Warning: This article contains spoilers for DC Vampires #6.
Captain Boomerang’s demise came as a shock to many viewers of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. The same can be said for most of the Suicide Squad members that perish in the first ten minutes, but Captain Boomerang’s death stands out more than the others. Captain Boomerang’s demise is distinct from that of other “heroes” such as TDK and Mongal, who either die in humiliating ways or blindly run into their own deaths.
Just minutes before being blasted by an oncoming chopper that crashes straight into him, everyone’s beloved Boomer is clipped by shards of tree bark. It’s just as nasty and unexpected as the others, but this time Captain Boomerang smiles as he accepts his destiny. It’s an oddly fitting end for a figure like Captain Boomerang, at least in the context of how he’s presented in the DCEU, as well as an early illustration of the film’s fundamental strength in generating humor from blunt violence.
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However, the character’s death in the comics was recently announced, and it seems just as suitable, if not more so. The Suicide Squad is assaulted by vampires in DC vs. Vampires #6 by Matthew Rosenberg, Daniele Di Nicuolo, Simone Di Meo, and Otto Schmidt, and some of them become infected. Harley Quinn informs Amanda Waller that she and Deadshot require assistance in an emergency. The vamps are killed out after Waller denotes the bombs she put in their skulls. Except Harley Quinn overlooks the fact that Captain Boomerang is one of the few non-vampires still alive, so his skull also goes boom.
Simply because it lacks the same nobility as James Gunn’s depiction of Captain Boomerang’s demise, this may be considerably more fitting. Fans of the film adaptation may have enjoyed Boomer’s gentle dying, but the comics version never deserved such a noble end. Boomer is a scumbag in the comics, for lack of a better description, even if he is charming. Captain Boomerang’s litany of crimes is long, ranging from murdering Tim Drake’s father in Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales, and Michael Bair’s Identity Crisis to cannibalism of his own son during the Blackest Night storyline.
Captain Boomerang’s demise in DC vs. Vampires is spot on. His death has no midway measures or poetry, but it is a humorous comeuppance for a wicked man. Not to mention, it’s a fun way to up the ante on a joke from Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, in which Harley Quinn persuades Amanda Waller to make the wrong call based on some misinformation over the intercom, electrocuting The Penguin repeatedly, while King Shark urges them to go even further with a head explosion. Captain Boomerang isn’t the Suicide Squad’s most heinous member, but he’s wicked enough to deserve what he receives in DC vs. Vampires..
