James Gunn's upcoming Suicide Squad movie features his own brother cast as the Weasel, but who exactly is this villain in the comics?
DC's virtual event DC FanDome gave fans a deeper look into the upcoming James Gunn Suicide Squad movie, but some may be left to wonder who some of these characters are. One of these maybe not-so-well-known characters is Weasel, who will actually be portrayed by James Gunn's very own brother, Sean Gunn. So who exactly is Weasel?
First off, it is very important to note that within the comic universe of DC that there are actually two Weasels; the original, and a future one that takes on Damian Wayne. Since the movie is taking place with characters like the already-existing Harley Quinn, the movie version of Weasel is seemingly going with the first version of the character, John Monroe.
First appearing in 1985, Weasel made his debut in a brief appearance in The Fury of Firestorm #35, making it back to be the cover villain of The Fury of Firestorm #38. While studying at Stanford University, John Monroe was quite the social outcast, and was bullied by most of his classmates, being teased with the nickname "Weasel." It was here that he studied under Martin Stein, one half of the superhero Firestorm. Although slightly cliche, it is the bullying that ultimately drives John to grow up into a supervillain. Eventually John grows and becomes a professor himself, teaching at Vandermeer University, but when he worries that some of the same people that bullied him in his youth will put his tenure at risk, the highly disturbed man decides to go full on serial killer.
Being a world of superheros and villians, he couldn't just be any old serial killer, he had to go all out with a wild costume and alter ego, and that's when he goes from being John Monroe to the Weasel. Dawning a suit that looks like a weasel, John uses his advanced hand to hand combat techniques combined with his outfit's built in claws to murder two of his former classmates. When his old professor Martin Stein comes to Vandermeer University for an opportunity as a physics professor, Weasel attempts to kill him twice. The attacks cause Martin to have to transform into Firestorm, and of course, good triumphs over evil. Weasel is defeated by Firestorm, unmasked and sent off to prison. This is where the Suicide Squad steps in.
Since the Suicide Squad is a collection of villains who are offered a deal on their prison sentences as long as they help with some government missions, it only makes sense that they would call for Weasel after this arrest. While the mission that they go on in the film is lining up to be different than Weasel's first comic book Suicide Squad mission, chances are that his origins and character still won't vary too much from his comic book counterpart, especially with the news that James Gunn considers his film a sequel to the comics, not the previous film. Weasel will be coming to live action in 2021.
