“Suicide Squad” will be hitting theaters in just over a month, and will be filled with tons of fun and intriguing characters. This is the fifth part of the six part Meet the Squad series that helps us get to know these characters that will be brought to life.
The Squad had to come from the mind of someone. And that someone is Amanda Waller, who is the head of A.R.G.U.S, which has stood for many different things over the course of comic book history. Fans of the show “Arrow” have already been introduced to the character and what she is all about, along with A.R.G.U.S.
One thing about Amanda everyone should know right off the bat is she is good at getting her way. She likes to control people to get what she wants. That is at the core of her character, and the very reason the Squad gets created.
We have met Waller, played by Viola Davis, in the trailers. In the clips we get of her, we learn quite a bit about how the team comes together. Waller clearly has a mission that needs to be carried out, and it is dangerous. It is also a mission that an official government team cannot partake in due to the chance of some serious backlash. That is what leads Amanda to the formation of the Suicide Squad.
She organizes a group of convicted villains, all of whom have a special talent. First things first, she will clearly choose each member for a specific reason, so expect each one of them to have the chance to showcase their stuff. They are all bad guys, so she knows if things go wrong, they can simply spin it off as a group of baddies breaking out and doing what they do best. And she views them all as expendable, as they essentially mean nothing to her besides being a pawn in her large game of chess.
In most iterations of the Suicide Squad, Waller has bombs implanted in the heads of each member. This way, if any of them try to escape, and you know at least one of them will, she simply blows their head off. Literally. This is her ultimate show of power, and helps her do what she does best. And what exactly would that be you ask? As she puts it in the first trailer, “Getting people to act against their own self-interest is what I do for a living”.
During the film she will be a dominant force behind the scenes, likely pulling the strings. The mission the Squad goes on will be for her. She will be giving the orders, while avoiding the danger. That is simply what she does.
So she will clearly have a prominent role in the film, even if her screen time will not be as high as our heroes (villains? I am really not sure what to call them). Viola Davis embodies the power and authority the role needs, and she will certainly command the respect Waller should. She likely will not be many people’s favorite character, but I do expect fans to walk away impressed with her take on the character. She is not supposed to be someone you like, but rather fear and possibly respect. She is out for her own best interest, and every move she makes, and has the Squad make, is done for a very specific reason.
So make sure to pay very close attention to everything she does. It is very possible that something that seems very minor early on has a major impact come the climax of the film. Most films have something like that, and I would be willing to bet “Suicide Squad”’s will somehow revolve around the head of A.R.G.U.S.
So she may not be one of the characters that are drawing you into the film, but Davis is set to leave you impressed with the performance. If you walk out of the theater with a dislike for Waller, Davis will have succeeded. And you can most likely expect to see some more of Waller down the line, especially if “Suicide Squad” gets a sequel.
Check back in on Wednesday, July 6th to meet the man everyone is talking about, the one and only, the Joker.