Consequences felt real in The Suicide Squad — an urgency we see echoing even after a franchise-wide reboot and the recasting of so many major heroes. The Suicide Squad was so successful that, just one year after its release, DC promoted Gunn to the top of the food chain. The Suicide Squad gave Gunn leave to do whatever he wanted with the DC sandbox, and he hasn’t been the most diligent steward. A lot of what worked in The Suicide Squad has been replicated to lesser effect across the entire franchise. Until then, however, it’s hard not to see The Suicide Squad as the poison pill, diverting as it was when it premiered five years ago.