Why the Enchantress Might Be the Best Movie Villain Since Loki
'Suicide Squad' might give 'The Avengers' a run for its money in one area.
In its quest to be DC’s answer to The Avengers, Suicide Squad is off to an inauspicious start: After all, it can hardly be expected to compete with The Avengers’ familiarity-aided group dynamic when it has to spend time clumsily introducing everyone. There is, however, one area in which it’s looking like it might challenge, if not outright surpass The Avengers: its villain.
Most superhero films fumble their landings. The final battle is inevitably anticlimactic when a villain is a faceless horde of aliens (Thor: The Dark World) or a mustache-twirlingly one dimensional maniac leading a faceless horde of aliens (Man of Steel). Even The Avengers fabled its landing when it abandoned Loki to spend its last 20 minutes focusing on a demolition-porn battle with a faceless aliens nobody cares about. “My favorite part of the Avengers is the final battle when it turned into a Michael Bay movie!” said no one ever.
From Suicide Squad’s initial Comic Con trailer, however, we also know that the Enchantress isn’t going to be evil the whole time: We’ll also see her in human form as [June Moone](http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/JuneMoone(New_Earth) before she gets possessed.
But from Suicide Squad’s trailer, which features her suspicious absence in all group shots, we can infer that its villain will be the Enchantress, played by Cara Delevingne. Also, note her sinister magic slime clinging to the columns.
She won’t actually look like the girl from The Ring wearing a yarmulke and a Slave Leia bikini the whole time.
This is significant, actually, because superhero films are notoriously terrible at giving their villains humanity and depth. The stories, hence, suffer. Loki is widely considered to be the best Marvel villain not because he wears a silly hat and is generally a blast. He’s also a nuanced, flawed guy.
The best villains in pop culture are the ones who complicate the line between good and evil, and make the audience uncomfortably rooting for them. Tywin Lannister is one for the books because, for all his schemes, he’s a smart strategist, cares about his family in his own messed-up way, and has delightful conversations. Similarly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s worst villain is Season 7’s boringly one-dimensional First Evil, while its best is Season 2’s because seeing Buffy and the Scoobies victimized by the guy Buffy and the audience had grown to love made for complex, emotionally rich storytelling.
Because we will get to see the Enchantress’ humanity in Suicide Squad, it gives her the opportunity to be a more nuanced figure than Zod or Ultron. Topping Loki is no small feat, but the film’s willingness to show her humanity proves that she might just be the best villain since the world’s favorite trickster.
