Fanfiction as an Adaptation: Suicide Squad (2016) into Fanfictions DC’s Suicide Squad: Rebirth and The Joke’s On You!

Abstract

This research examines fanfiction as a form of adaptation through an analysis of DC’s Suicide Squad: Rebirth and The Joke’s On You!. The research applies A Theory of Adaptation by Linda Hutcheon and Siobhan O’Flynn (2013) and supported by Kelly’s (2021) perspective on fanfiction as adaptation. Using qualitative descriptive method, this study analyses narrative elements including plot, characters, themes, and ideological transformations. The findings indicate that DC’s Suicide Squad: Rebirth maintains a high degree of similarity to the source film while modifying the story. Meanwhile, The Joke’s On You! exhibits greater narrative divergence through thematic and relational shifts. As a result, this study concludes that fanfiction is a legitimate adaptive practice that generates new works while maintaining intertextual continuity with its source text.