The Suicide Squad: Why will Starro and King Shark steal the show?
The Suicide Squad promises to be something pretty epic, but Starro and King Shark are called upon to steal all the spotlight.
The first trailer for The Suicide Squad was mind-boggling and in practical terms an impressive string of characters, details and references that made it almost impossible to pay attention to all of them.
It is true that there were many highlights that grabbed the spotlight, such as seeing the return of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn or the presence of Joaquín Cosío in the new DC Extended Universe film, but there were a couple that definitely stole our attention: Starro and King Shark.
Starro, the conqueror
In addition to superheroes , oversized monsters like Godzilla and Kong are the thing today, and with Starro as their antagonist, The Suicide Squad wants to prove that he can be doubly cool .
But who exactly is this gigantic star-like creature and why should we be so excited to see him in James Gunn’s new film ?
Specifically, because Starro is synonymous with history. Not for less, it is one of the longest-lived and most beloved characters in all of DC Comics. This massive five-armed being was nothing less than the first super enemy the Justice League faced as a team, and not only that, but he really put them in a predicament.
His first appearance dates back to February 1960, when he debuted in the pages of the Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 # 28 comic , in which he gave Aquaman , Flash , Green Lantern , Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman a hard time. .
Don’t let his appearance fool you, Starro is more than a colossal starfish with a huge eye, this extraterrestrial being is extremely intelligent and has surprising abilities such as mind control, bio-fission, absorption and projection of energy, accelerated regeneration and. .. color change (evidently his least amazing technique).
Of all these powers, it is his ability to control minds, through tiny spores that look like a tiny version of him, that has given the Justice League the most headaches .
So forget about Darkseid and his plans to conquer the galaxy with his anti-life equation, Starro and his effective (if somewhat rudimentary) plan threaten to be a predicament rarely seen on screen. We just hope that Starro is worthily represented on screen.
King Shark, as epic as it is controversial
Of all the surprises we saw in that first trailer, seeing King Shark in all its glory blew our minds. While it wasn’t a revelation like Starro’s was , there were several reasons that left us wanting more.
Let’s start with what was perhaps the most talked about: the surprising and unexpected confirmation that Sylvester Stallone was the one in charge of giving voice to him .
This is not the first time that Stallone and Gunn have teamed up , as in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , the actor makes a special appearance to play Stakar Ogord .
Also, the advance of a few minutes allowed us to testify that this humanoid shark is a serious thing. Watching him gobble up a wretch and tear a man in two is simply a sight to see.
Created by writer Karl Kesel and artist Tom Grummett in 1994 as a cameo in Superboy # 0 and later as a real threat, the Shark King is a case of cuteness: super strength, endurance, healing factor and a multitude of teeth make him a Careful opponent.
Although he is usually presented as an anthropomorphic white shark, just like the one that will appear in the film, there are some variations of the character that show him as a hammerhead shark.
“I tested the hammerhead design, which I love and originally thought I would use. But having eyes on the widely separated sides made filming interactions with other people incredibly awkward. You couldn’t really see him looking at the other person and the shots tended to be too wide, ”the director explained shortly after.
With a large entourage of fans vouching for his popularity, King Shark is a recurring fixture in other DC projects, including The Flash television series and in animated films such as Justice League Dark: Apokolips War , in which it is revealed by the way that the The character is openly bisexual and had a romantic relationship with Constantine , a revelation that last year became one of the most talked about discussions on the web.
Although Gunn did not reveal if he will delve into this detail of the character, it would not be strange to see that the filmmaker would have the luxury of including a nod to that relationship.