Suicide Squad’s eccentric characters hide a well-crafted plot structure
Estimated vs Actual box office revenue: $269-299MM vs $325MM
88% events in Suicide Squad are borrowed from 5 mythological tales
Directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad was released in 2016, a movie that features Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Joker among others. The movie is about a bunch of criminals saving the world from an apocalyptic event. The story explores basic human desires of preservation, accumulation, romance, honour & vengeance. Mythosis uses 5 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story
1A. 88% of the events are borrowed from 5 mythological tales
Waller's quest is driven by the desire to survive a threat and mirrors the tale of Kans from Hindu mythology. Both Kans & Waller fail to hunt down their nemesis.
Enchantress’ quest is driven by the desire to punish offenders and mirrors the tale of Duryodhan from Hindu mythology. Both Duryodhan & Enchantress unscrupulously seize control.
Floyd’s quest is driven by the desire to serve their clan/order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Floyd are fiercely loyal and sacrifice themselves to protect.
Flag’s quest is driven by the desire to collect & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Flag repent being self-centred & transform.
Joker’s quest is driven by the desire for love & romance and mirrors the tale of Savitri from Hindu mythology. Both Savitri & Joker unable to bear separation overcome obstacles to recover their loved one. Harley Quinn’s quest is subsumed in Joker’s quest.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones
Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.
We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.
Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!
The ideal plot structure of Suicide Squad is # 18,999,903. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Kans, Duryodhan, Valmiki, Hanuman & Savitri.
2. Plot structure potential of Suicide Squad: $269-299MM
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Suicide Squad
An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Suicide Squad uses 5 universal quests of Preservation, Accumulation, Romance, Honour and Vengeance.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Waller mirrors the quest of Preservation. Enchantress mirrors the universal quest of Vengeance. Floyd mirrors the quest of Honour. Flag mirrors the universal quest of Accumulation whereas Joker mirrors Romance.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Waller borrows 16% of events from the quest for Preservation & 16%. Enchantress borrows 56% from the universal quest of Vengeance. Floyd borrows 28% from the universal quest of Accumulation. Flag borrows 10% from the universal quest of Accumulation whereas Joker borrows 25% from the quest for Romance.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Suicide Squad has a quest interweaving score of 0.50 and is at par. An example of interweaving the quests of Floyd & Enchantress:
2B. Plot structure is the most important but least understood element of storytelling
The plot structure of Suicide Squad borrows from 5 universal quests. But Joker’s quest isn’t interwoven with any of the other quests. His quest runs in parallel. Besides the quest of Enchantress and partially Floyd all other quests are insufficiently developed.
Any plot structure that borrows events from at least 3 mythological tales has high resonance. In our own lives, each one of us identifies with at least one quest to fulfil a basic human desire. The more quests woven into a story, the wider its appeal.
The nature of mythological tales used, makes the plot structure fresh & unique. Besides, appealing to a larger audience size the interweaving of various human desires creates a unique and original story.
Interweaving mythological tales makes the plot structure cohesive. Stories become seamless when characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships.
Characters are consistent when they mirror a single mythological tale. Characters pursuing more than one quest appear confusing due to their divergent desires.
Borrowing 35% or more events from each mythological tale strengthens both the plot structure & character. The plot structure becomes flat when characters borrow less than the threshold. Each mythological tale has multiple twists & turns hence no forced injection is required. Characters become layered & complex when their journey is deep.
2C. Measuring the revenue potential of Suicide Squad
We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Suicide Squad has a script potential score is 0.34 and the movie will appeal to 9.60 – 10.66% % of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $269-299MM in the domestic market.
3. The ideal plot structure of Suicide Squad
We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.
We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.
Quest 1: Waller mirrors the universal quest for Preservation
Waller’s desire for Preservation stems from the need to survive a threat. The tale of Kans from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Preservation.
Quest 2: Enchantress mirrors the universal quest for Vengeance
