For a brief moment there, it looked like the DC fandom might finally come together behind the franchise’s new fearless leader James Gunn — those looking for something fresh were excited about his appointment while old-school loyalists were hopeful that Zack Snyder’s former collaborator (he and Gunn worked on the Dawn of the Dead remake together) would restore the Snyderverse.
However, as we now know, it seems that Gunn is actually set on dismantling the remaining vestiges of the original DCEU to make way for his own bold plans, including cancelling Wonder Woman 3, recasting Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, and giving Henry Cavill’s Superman the boot. So naturally that’s now made Gunn Public Enemy No. 1 for Snyder fans. Hence this failed attempt to hang Gunn’s The Suicide Squad out to dry.
In an attempt to show up the apparent double-standards of DC fans, Twitter user @kamkenobi argued that Captain Boomerang’s swift demise in TSS was on a par with Snyder killing off Jimmy Olsen as soon as he was introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, one rebuff from @Frankussy quickly poured water on this hot take by dousing it with factual accuracy.
“Captain Boomerang is literally a member of a team called the Suicide Squad,” they helpfully reminded us.
In case you don’t recall, Michael Cassidy’s Olsen was introduced as a Daily Planet photographer accompanying Lois Lane (Amy Adams) on her investigation in Nairomi, before he was discovered to be an undercover CIA agent and was executed by a Nairomian warlord. Fans naturally thought this an unnecessarily cruel treatment of such a beloved Superman family character.
And, yes, fans were likewise crushed that Jai Courtney’s Digger Harkness was offed so soon into The Suicide Squad, as he was one of the unlucky A-squad team that was wiped out in the movie’s memorable opening sequence. While we can argue that Boomerang deserved to life, though, his death was a smart way of establishing the stakes and the unique MO of Task Force X — these guys don’t have plot armor.
Although, who knows, maybe Gunn will kill Jimmy off in an even more bloodthirsty way in his own upcoming Superman movie.