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Warning: Major spoilers ahead for The Suicide Squad ending! If you haven't seen the DC movie, turn back now and come back once you're all caught up!
The Suicide Squad is here, and if you've seen the movie, you probably have some questions about that ending.
James Gunn's madcap adventure gets pretty wild, with Starro smashing up Corto Maltese and Task Force X fighting to stop the alien. There are some twists and turns as secrets come to light, too, and one member of the Squad goes rogue and betrays the rest. In the end, only a handful of the team are left standing.
Whether you're wondering who survived or what happened to Starro, we've got the answers here – so scroll on to check out our complete rundown of the ending of The Suicide Squad.
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What is Project Starfish?
The Squad see something pretty disturbing when they get inside Jotunheim, the World War 2 era laboratory on Corto Maltese. There's a giant alien starfish, for one thing, and that's far from the worst that they discover.
Rick Flag, Peacemaker, and Ratcatcher 2 see footage of the alien Starro being discovered by American astronauts and the beast then deploying miniature versions of itself to take over their human bodies. The Thinker then reveals the horrific experiments being conducted on innocent people, with small Starros attached to their faces: the more hosts Starro takes, the bigger it grows.
Task Force X were under the impression that Project Starfish belonged to Corto Maltese, but The Thinker says the US government are behind the experiments – and while Flag wants to take the information public, Peacemaker isn't so keen on the idea. He reveals the true purpose of their mission: to destroy proof that the US was involved in Project Starfish.
What happened to The Thinker?
It's clear that Starro isn't a fan of The Thinker, when it immediately asks (via a host) if the Squad are there to save it from him. When the bombs upstairs accidentally go off too early and all at once, Starro breaks free – and goes straight for The Thinker. Completely ignoring everything the scientist says, the alien snares him in its tentacles and kills him.
Why didn't Peacemaker want Project Starfish going public?
While Flag wants the world to know what the US were up to at Jotunheim, Peacemaker pulls a gun to stop him. He explains his mission was to prevent the information going public, and he's willing to fight Flag over it. Peacemaker is all about, as the name suggests, peace, and it's clear this information would cause chaos if it became widely known.
What happened to Rick Flag?
Peacemaker and Flag end up locked in a brutal fight over the drive of information on Project Starfish. Their battle takes them through Jotunheim, and while they inflict some serious damage on each other, Peacemaker eventually gets the upper hand and drives a shard of debris right into Flag's heart, which kills him. It's a gruesome scene, with director James Gunn taking us inside Flag... Ew...
What happened to Peacemaker?
Unfortunately for Peacemaker, the murder of Flag has a witness – Ratcatcher 2 sees the whole thing and even grabs the hard drive containing evidence that the US government has been doing illegal things. Peacemaker pursues Ratcatcher 2 as she tried to escape, and the pursuer is about to kill her when he's interrupted by the arrival of Bloodsport.
The assassin was up near the top of Jotunheim, but as the whole structure started coming down, he ends up riding a huge chunk of concrete through several floors, landing superhero-style in time to see Peacemaker about to shoot Ratcatcher 2. Across the movie, she and Bloodsport grew rather close, so naturally, he draws his gun and fires just as Peacemaker takes aim at him.
In a callback to earlier in the movie, when Peacemaker boasts of having smaller bullets than Bloodsport, the assassin's bullet is small enough to pass through Peacemaker's, which means John Cena's character gets (apparently) fatally wounded.
During the post-credits scene, though, it turns out Peacemaker actually survived the shot, and there's still more for him left to do, namely saving the world. Expect that particular plot-line to be picked up in the Peacemaker spinoff series, if it turns out not to be a prequel after all.
What are the mini Starros?
Starro might be one giant alien starfish, but it has the ability to spawn countless tinier versions of itself. These mini Starros flap around looking for a host, and take one by smacking onto a human face, which allows them to take control of the body and essentially become part of one big hive. They all seem to feel each other's pain, too, with everyone screaming and clutching their leg when Starro took some polka-dots to its own leg.
What happened to Polka-Dot Man?
While Polka-Dot Man fired his burning spots at Starro's leg and seriously injured the alien, he didn't have the most glorious ending. Right after cheering "I'm a superhero!" one of Starro's giant limbs slams down on him, crushing him. Later, it's discovered that all that's left of him is some blood and bits of his torn up, dotty suit. Unfortunately, don't expect to see Polka-Dot man again in a sequel.
What happened to Starro?
Ratcatcher 2 turns her legion of rodents to fighting Starro, which eventually starts to overwhelm the alien. Harley Quinn then flies, javelin-first, into its giant eye, which allows the rats to swim inside and start attacking from within. Starro goes down eventually, and Harley then safely re-emerges from its single eye. She knew that javelin would be important somewhere along the line!
What happened to Corto Maltese?
After Harley killed one murderous dictator, another swiftly took his place – and quickly found himself with a mini Starro landing on his face. While the rest of Corto Maltese's leadership attempt to figure out what to do next, the resistance burst in and violently take them all out, and the closing moments of the movie reveal that the island is now in the hands of the people. Huzzah!
Which members of Task Force X survived?
Gunn made no secret of the fact that the majority of the characters would die in The Suicide Squad. In fact, only six members of Task Force X live to tell the tale: Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, King Shark, Peacemaker, and Weasel. Every other character met their grisly fate at some point in the movie (most of them in the chaotic beach scene at the start of the film).
Did Weasel survive?
The mid-credits scene reveals that Weasel lives another day. The creature couldn't actually swim, which meant it was thought drowned when Task Force X was dropped into the ocean off Corto Maltese's coastline. As it turns out, Weasel is fine, and is last seen scurrying away from the shore. What it does next is anyone's guess...
What's next for Task Force X?
While the movie doesn't explicitly set up a sequel, there are still some clues about what might be next for the Squad. The surviving members of Task Force X blackmail Amanda Waller with the Project Starfish information, which could see them in her crosshairs in the future. Then there's Peacemaker still being needed to save the world, which is most likely setting up his spinoff series on HBO Max. Apart from that, their future is wide open, and after the mayhem of The Suicide Squad, the sky seems the limit.
Now that you're all caught up, check out how to watch DC movies in order for the ultimate movie marathon.
