The Suicide Squad (2021) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Peacemaker betrayed the Squad during the infiltration of Jotunheim because he was secretly working to protect the Project Starfish experiment. He believed the alien Starro could be used as a weapon for Corto Maltese's government, and he killed Ratcatcher 2's teammate Polka Dot Man to prevent the team from destroying the facility. His loyalty to the mission and his nationalist ideology clashed with the Squad's objective to dismantle the project.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Peacemaker emphasized his commitment to peace and his willingness to do whatever it takes, hinting at his rigid worldview that would lead to betrayal.

• peacemaker betrayal
• project starfish
• jotunheim
• polka dot man death
• squad betrayal

Ratcatcher 2 used her ability to control rats, summoning a massive swarm of them to swarm across Starro's face and body. The rats' combined weight and movement destabilized the alien creature, causing it to lose its balance and fall. Bloodsport and Harley then took advantage of the opening to deliver the final blows that destroyed Starro.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the jungle, Ratcatcher 2 demonstrated her connection with rats by calling them to her side, establishing her unique power set before the final battle.

• ratcatcher 2
• starro defeat
• rat swarm
• battle jotunheim
• alien defeat

Amanda Waller forced Bloodsport into Task Force X by threatening his daughter Tyla. She showed him a photo of her and made it clear that harm would come to his daughter if he refused to participate. This manipulation tactic is Waller's standard approach to ensuring compliance from her recruited criminals.

Foreshadowing: Waller's recruitment method is established early when she approaches Savant with the same intimidating demeanor, showing her pattern of coercion.

• bloodsport
• amanda waller
• daughter tyla
• coercion
• recruitment

Project Starfish was a secret government experiment conducted at the Jotunheim facility in Corto Maltese. The project involved capturing and experimenting on an alien creature later revealed to be Starro The Conqueror. The Thinker, Dr. Gaius Grieves, was overseeing the experiments that ultimately created a giant alien starfish that could mind-control humans through microscopic spores.

Foreshadowing: Waller mentioned strange experiments happening in Corto Maltese before the team arrived, hinting at the covert scientific operation.

• project starfish
• jotunheim
• starro
• thinker
• gaius grieves
• alien experiment

The Squad mistakenly killed members of the local Freedom Fighters because they were misinformed about their targets. The team was led to believe the Freedom Fighters were enemy combatants working with the Corto Maltese regime. In reality, the Freedom Fighters were rebels opposing the dictatorship of Silvio Luna and General Suarez, making them potential allies rather than enemies.

Foreshadowing: The briefing about Corto Maltese's political situation did not clearly distinguish between rebel groups and regime forces, setting up the tragic misunderstanding.

• freedom fighters
• corto maltese
• mistaken targets
• rebel group
• betrayal

Yes, Peacemaker survived. In the post-credits scene, it is revealed that Peacemaker was alive and recovering in a hospital bed. While Bloodsport believed he had killed Peacemaker by shooting him in the neck during the Jotunheim battle, the wound was apparently not fatal. His survival sets up potential future appearances in the DC universe.

Foreshadowing: The post-credits scene shows a TV report about Peacemaker's survival, contrasting with the apparent finality of his death scene.

• peacemaker survival
• post credits
• death scene
• hospital
• hc quinn sequel

Silvio Luna, the dictator of Corto Maltae, captured Harley Quinn because he became infatuated with her during the mission. Despite being a ruthless leader, Luna tried to woo Harley romantically, even showing her his collection of diamond hearts as gifts. Harley used this distraction to escape, eventually freeing herself and rejoining the Squad to continue the mission.

Foreshadowing: During the jungle sequence, Harley finds herself separated from the group, which sets up her capture by Luna's forces.

• harley quinn
• silvio luna
• capture
• romance
• escape
• corto maltese dictator

Weasel survived his apparent drowning because he was actually a metahuman with aquatic abilities, despite not being able to swim initially. In the mid-credits scene, Weasel is shown waking up unharmed in the jungle after the battle, leaving his survival unexplained but suggesting his physiology allowed him to survive underwater.

Foreshadowing: The movie never establishes Weasel as a metahuman before his death, making his survival in the mid-credits scene an unexpected twist.

• weasel survival
• drowning
• metahuman
• jungle
• mid credits

Blackguard betrayed the team to save his own life. He made a deal with the Corto Maltese mercenaries, leading the Squad into an ambush in exchange for being spared. His plan backfired when the mercenaries killed him anyway, as they had no intention of honoring their deal.

Foreshadowing: Blackguard's cowardly personality was hinted at when he was first introduced as part of the criminal roster, suggesting he would prioritize self-preservation.

• blackguard
• betrayal
• ambush
• mercenaries
• corto maltese death

Waller sent a second team because the first team (Team 2) suffered catastrophic losses almost immediately upon arriving in Corto Maltese. Weasel drowned, Blackguard was killed during his betrayal, Mongal and Captain Boomerang died in helicopter accidents, and Savant was killed by Waller's neck bomb when he tried to escape. With most of the team dead and the mission incomplete, Waller deployed Bloodsport's team (Team 1) to finish the job.

Foreshadowing: The opening sequence establishes Waller's pattern of using expendable criminals and her willingness to sacrifice them when they fail.

• amanda waller
• second team
• first squad deaths
• mission failure
• task force x