I can hardly wait for James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad next month. If there’s one thing about it that surprised me, it was that Starro was revealed to be the main villain. I first thought to myself that having this villain would be pretty awesome. I mean, the thing is a giant starfish and he spawns little starfish that attach themselves to the faces of people like facehuggers from Alien. Once they’re attached, the victims are under the control of Starro and become his puppets. That sounds like a dangerous villain, so I get why James Gunn chose him to be the villain for his Suicide Squad movie.
Then again, I always thought the Suicide Squad operated best when they went up against more human threats. I mean, they tried taking on more supernatural villains in the 2016 movie and we all sadly remembered how that went. Boy, Enchantress sure was bad, wasn’t she? I’m glad she didn’t return for James Gunn’s movie, but it looks like he’s going bigger than what David Ayer did. I honestly thought his Suicide Squad would go on a mission to fight some human-level threat. Well, the trailers certainly proved me wrong and showed Starro in his true, giant form. Talk about upping the ante.
I figured a sequel to the 2016 Suicide Squad movie would right the wrongs of the first movie. By that, I mean don’t go the whole supernatural villain route. Starro is the farthest thing from a human villain, but the truth is, he’s more significant than Enchantress. Even though he’s a giant starfish, I think that’s something the upcoming Suicide Squad movie can work with. Starro’s ability to spawn little versions of himself can allow him to build an army of mind-controlled people. This will give the Suicide Squad more than they can handle, and then they have to kill Starro himself. If the Justice League has trouble defeating him, then the Suicide Squad will certainly have a problem.
Every time I think of Starro, his first appearance in DC comics always pops up in my head. When he made his debut in 1960, the cover on the Brave and the Bold comic showed him fighting multiple Justice League members, including the Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. He officially debuted as Starro the Conquerer.
This is a villain who I believe to be one of the most unique villains of all time. Created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, Starro was a villain who was perfect for the Silver Age of comics. Would you take a giant starfish seriously? On the surface, that sounds like a lame and corny villain, but we should remember that during that time, comics thrived in the corniest of corn fields. But Starro is far beyond a giant starfish. He’s actually an intelligent alien and he coincidently resembles a giant starfish. Hey man, it’s comics. If it sounds silly to you, just dive deeper into what makes Starro such a serious villain.
I remember playing the Batgirl DLC for Batman: Arkham Knight and seeing that Starro cameo. If you moved, his eye would slowly follow you and his body was trapped in a large tank filled with water. It was extremely creepy and could be straight out of a horror movie. If only they took that small cameo further.
Knowing James Gunn, he might not go the horror route, but I do know that with his horribly beautiful mind, he can make a giant starfish, something that sounds corny on paper, an awesome part of the Suicide Squad. Now it’s possible James Gunn can merge some horror aspects with his type of comedy. I can see a scene where Starro can be legitimately scary, as he has the ability to mind control people. What’s really cool about that is that he’s not the type of villain you would think is scary at first sight. Again, he’s a giant starfish, so why would you?
Now it looks like James Gunn will go the more traditional and original route with Starro. I believe that’s the way it should be because the New 52 humanoid version was just lame. To me, it killed everything that made the villain a unique character. A big, muscular man with the little starfish attached to his face doesn’t exactly have the same effect as a giant starfish. That’s the version James Gunn is going with, not a big surprise since he likes the old school stuff. I think he can make a villain like this work in a modern era. The guy made a talking raccoon and tree work, didn’t he?
I believe Starro will be miles better than Enchantress because the giant alien starfish fits in the story. And what’s his goal? He just controls the inhabitants of a planet and conquers, hence the name. What did Enchantress have to offer? I don’t even remember, but I’m pretty sure it was just some rogue sorceress wanting to destroy the world out of anger. It simply didn’t fit with the tone of the Suicide Squad, but where James Gunns is taking them now, it does set up a good stage for Starro. The creature is a mad science experiment of a corrupt government and probably wants to be free. Once it does get free, that’s when the real chaos happens.
I’m excited to see Starro in his first live-action movie and I hope other fans will come to appreciate the character’s run in DC. With its ability to asexually spawn little versions of himself and use them to mind control enough people to build an unstoppable army, the squad will meet their biggest challenge. I’ll be rooting for them in August.
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