The Suicide Squad returns in DC & WB Animation’s latest film entry. In the first stand alone film of the antihero team, Deadshot; under Amanda Waller’s orders leads the band of misfits into a search for a proposed “Get out of Hell Free” card which was stolen from a former Dr. Fate.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is a 2018 animated superhero film, it is produced & distributed by WB Animation. It is currently available on digital platforms and will release on DVD & Blu-Ray on April 10, 2018.

Amanda Waller (left) with the DC Animation incarnation of the titular team.

While there is another Suicide Squad animated feature currently available, it should be noted that said film is set within the Rocksteady Batman: Arkham universe and is not an actual Suicide Squad film. Which would explain the return of a certain character who was killed off in that film. In this film the team search for a “Get out of Hell Free” card but get entwined in a battle with vying groups led by Zoom & Vandal Savage who are also looking for the card.

Co-lead antagonist Zoom is from DC Animation’s Flashpoint.

THE GOOD: Suicide Squad’s first stand alone animated film is a pretty solid action movie. Based within the Flashpoint multiverse, Amanda Waller has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is looking to escape her likely place in the after life once she expires in 6 months. She tasks Deadshot and his team (Harley Quinn, Killer Frost, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, and Copperhead) with finding the stolen card that gives it’s dying user a free pass into Heaven regardless of their past actions. Naturally, in typical Suicide Squad fashion things go south when Zoom, Banshee, and Blockbuster, as well as Vandal Savage, Scandal Savage, and Knockout vie for ownership of the card.

Yes Knockout & Scandal are a couple just like in the comics.

One of Suicide Squad’s biggest attractions is that it’s based on a team of super-villains learning to reform by doing good and not so good actions under The Agency’s watch. As many DC fans should know by now head of The Agency, Amanda Waller is no angel and depending on the incarnation of the team she’s depicted as the real villain of the series or a morally twisted protagonist. In Hell to Pay her character’s line is kind of blurred, which is good because this is a team of super-villains and we’re not supposed to care that much about them, but the Suicide Squad never forgets to at least attempt to humanize these characters nonetheless. One of the recurring stories is Deadshot looking to make amends with his daughter after years of crime and often times he gets a bit of that redemption. Usually, almost every member of the team ends up having some kind of moral reform. However, in ‘Hell to Pay’ Deadshot feels like the main character with moral awareness next to Bronze Tiger & Harley Quinn. Everyone else but Cooperhead (who is used for comic relief) have their own agenda with the card.

Vandal Savage & his army in Hell to Pay.

Deadshot & Bronze Tiger’s parallels are the moral glue behind the team and their own relationship is brought home by one of the closing scenes in which Deadshot decides to give a dying Tiger the card to not only spite Waller, but allow him to see his murdered fiance again, showcasing the short-lived bond they formed throughout the mission. There are some fun cameos featuring Two-Face, Professor Pyg, Maxum Steel (formerly Dr. Fate) and other DC villains.

The antihero team’s first animated epic.

THE BAD: It would have been nice if the Flashpoint ties had been further established. We really only get about two short scenes detailing this fact. The Deadshot & Harley relationship isn’t explored in this film at all as well.

‘Hell to Pay’ brings action, emotions, and laughs.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is fun but it does have a few flaws. Luckily these are easily ignored thanks to it’s quality. It is a bit disappointing that staple Suicide Squad elements aren’t further explored in the film such as Deadshot & Harley Quinn’s relationship and better exposition on it’s Flashpoint placement would have been appreciated. Otaku Dome gives Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay an 85 out of 100.