Joker's Tattoos Explained | Suicide Squad Easter Eggs

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So DC’s back at it again with another installment in their cinematic universe but this time, it’s all about the villains - and I’m not talking the execs at WB.

And while the movie, just like its predecessors, has been getting some flack, I want to find the peaceful middle ground and just geek out about all of the easter eggs, references, that scene that plays after all of those words come up, and everything that you need to know about DC’s Suicide squad.

GOOD OL' HARLEY

For those who are fans of Batman: The Animated Series - which, should be EVERYONE - you'd be jumping with joy to see Harley's original costume and her classic mallet appear. 

However, the costume gets switched out for booty shorts and Harley opts for a baseball bat to fight demons. 

HARLEY KILLED ROBIN

Keep your eyes peeled for when Harley's title card pops up during her introduction. You'll notice, very briefly, a fact appear that mentions Harley being wanted for the murder of Robin. Could she be the one who helmed the crowbar or was it her Puddin'?

NEW 52 ORIGIN

 

Just like with the New 52 origin, we see Joker create Harley by pushing her into a vat of Acid at Ace Chemicals. Seems like The Killing Joke is becoming more canonical in this DCEU.

ALEX ROSS HOMAGE

JONNY FROST

The Joker's henchmen seen in the movie is actually Jonny Frost who appeared in Brian Azzarello's graphic novel Joker.

THE JOKER'S TATTOOS

David Ayer explained in an interview that all of the Joker's tattoos are actually small hints to previous events.

  • The dead robin (right arm) signifies how he killed him.
  • The dead bat (left arm) is pretty much his wishlist on his body.
  • The ace card (neck) is a callback to his Ace Chemicals origin.
  • The Damaged tattoo (forehead) could be a reference to The Killing Joke.  

In the graphic novel, the Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon - aka Batgirl. After he commits the heinous act, he refers to Barbara as "damaged". Thus, writing it on his forehead - just like the reminder of a dead Robin - could be a sick way to remind Batman and Commissioner Gordon about what he did.

No wonder he got a grill after Batman knocked out most of his teeth. 

Joker tattoos a perfect smile on his hand to make up for his missing teeth.

COMICS

Slipknot - the most developed character - has a very similar fate in the comics. Just like in the movie, he is played by Captain Boomerang in order to test out the injected explosives and well...they're effective.

Suicide Squad writer, John Ostrander, gets a shoutout by having a building in Midway City named after him.

Finally, watch out for the Watchmen! 

We've seen nods to them in the past two DC films:

And in Suicide Squad we get another visual homage to the Vertigo series when Deadshot is staring into a store's window.

Considering Geoff Johns (now president of DC Entertainment) just combined the Watchmen with DC canon in the comics, there may be a possibility that the same can happen in the movies. I mean, Snyder did direct Watchmen.

Should be interesting to see how the Comedian and Thomas Wayne interact with each - oh, wait.

However, those were the Easter Eggs, references, cameos and everything we were able to spot in the film. Definitely let us know your thoughts down below and bring up anything else you may have noticed!