The Suicide Squad Post-Credits Scene and Ending, Explained

The Suicide Squad might have essentially pressed the reset button on its supervillain franchise, but it continues in the footsteps of the first film by having a post-credits scene. Thankfully, writer-director James Gunn hasn’t given in to his excesses here though — unlike Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which had five scenes during the credits, The Suicide Squad has just one. Or two, depending on how you look at it — the first one feels like a part of the film’s true ending, but your mileage might vary. They do have something in common though, with people coming back from (presumed) death on both counts. Let’s dive into The Suicide Squad post-credit scene.

Warning: spoilers ahead for The Suicide Squad. Proceed at your own risk.

The Suicide Squad ending, explained

In Gunn’s new DC movie, Task Force X’s big new mission takes them to a fictional island called Corto Maltese, where the new gang eventually learn that the US government made a secret deal with the local dictator family to conduct scientific experiments in a Nazi-era laboratory tower. The subject? An alien starfish called Starro who grew in size every time one of its mind-control spores attached itself to a human face. So when it’s released accidentally 30 years later, Starro ends up killing everyone around the tower, before going on a rampage through the city.

Review: The Suicide Squad Is More Than DC’s Guardians of the Galaxy

Technically, Task Force X has fulfilled its mission as it involved retrieving a hard drive from the mainframe, thereby keeping America’s role secret to prevent international outcry. But as they see Starro run riot through Corto Maltese, the remaining members of the new Suicide Squad — Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) — decide to go against mission directive and stop the giant alien monster.

Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Idris Elba as Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad
Photo Credit: DC Comics/Warner Bros.

Polka-Dot Man is killed in the process, but Ratcatcher 2 saves the day by summoning all of Corto Maltese’s rats and setting them on Starro. Meanwhile, Harley uses a javelin and stabs the creature in its massive eye. With Starro dead, Bloodsport uses the hard drive as leverage to free the team from Task Force X boss Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). If she detonates the bombs in any one of their heads, the data from the hard drive will be leaked to the global press via a publicly-available online folder. Waller accepts the deal, and ferries them out of Corto Maltese on a helicopter.

As they fly away, Ratcatcher 2 leans on her new friend King Shark, Harley smiles to herself, and Bloodsport finally overcomes his fear of rats, stroking Ratcatcher 2’s pet rat Sebastian. The Suicide Squad cuts to a title card but that’s not the end of the film. Right after the title card, we cut to Weasel who had been presumed dead by drowning at the start of the movie. But he made it, it seems, as he coughs up water and then comes to his senses. Getting up, Weasel then runs towards the Corto Maltese jungle on what looks like the same night as his death. I’m guessing he got lost in the jungle.

The Suicide Squad post-credits scene, explained

After all the credits have rolled and we end on another title card, The Suicide Squad jumps to a hospital where two of Waller’s aides, John Economos (Steve Agee) and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), are with a female doctor. She explains that they found the patient in the rubble and were shocked to discover that his heart was still beating. She wasn’t certain about shipping him from Corto Maltese to the US, but she too has been surprised by his resilience. Who’s the patient then? It’s Peacemaker (John Cena), who has mysteriously survived a Bloodsport bullet (and tons of rubble).

“You realise this is revenge, right? Waller knows we double crossed her, and she’s getting back at us by saddling us with this douchebag,” Economos says to Harcourt who nods. “I heard he was sort of a hero down in Corto Maltese,” the doctor adds, only for Economos to strongly disagree. The doctor wonders what they want him for, and Harcourt replies: “Just to save the f–king world, that’s all.”

John Cena as Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad post-credits scene
Photo Credit: DC Comics/Warner Bros.

No, that’s not a setup for the yet-to-be-confirmed The Suicide Squad 2 — or Suicide Squad 3, if we’re counting the first film — but rather a TV series that has already been unveiled. In September last year, HBO Max announced a Peacemaker spin-off series written and directed by Gunn, set to premiere in January 2022. And now that we know he’s still alive, Peacemaker could not only delve into his origins, as Gunn previously said, but also explore his life after the events of The Suicide Squad. Whatever this new “save-the-world” mission is.

The Suicide Squad is now playing in cinemas worldwide and on HBO Max in the US. In India, The Suicide Squad is available in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, has a double bill this week: the OnePlus 9 series, and Justice League Snyder Cut (starting at 25:32). Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.