Jared Leto's take on the Joker made his first appearance via David Ayer's Twitter. (Photo: twitter.com/DavidAyerMovies) 
 
 If you're going to play the Joker, you might as well look as nutty as humanly possible. 
 
 Oscar winner Jared Leto has been teasing the look of his take on the Clown Prince of Crime on social media recently, but Suicide Squad director David Ayer gave fans the first look at the actor in full Joker mode Friday via Twitter. 
 
 "The Suicide Squad wishes you a Happy Anniversary Mr. J!" Ayer wrote, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Batman supervillain's first appearance. (Batman No. 1 came out in April 1940.) 
 
 Leto's appearance is suitably frightening for the first time on screen since the late Heath Ledger's Oscar-worthy performance in 2008's The Dark Knight. 
 
 In addition to neon green hair, the actor is sporting pale skin, silver teeth, one purple glove and red lipstick. The tattoos are iconic of the Joker as well, from the playing cards and many uses of "Ha" all over his left side to the toothy grin on his right arm and harlequin skull on his chest — most likely an ode to his Suicide Squad girlfriend Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie. (Also interesting: the script "Damaged" on his forehead.) 
 
 In theaters Aug. 5, 2016, Suicide Squad began filming earlier this month and also stars Will Smith as Deadshot, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1z2P89F ||||| CLOSE An unlikely team of supervillains must save the day. 
 
 Deadshot (Will Smith) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) discuss the mission in 'Suicide Squad.' (Photo: Clay Enos) 
 
 The fantastic felons of Suicide Squad have got soul and they’re superbad. 
 
 There’s both undeniable sincerity and an over-the-top punk rock vibe to writer/director David Ayer’s completely bonkers ode to supervillains (***½ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters nationwide Friday) tapped to contribute to the greater good. It helps flesh out the comic-book world of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, plus makes a bunch of obscure outsiders just as engaging and fun to watch as that well-known Dark Knight. 
 
 With powerful metahumans and vigilantes inhabiting Earth (Ben Affleck’s Batman turns up more than you’d expect), the government needs a plan to deal with them. Enter the ruthless Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who has taken it upon herself to recruit Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), an archaeologist possessed by an ancient witch, as the first member of Task Force X. Its modus operandi is to send its members on deadly missions. And if they don’t come back? Oh, well. 
 
 With shades of Guardians of the Galaxy and the original Ghostbusters, Suicide Squad takes its ne'er-do-wells — led by the assassin Deadshot (Will Smith) and oddball bad girl Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) — from their Louisiana supermax home to battling a magical enemy. Alliances are formed, bonds are shaken, and the group is constantly on the edge of implosion. 
 
 Because of the size of Ayer’s cast, some of the more interesting characters are shorted, especially samurai warrior Katana (Karen Fukuhara) and Australian hoodlum Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) — though the latter has a quick run-in with a superhero that knowing comics fans will adore. 
 
 Jared Leto stars as a contemporary Joker in 'Suicide Squad.' (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures) 
 
 Deadshot is the movie's emotional heart, and it’s Smith's best role in years — he gets to showcase some of Concussion's deep emotion but with that old Independence Day swagger. Jay Hernandez similarly impresses as El Diablo, a fiery L.A. gang leader with a horrific backstory. 
 
 Harley, a psychiatrist turned unhinged moll with an undying love for the Joker (Jared Leto), is finally Robbie's star-making turn. And Leto’s weirdo take on the Clown Prince of Crime is a far cry from the late Heath Ledger, though it definitely works. A tattooed Tony Montana type, this Joker is a nightclub owner with a thing for bling and a psychopathic determination to find his main squeeze. His relatively brief screen time leaves you wanting more, and Leto and Robbie make a distinctly dynamic duo in their fleeting scenes together. 
 
 Another relationship that’s intriguing but ultimately overshadowed is that of squad leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and Enchantress’ human alter ego. While their romance drives one of the many subplots, Delevingne spends most of the film in freak mode, leaving Kinnaman as the guy keeping the fires burning. No matter the character, though, Ayer has a keen way of making you care for them, even the Joker. 
 
 Like The Dirty Dozen for the Hot Topic generation, the team gets in-your-face introductions and things just grow more mental from there. But compared to its ilk, Suicide Squad is an excellently quirky, proudly raised middle finger to the staid superhero-movie establishment. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2ayhWfM ||||| This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, from left, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc and Jay Hernandez as Diablo, in a scene from "Suicide Squad." (Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) (Photo: Clay Enos / AP) 
 
 Bad guys. Bad movie. 
 
 “Suicide Squad” attempts to flip the superhero script by casting a team of baddies as its leads, and its irreverent attitude is meant to break up the tonal heaviness of the DC Comics Universe and inject some much-needed fun into the mix. 
 
 But it takes more than a lively neon pastel color palate and a jumpy, hyperactive soundtrack stuffed with pop hits (Eminem! Queen! Ozzy!) to create fun on screen, and “Suicide Squad” falls flat despite hopes that it would be the movie to save this summer of blockbuster bummers. 
 
 There are glimmers of what could have been in writer-director David Ayers’ slapdash comic adventure, specifically in Harley Quinn (a merry, cartoonishly maniacal Margot Robbie) and the Joker (Jared Leto), a pair of characters who could use their own standalone film yesterday. 
 
 Instead, “Suicide Squad” marks the latest high profile misfire from DC, whose rivalry with Marvel is beginning to look a bit like the Washington Generals taking on the Harlem Globetrotters. After the flameout of this year’s “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” and now “Suicide Squad,” the whole DC universe is in dire need of a reboot. 
 
 In “Suicide Squad,” a team of villains is assembled to take down an even bigger villain, thus making them sort-of good guys. The premise is rife for all sorts of devilish fun, since villains, by and large, make more interesting characters than heroes. 
 
 And “Suicide Squad” practically bashes viewers over the head with reminders that its leads are villains. 
 
 “We’re bad guys, it’s what we do!” says Quinn at one point after smashing a department store window, just because. Quinn is the star of “Suicide Squad,” in that she steals whatever momentum there is to steal. 
 
 Described as “a whole lot of pretty and a whole lot of crazy,” Quinn rocks blonde pigtails dyed red and blue, artfully smeared lipstick, a tattooed face (“rotten” is scrawled across her jawline) and carries herself like a gum-snapping fanboy fantasy come to life (in hot pants and a baseball tee, no less). If Harley Quinn isn’t one of the most popular Halloween costumes this year, something’s wrong. 
 
 But despite Robbie’s best efforts, Quinn — along with the rest of the “Squad” — feel like Halloween costumes at best. 
 
 Leto’s Joker is all costume and makeup; whatever personal touches Leto brings to the role are buried by a script that gives him nothing to do by making him a third-tier player. (It’s like he studied all night for a test, and all he had to do to pass was show up.) 
 
 Which is frustrating, because the Joker — thanks to iconic portrayals by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger — has become the modern era’s most delicious and sought after comic villain role. Audiences are conditioned to treat the Joker like a very big deal, and his sparing use here distracts from the story rather than helping it along. 
 
 Will Smith is given the most to work with as Deadshot, a master assassin who never misses a shot and is humanized by his love for his daughter. But Smith’s sympathetic eyes and heroic body language betray his villain billing, and you simply don’t ever buy him as a bad guy. 
 
 The rest of the “Squad” — which includes Jai Courtney as Aussie baddie Boomerang, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as half-man, half crocodile Killer Croc and Jay Hernandez as human flamethrower El Diablo — are simply bench players, along for the ride. 
 
 “How to Get Away With Murder’s” Viola Davis is the government official who assembles the Squad to take on the threat of metahumans, the technical term for mutants, the idea being that the next Superman could use his powers for evil, not good. 
 
 That’s what happens with Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), a witch who summons some really bad spirits who start creating all sorts of havoc — the kind that involve mysterious clouds that hover above the skyline — in Gotham City. 
 
 The less said about the particulars of Enchantress and the Apocalypse-like enforcer she enlists to help him, the better, but it’s the film’s fatal flaw that in a movie about villains they couldn’t get an interesting villain for the Squad to fight against. (Somewhere, the Joker is raising his hand like, “I was available.”) 
 
 Ayers scored early in his career with a couple of street-level cop thrillers, including “Harsh Times” and “End of Watch,” but the comic book form doesn’t suit his style. A consistent tone is never established, the action is choppy and the climax reaches “Green Lantern” levels of embarrassment. 
 
 Sometimes it’s good to be bad. In “Suicide Squad’s” case, bad is just plain bad. It gives villainy a bad name. 
 
 agraham@detroitnews.com 
 
 (313) 222-2284 
 
 @grahamorama 
 
 ‘Suicide Squad’ 
 
 GRADE: C- 
 
 Rated PG-13: for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language 
 
 Running time: 130 minutes 
 
 Suicide Squad (PG-13) 
 
 A group of villains assemble to take on an even worse villain in this slapdash comic adventure that marks the latest misfire for the DC Comics universe. (130 minutes) GRADE: C- 
 
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– Marking an anniversary by sharing a photo on Twitter is a pretty routine thing to do, but Suicide Squad director David Ayer did just that in a pretty atypical way yesterday. He marked the Joker's April 25, 1940, comic book debut by tweeting the first image released of Jared Leto as Joker, the role he's playing in the film. It's a Joker complete with green hair, crimson lips, nasty teeth, and a tattoo-heavy body. Among the ink: "HA" repeated over and over, and a cursive "Damaged" on the forehead. Rolling Stone reports the look was inspired by Batman: The Killing Joke, and points out that it's not the first time Ayer has referenced Alan Moore's graphic novel. That leads the magazine to speculate that Leto's turn as the Joker in the film—due Aug. 5, 2016—will hew closer to Moore's Joker, a bust-of-a-stand-up comic who is disfigured and goes crazy in the span of a single day. USA Today also calls out a harlequin skull tattoo on Leto's chest, which it sees as "most likely an ode to his Suicide Squad girlfriend Harley Quinn." She's played by Margot Robbie. The rest of the big-name cast includes Will Smith as Deadshot, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg. What they'll be doing, per the IMDB description: "A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency."