The Surprising Suicide Squad Scene That Had Fans Teary-Eyed

Contains spoilers for "The Suicide Squad"

James Gunn has the uncanny ability to make movies about the most ridiculous things that nonetheless tug at your heartstrings. Just look at "Guardians of the Galaxy," which has a talking raccoon and a sentient tree among the main cast members. There are plenty of jokes, but when that tree says, "We are Groot," before sacrificing its life for its friends, you can't help but shed a tear. Gunn's a master of showing how everyone is worthy of humanity, no matter how much society wants to toss certain individuals aside.

He brings that same energy to his latest effort, "The Suicide Squad." Gunn selected some of the most obscure, goofy supervillains in the comics, from Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) to Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) and made audiences invested in their futures within a span of two hours. There may be gratuitous bloodshed and jokes about Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) having to go to the bathroom, but there's one moment, in particular, that's resonated immensely with fans.

Amid the squad's battle against Starro when it rampages through Corto Maltese, Ratcatcher 2 uses her abilities to summon a swarm of rats. It's the kind of big action set piece one would expect out of this kind of film, but in the middle of the action, we get a flashback of Cleo Cazo with her father, the original Ratcatcher (Taika Waititi). When she asks him why he decided to create a device allowing him to control rats, he responds, "Rats are the lowliest and most despised of all creatures. If they have purpose, so do we all." 

That line has made numerous fans emotional, as one Reddit thread attests with a user going so far as to say, "I legitimately did not expect to care about f***ing rats, but that line almost made me tear up. It was so simple yet poignant." The scene touched many people, which is impressive, seeing how it comes between a swarm of rats jumping on brainwashed citizens and Harley Quinn harpooning a giant starfish in the eye. Redditor u/DontKnowAnyBetter sums it up well with, "Fantastic scene, loved seeing Taika, and the beautiful score from John Murphy was the cherry on top."

Once again, James Gunn proves that sentimentality and humor don't have to be mutually exclusive. They can absolutely work in tandem with one another in the same film. We hope this isn't the last time we've seen Ratcatcher 2 and her father because they were truly the heart of the film.

"The Suicide Squad" is now playing on HBO Max and in theaters.