Harley Quinn is One Suicide Squad Member’s Secret Weakness

One of the Suicide Squad’s deadliest members has a secret weakness: Harley Quinn! The Thinker, played by Peter Capaldi in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, is a master manipulator, using his vast intellect to maneuver people like pieces on a chessboard, but as seen in 2014’s Suicide Squad #25, he cannot account for the chaotic nature of his teammate Harley Quinn, making her his primary weakness.

There have been multiple incarnations of the Thinker, stretching back to comics’ Golden Age. The first Thinker was a villain of Jay Garrick, the first Flash, who used a special device called “the Thinking Cap” to boost his mental powers. A later version, Cliff Carmichael, used a variant of the Thinking Cap to terrorize Firestorm; this would be the first incarnation to join the Suicide Squad. Still another version was introduced during the New 52 era. Far more inhuman than his predecessors, this new Thinker has a grotesque version of the Thinking Cap, with metal prongs sticking out of his head; this version also served as the model for Peter Capaldi’s depiction of the character in The Suicide Squad. However, in the comics, this Thinker was not a member of the team, and instead antagonized them during the crossover event Forever Evil, which saw the Crime Syndicate of America invade Earth. The Thinker pledged his loyalty to the Syndicate, which led to a showdown with the Suicide Squad. The issue was written by Matt Kindt and illustrated by Patrick Zircher.

As a side effect of his intellect, the Thinker’s body is aging prematurely, and now he wants to steal OMAC’s body for himself. The Thinker manipulates a group of heroes, including Power Girl, Steel, and Unknown Soldier, into fighting Harley Quinn and the rest of the Suicide Squad. While the battle unfolds as he planned, the Thinker reveals that he finds Harley fascinating, because while he can precisely predict everyone else’s moves, Harley Quinn eludes him. Ironically, the Thinker actually likes this, as he rarely ever feels fear of the unknown. Harley is a wild card in his eyes, and even though he relishes it, he still feels it unwise to trust her.

Villains like the Thinker pride themselves on their cold intellect, or their ability to predict the actions of others. Harley Quinn, who is chaos personified, is a blind spot for the Thinker, potentially throwing a monkey wrench into his plans. While this was a small plot point in the issue, it has ramifications for the Thinker moving forward. Should he reemerge, the Thinker will have to avoid Harley Quinn, as she could seriously disrupt any schemes he might concoct. Furthermore, how might the Thinker fare against other such “madcap” characters, such as Harley’s ex The Joker, or the fourth-wall-breaking Ambush Bug? Each of these could also circumvent any plans the Thinker hatches.

Harley Quinn’s chaotic nature has made her one of comics’ most popular characters, but it also is a serious weakness for the Suicide Squad’s the Thinker.

About The Author

Shaun Corley
(1377 Articles Published)

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Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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