Chato Santana - aka El Diablo - was a main character in the film Suicide Squad. Based on the DC Comics character, he was a metahuman criminal who possessed the power to create and manipulate fire. He was the most powerful member of Task Force X, but also the least inclined to fight as he had sworn a personal oath of non-violence after accidentally killing his whole family. He was portrayed by Jay Hernandez.
History[]
Years before the establishment of the Task Force X program, Chato Santana was a street-level criminal from California. He had been born with the power to generate and control fire, a power which grew as he got older. Going by the criminal alias "El Diablo", Santana used his power to gain notoriety in the criminal underworld, threatening people into giving him money and influence. However, Santana also had a family who were unaware of his life of crime, until the day that his wife Grace discovered that he had been using his powers to kill people. Grace demanded that Chato leave, but he became enraged to the point where he lost control of his powers and unintentionally burned down his house, killing his wife and children. Wracked with guilt over what he had done, Chato turned himself in and was sentenced to life in a federal prison.
During his incarceration, Santana was harassed by the other prisoners. He lost control of his powers again and incinerated half the inmates in the prison yard. The facility was ill-equipped to hold metahumans and Santana was transferred to Belle Reve Penitentiary, Louisiana. Following his transfer, Santana vowed never to use his powers again or perform any violent act, requesting that he be completely isolated from any of the staff and other inmates.
In 2016, Amanda Waller assembled Task Force X and selected El Diablo as one of its members. From inside his fire-dousing container, Diablo refused Waller's offer, stating that he would never fight again. When Midway City was attacked by Incubus, the US government called to assemble Task Force X. The cell El Diablo was contained in filled up with water and flushed him out where he was apprehended by guards who injected him with a tranquilizer before he could escape (although, based on his previous attitude, he most likely wouldn't have tried or wanted to).
After being implanted with nano-bombs to ensure their compliance, Task Force X were deployed into Midway City where they fought against the Eyes of the Adversary, the monstrous creatures created by the Enchantress. Throughout most of the mission, Diablo avoided fighting, hesitant to break his vow of non-violence for any reason. However, as the team fought their way into the John F. Ostrander Federal Building, Deadshot goaded Diablo into using his powers to take out a swarm of Enchantress' creatures. El Diablo and the rest of the squad then waited while Rick Flag and Deadshot went to retrieve Amanda Waller, who had been inside the building ever since Incubus first attacked the city. They were greeted by Waller who threatened to blow their heads off when Captain Boomerang suggested to kill her and Flag. When they were on the rooftop, a chopper hijacked by the Joker opened fire on the squad so El Diablo took cover. When Harley Quinn escaped and Deadshot went to shoot her, El Diablo watched believing she had been shot only to reveal she was pretending. The squad watched as the chopper got shot down, thinking Harley had died.
As the squad left the building they saw Harley still alive to their surprise. After being informed that Flag and Waller were responsible for Enchantress causing the destruction due to a failed mission, the squad decided to go to a bar and have a drink. El Diablo orders a water and they listen to Deadshot review the mission and that they are the ones who will be blamed. El Diablo then preached to Deadshot and told the whole squad about how he used to rule the streets and accidentally killed his wife and children.
After hearing El Diablo's story Harley started to have a go at him, telling him to own what he had done and that he can't have a normal life. Flag then joined them and told them that he was in love with June Moone and that he needs to stop the Enchantress. Flag told the squad that they were free to go but they decided to stay to help him, making sure that everyone will know what they did. The squad all got ready to fight Enchantress and Incubus and made their way through the destroyed train station.
Death[]
As they made their way, Deadshot asked El Diablo if he was going to fight with them which he answered by being worried that he would lose control, which Deadshot said would give them a chance. When they reached the Enchantress, Flag told them to draw out Incubus so they could blow him up when suddenly Enchantress sensed them and told them to come out. She then showed each of them visions of their deepest desires, showing El Diablo a vision of himself with his family still alive. Diablo shook off the vision, understanding that he would never get his family back.
Diablo called out to his teammates, telling them that what they were each seeing wasn't real. He then confronted the Enchantress, defiantly declaring that she couldn't control him or the squad. They were then attacked by Incubus who easily overpowered the group. El Diablo then volunteers to get Incubus in the corner so he can be blown up by the demo charge underneath the station. Stating that he is not going to lose another family to Enchantress, he goes and fights off Incubus to protect the squad with his powers which temporarily affects him until he knocks El Diablo away.
El Diablo gets back up and uses his power to transform into a flaming skeleton avatar and manages to overpower Incubus and get him into the corner. He then thrusts his superheated arm right through Incubus' extremely durable chest, weakening him until his arm got stuck in Incubus' chest due to his healing factor and Incubus chokes him and reverts him back into his original human form. Flag tells him to get away from the bomb, but knowing that he can't, he tells Flag to blow the bomb anyway. Both Diablo and Incubus are killed in the ensuing explosion, though Diablo dies at peace, knowing that he saved his teammates and helped to save the world.