If one thinks that superhero movies are about colorful costumes, easy wins, and feel-good finales, then The Suicide Squad gleefully proves one wrong. James Gunn throws together an oval of the strangest, most forgettable, and often hopeless villains of DC, strands them on a hostile battlefield, and watches as everything spirals out of control. This brutally violent, R-rated ride makes one thing clear right out of the gate: survival is never guaranteed, and deaths can be just as laugh-out-loud absurd as they are sudden. From shocking exits to moments of pure chaos, here’s a look at the most outrageous ways characters meet their maker in this movie.
10. Starro the Conqueror – Smashed by Chaos
It’s not often that a movie’s big threat shows up as a massive alien starfish, but The Suicide Squad fully commits to the idea. Starro isn’t just some mindless creature; he’s a cosmic nightmare with psychic abilities, capable of hijacking bodies and bending people to his will. Once known in the comics as the Justice League’s very first major foe, Starro is repurposed here as the secret weapon behind Corto Maltese’s shady experiment known as Project Starfish. When he’s unleashed, the result is pure chaos: city-wide destruction, a spear straight through his eye courtesy of Harley Quinn, and a horrifying swarm of rats led by Ratcatcher 2 delivering the final blow. It’s messy, surreal, and impossible to forget the perfect over-the-top finale for a movie that thrives on insanity.
9. Polka-Dot Man – The Greatest Tragedy
Abner Krill, aka Polka-Dot Man, is a joke waiting to happen—until he’s not. With a strange ability to fire weaponized dots and a psychological hang-up over his dominant mother, he’s a laugh and a tragic figure. In the climactic final battle, he finally comes through, landing a heroic punch to Starro—seconds before getting crushed. His demise is a gut-punch amidst the absurdity, and it shows that Gunn can make you laugh and cry all on the same breath.
8. Milton – The Guy No One Remembers
Milton’s not evil. He’s just. Around. The van driver. The guy who lingers too long. And when he gets killed on a mission, it barely happens—at least for Harley Quinn, who can’t even remember who he was. But Polka-Dot Man’s genuine mourning lends a strangely sincere element to his death, making a throwaway joke something curiously poignant. Only in The Suicide Squad would someone like Milton even count.
7. The Thinker – Brains Blown Out
With a head full of electrodes and a mind full of secrets, Peter Capaldi’s Thinker is the man behind the Starfish curtain. But being the smartest guy in the room doesn’t mean much when Starro breaks free. His demise? Brutal—limbs torn apart and body slammed into paste. It’s an ugly, fitting end for a man who thought he could control the monster.
6. Captain Boomerang – Burned Out Fast
One of the familiar veterans from the original Suicide Squad, Captain Boomerang, appears long enough to die a blaze of glory. He has a few signature kills with his deadly boomerangs before a helicopter explosion does him in in a flashy way. It’s fast, sloppy, and almost jaunty in demeanor—which is fairly apt for this movie.
5. Blackguard – Betrayal Goes Boom
Pete Davidson’s Blackguard believes he’s slick—betraying his squad to the enemy before his feet even touch the sand. Betrayal costs, though, and here it’s his face getting blown off in a matter of minutes. It’s sudden, absurd, and altogether deserved. A classic case of how The Suicide Squad deals with snitches.
4. Mongal, Javelin, T.D.K., Savant – First to Fall
The beach attack is an initial massacre. Mongal grabs onto a helicopter and ends up charbroiled. Javelin can’t even get through selling off his namesake gun before getting a hail of bullets in him. T.D.K. flails his amputated arms into a limp-wristed slap-fest and winds up shrieking on the ground, riddled with holes. And Savant? He attempts to flee and gets his head blown off by Waller for desertion. This team is only there to die horribly—and they get off to the right start.
3. Rick Flag – Killed for Doing the Right Thing
Rick Flag is one of the genuinely good people on the team. So, of course, he doesn’t survive. When he discovers the atrocity behind Project Starfish, he attempts to bring it to light—only for Peacemaker to betray him. Their battle concludes with a shard in his heart, and his last words—”Peacemaker…what a joke”—are deeply poignant. It’s one of the most human and tragic deaths in the movie.
2. Peacemaker – Peace at Any Cost (Even His Own Life)
John Cena’s Peacemaker is a contradiction: he’ll kill anyone in the name of peace. He kills Flag and then faces off against Bloodsport, ending with a shot to the neck. It seems like poetic justice for a second. But the post-credits reveal that he’s still alive—and looking to kill another day. His death is even a joke with a sequel hook.
1. Weasel – Not Dead (But Close Enough) Technically
The movie begins with Weasel dramatically drowning before anyone even gets off a first bullet. It’s a sidesplitting “wait, what?” scene that immediately establishes the absurdity. But the punchline? He turns out to have survived and sprints away in the last shot. Is he alive? Is he dangerous? Does he even know anything? Who cares. But Weasel’s decoy death is an absolute aptitude for The Suicide Squad’s frenetic energy.
The Suicide Squad feeds on chaos. Death happens quickly, usually ridiculously so, and always accompanied by a punchline (or emotional punch) in close pursuit. James Gunn doesn’t simply kill characters off—he makes each departure memorable. And in a world as screwed up as this one, that’s the best you can ask for.