Warning: Spoilers for DC’s Spring Breakout! #1!

One of the best superhero friendships in the DC Universe doesn’t come from the Justice League, but instead, the Suicide Squad. In the DC Universe, the Suicide Squad has always been viewed as a being on a significantly lower tier on the superteam hierarchy than the Justice League. If the JLA are an A-team, most people in-universe view Suicide Squad as a B-team, if even that.

People may not respect the Suicide Squad as a team, but they have to respect their friendship as showcased in DC’s Spring Breakout! #1 in the story “Field Trip” by Joey Esposito and Vasco Georgiev. In it, Harley Quinn breaks frequent Suicide Squad collaborator King Shark out of prison for his birthday.

The issue serves as a reminder as to just how close members of the Suicide Squad are as friends – especially King Shark and Harley Quinn – and the further that friendship is analyzed, the stronger it looks in comparison to the Justice League.

King Shark and Harley Quinn’s Suicide Squad Friendship Outshines the Justice League

The Power of Friendship Prevails in the Suicide Squad

Ever since meeting as members of the Suicide Squad, King Shark and Harley Quinn have been depicted as being the best of friends, whether they are on missions as part of the team or not. This story is a testament to that friendship, as Harley Quinn completely disregards her growth as a hero to conduct a prison breakout, all for the wholesome reason of ensuring her pal isn’t alone on his birthday. Their friendship especially rings true after knowing that it wasn’t too long ago that the two teamed up again outside of Suicide Squad activities.

Fairly recently, when her teammates in the Birds of Prey needed help getting to Themyscira to save Black Canary’s sister in Birds of Prey #2 by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero, it’s King Shark whom Harley personally calls upon to help her new team out. Even when they’re not working together as members of the Squad, King Shark remains on Harley’s mind whenever she needs him most. Likewise, as DC’s Spring Breakout! goes to show, King Shark can depend on Harley whenever he feels at his lowest.

How Do Other Friendships in the Suicide Squad Stack Up?

DC’s Most Unexpected Heroes

The friendships within the Suicide Squad don’t begin and end with King Shark and Harley Quinn’s bond. The Suicide Squad as a whole can be friendship goals. While the relationship between most Squad members can be complicated at best, and they do have a tendency to go at each other’s throats, the Squad’s stories tend to depict them as a found family. There’s something about a team of ragtag criminals coming together under strenuous circumstances that makes for the most unusual friendships, as if their bond comes largely from their shared experiences and circumstances.

Case in point, one of the more recent (and short-lived) iterations of the Suicide Squad was led by Catwoman in Catwoman #62 by Tini Howard and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Despite appearing in only one issue, it showcases arguably the best Suicide Squad roster, mostly because the chemistry between everyone is so instant. Not only do its members quickly take a liking to each other, but it doesn’t take long before they learn how to co-exist and work together as a team on the battlefield. Again, the bond seems to largely stem from a group of underdogs coming together when they are underestimated and outmatched.

Do the “Friendships” in the Justice League Even Compare?

Are Justice League Members More Like Colleagues than Friends?

In contrast to the Suicide Squad, the Justice League features the absolute juggernauts of the superhero world. They’ve been outmatched in the past both as solo heroes and as a team, but to call the likes of Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman an underdog would be a stretch. Speaking of, it’s within the relationship between those central figures in the DC Trinity where the core friendship of the Justice League can be found. The League was built off the strength of that friendship. Even outside of them, no one is going to deny that there are friendships within the Justice League.

However, the bigger question worth pondering is if the friendships within the Justice League are stronger than those of the Suicide Squad. History would suggest that the answer is “no” — which is interesting, because the Suicide Squad as a whole is often forced to come together, compiled by Amanda Waller as a last-ditch hit squad where the option is to join her ranks and play ball or die via brain bomb. Yet, the Suicide Squad manages to build their strong relationships in spite of those circumstances.

Going back to King Shark and Harley Quinn, these two were forced into the Suicide Squad like any other member, yet when the Suicide Squad are forced to come together, they make it work and grow closer as a result. Meanwhile, time and time again, the Justice League continue to find themselves on the brink of collapse despite making the collective choice to join forces. No matter how many friendships exist in the team, that doesn’t stop the team from falling out and disbanding on multiple occasions. Even now, the Justice League as a unit is currently dead, as explored at the end of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths by Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere.

Harley Quinn Shows Up for the People She Truly Loves

Can the League Members Say the Same?

The Justice League has been broken up for the better part of a year, and still, former League members rarely reunite for missions or to check in with each other as friends might. If it’s not a global catastrophe like that at the center of the recent Titans: Beast World saga (by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, and Lucas Meyer), then it’s not likely that readers will be seeing any of the Justice League’s finest sharing a page together. Meanwhile, Harley Quinn is open to visiting her friend King Shark just because it’s his birthday.

Even when they’re not broken up, the foundation of trust is rarely there for the Justice League, with Batman secretly having contingency plans for his so-called friends (a prime example of the League’s internal distrust). Despite the Justice League constantly being championed as the A-Squad, the lack of trust among its members has led to consistent betrayals and break-ups within its ranks. The Justice League are more like allies and comrades than actual friends. Meanwhile, the Suicide Squad may be a C-team filled with C-listers, but their friendships have consistently earned the team an A+ every time.

DC’s Spring Breakout #1 is available now from DC Comics.