing has demonstrated this more than the massive box office success that has been enjoyed by Suicide Squad, in spite of its spectacular critical mauling. An appetite for something different not only exists, but is quickly growing, and Marvel has not yet provided any sustenance to combat that hunger. Suicide Squad, on the other hand, is a feast for those longing for radical change.

And so on that note, let’s look at how Amanda Waller and her Task Force X have administered a long overdue shake-up to the comic book movie genre.