Before there was the release of Suicide Squad, the DC animated universe released Batman: Assault on Arkham in 2014 debuting the New 52 versions of the anti-heroes. With the DC cinematic universe starting in 2013 with Superman: Man of Steel and expanding towards one of the most anticipated films of 2017, Justice League, its animated counterpart has released 9 films since Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in 2013 with its latest project Batman and Harley Quinn recently announced with no release date, it is clear to see that the animated universe has been expanding at a faster rate than the cinematic universe.
However, which one of these two Suicide Squad films is better, Suicide Squad with Margot Robbie and Ben Affleck or Batman: Assault on Arkham with voice actors Hynden Walch and Kevin Conroy?
Time to break it down!
Let’s start with Harley Quinn, one of DC’s most complicated and beloved characters that has ever emerged, first made her appearance in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, which is what most of us grew up with.
Assault on Arkham definitely does have a sense of nostalgia to it due to Hynden Walch reprising her role as the Queen of Laughs, along with Kevin Conroy coming back as Batman, but Suicide Squad definitely brings in a sense of freshness to new viewers who have never been introduced to this grouping of anti-heroes before.
The relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad was definitely not what most people are familiar with. Harley and the Joker’s relationship was always seen as one-sided where Harley, completely devoted to the Joker whereas the Joker manipulated this devotion of his own gain, never giving her the love she wanted. The cinematic film showcased the beloved couple, as a caring pair that would go to the ends of the Earth for one another. That becomes one of the issues with the cinematic universe in that it displays and cuts out the scenes where the Joker abuses Harley, romanticizing their relationship to the new viewer base while betraying hardcore fans of the Suicide Squad. By romanticizing their one-sided,manipulative relationship, it takes out the version of Harley Quinn that many people love that caused her to join the Suicide Squad in the first place. Within the comics, after a fall out with the Joker, she was enlisted into the squad. Through many versions of Harley Quinn in the comics, fans have grown to love and sympathize with her as she tells her stories after ending her relationship with him.
The Joker in Assault on Arkham verbally abuses Harley, vocalizing his dominance and possessiveness over her, and here she wants to break free from the chains that latched onto her, showing its fans the Harley and Joker relationship that many people know and love. However, in the cinematic universe the Joker shows a sense of devotion to Harley, showing some type of protection and loyalty, the feeling of love mutual between the both of them, making it, in a sense, uncomfortable for many of its hardcore fans to watch.
One thing that Suicide Squad definitely missed out on was the tension between Deadshot and Captain Boomerang. The duo, even within the comics, were battling over dominance of the team, essentially who should be the leader of the squad. Suicide Squad showcased Captain Boomerang mostly as a slacker, who didn’t really showboat or attempt to impress as the better man with the better aim. Assault on Arkham definitely showcased this power struggle, making the action thriller animated film more humorous to watch.
One of the benefits of watching the animated universe to the cinematic one is that there is so much potential in the films, no limits on CGI or storylines because there is a lot of material and resources that the animation team could use. The Assault on Arkham definitely used a lot of their resources to create an interesting story that draws the audience into the film with all its action and jokes. However, it does not give a real concrete background for many of the characters, that Suicide Squad provided. Assault on Arkham services on audiences that are familiar with the squad members already, whereas Suicide Squad provided the background for all the members for an assumed audience coming to see the movie without any prior knowledge.
However, that became another flaw with the Suicide Squad. Since the cast had a bunch of characters, the background on each character took up a lot of the film’s movie, rushing the action towards the end. Along with brushing some of the characters’ background stories like Katana’s, whose story was spoken about in just a single line of the film. Arguably, most fans enjoyed the first half of the film that introduced all the members of the squad.
Ultimately in the end, both are good versions of the Suicide Squad. Suicide Squad takes a classic tale of the comics and helps introduces the DC cinematic universe. With the cinematic universe barely beginning with even more movies scheduled to be released up until with a Justice League sequel in 2020, Suicide Squad establishes some of the major villains of the DC universe. On the other end, Assault on Arkham, takes the beloved comic stories onto the bigger screens, not the big screens. With the animated series expanding even further with future films like Justice League Dark, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, and Batman and Harley Quinn, the characters tend to follow their comic versions.
Both are recommend watching!
