Who are the new characters in the highly anticipated The Suicide Squad? The trailer just dropped and it has the entire internet tightly in its grip. What can we expect from the DC FanDome treat? Check it out.
In just 24 hours, the DC Fandome also dropped the trailers for Robert Pattinson’s The Batman, and teasers of Gal Gadot’s triumphant return in Wonder Woman 1984. Is today our birthday?
Never ones to miss out on a hype train, DC have enlisted the talents of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn to oversee this not-quite-reboot / not-quite-sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad.
The hope is to capitalise on the anti-hero zeitgeist that has seen films like Deadpool and Venom perform enormously well at the box office in recent years.
Beloved characters making a comeback
Margot Robbie is returning with the front-and-centre role of Harley Quinn.
Jai Courntey and Joel Kinnaman are also back as Captain Boomerang and Rick Flag respectively.
But aside from the headline names, Gunn has enlisted the help of a few lesser known ‘villains’ to help achieve DC’s elusive dream of a big-screen dynasty on par with the MCU.
Despite the elaborate roll call, you’d be forgiven for not knowing many of these new faces. But not to worry, we’ve got you covered with the backstory of every new character on The Suicide Squad.
Introducing the new Suicide Squad characters
Bloodsport (Idris Elba)
Although Bloodsport is a relatively minor character in the comics, the fact that he is played by feline-loving superhero detective Idris Elba means that he is likely to have a bigger role in movie version of The Suicide Squad.
The character’s real name is Robert DuBois, a man who has a nervous breakdown after his brother loses all four of his limbs in the Vietnam War.
Bloodsport is then manipulated by Superman’s arch-enemy Lex Luthor, who starts providing him with Kryptonite-based weaponry.
Shooting the Man of Steel with a Kryptonite bullet is probably Bloodsport’s most noteworthy action as a character. Expect this to be ramped up to 11 for the film.
Peacemaker (John Cena)
Wrestling legend John Cena is set to play “the man who loves peace so much he’s willing to fight for it” in the film.
In the trailer, Cena describes his character as a “kind of douchey Captain America” and it’s fair to say that’s pretty accurate.
Christopher Smith is a pacifist so firmly tied to his beliefs that he has no problem going to extreme measures to defend them under the guise of ‘Peacemaker’.
Smith, aka Peacemaker, is motivated by the intense guilt of having a Nazi father whose ghost haunts his every move. Taika Waititi is also on the film’s cast-list but it’s yet to be announced who he’ll be playing – could it be two Nazi hallucinations in two years for the Kiwi comic?
Blackguard (Pete Davidson)
So, this character’s real name is Dick Hertz… He never stood a chance, did he?
The indignity for Blackguard didn’t stop there though. The character’s schtick is that he is a pretty underwhelming villain who is just rather big. That’s it.
He is a low-ranking member of a criminal syndicate in Metropolis, known as The 1,000, and gets beheaded in the comics after just a brief time with Task Force X.
Comedian Pete Davidson has signed up to play the brute. Presumably just so he can say that name a few times before he’s killed off early doors.
Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior)
Ratcatcher 2 is actually a complete invention of James Gunn just for this movie.
It is unconfirmed whether she is related to the original character of Ratcatcher – a villain from Batman’s Rogues Gallery who trains rats to carry out evil deeds – but it would make sense.
In fact, the behind-the-scenes teaser that was released together with the trailer appeared to show a flashback sequence with Otis Flannegan himself. The plot thickens…
Portuguese actress Daniella Melchior will play the furry foe in what is her first American movie.
King Shark
It’s quite hard to find something scary when it looks like this, but King Shark is there more for the comic relief.
It’s not yet known who will voice the half man-half shark character, whose first appearance was in 1994’s Superboy #9 as the son of a Chondrakha – the God of the Sharks – and a human mother. Poor woman…
Known under the sea as Nanaue, King Shark was originally a ruthless and murderous supervillain whose powers equaled those of Superman and Aquaman.
More recently though, as part of HBO Max’s Harley Quinn cartoon series he has evolved into a loveable dope who only sometimes kills people. Aww!
Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian)
No, you’re not suffering from a concussion, that is actually the costume of the villain known as Polka Dot Man – real name Abner Krill.
As a character created in the 60s we can only assume what writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff were up to when they dreamed up this one.
Back when Bruce Wayne first started running around Gotham wearing tights and a bat costume, a whole host of low-level criminals followed suit (pun very much intended). Abner Krill was one of them.
His whole thing is a suit covered in polka dots that transform into an arsenal of weapons or bizarre escape vehicles. Not the scariest, but sounds pretty entertaining.
Mongal (Mayling Ng)
Don’t diss Mongal’s family…
After hearing that Superman had been slagging off her father – the barbaric warlord Mongul – she and her brother Mongul the Younger travelled from their planet, Debstam IV, to Earth seeking revenge.
She may have lost that battle, but this alien is still the most powerful rogue to join the latest iteration of The Suicide Squad.
With black belt martial artist Mayling Ng set to play Mongal, expect some top-quality fight scenes.
Savant (Michael Rooker)
If you can imagine an early Quentin Tarantino movie turning into a superhero villain, you’ve pretty much got the measure of Savant.
Brian Durlin, aka Savant, is blessed with immense intelligence, but cursed with a chemical imbalance that renders him unable to remember events in the right order.
After growing up as a trust fund brat, he moved to Gotham to pursue the trendy career of self-styled ‘vigilante’ under his villainous alias.
He has largely featured in opposition to the Birds of Prey, so expect his interactions with the unhinged Harley Quinn to be interesting.
The Thinker (Peter Capaldi)
It’s unclear which of the four iterations of The Thinker Peter Capaldi will be playing in this movie.
Originally the character was a Gotham lawyer called Clifford DeVoe, who seized the opportunity to dominate the city’s criminal world through his superior intellect.
To do so, he invented a telekinetic ‘thinking cap’ that wound up giving him terminal cancer. The cap has been a staple across the character’s many revivals over the years.
The Thinker has a knack for betraying pretty much everyone he meets. Should fit in perfectly then.
Weasel (Sean Gunn)
Undoubtedly the ugliest of the new intake, this hideous vermin may well become The Suicide Squad’s answer to Rocket Racoon from Guardians of the Galaxy.
Originally known as John Monroe, Weasel was a nerdy Stanford student who was viciously bullied by his peers. That’s how he earned his nickname.
As we’re in the DC universe, Monroe turned into a murderous villain in a Weasel costume equipped with razor-sharp claws and teeth to boot. Naturally…
His best-known appearance in the Suicide Squad comics saw him go mad and murder the Thinker, before getting killed himself by Rick Flag. Don’t expect this eyesore to stick around for long.
Javelin (Flula Borg)
This one pretty much does what it says on the tin.
Javelin used to be a professional athlete who decided to devote his retired years to throwing javelins at superheroes. More specifically the Green Lantern.
This foe has catchphrases such as “I’ll nail ya to the wall” just to add to his already ridiculous image.
With German comedian Flula Borg playing him, expect Javelin to be there mostly for laughs.
T.D.K (Nathan Fillion)
It’s not actually know what T.D.K. stands for yet as he’s another Gunn creation.
But what we can gather is that this is more or less a spin off of the creatively named Arm-Fall-Off-Boy. His superpower is that… well, his arms fall off. No, we’re not making this up.
Nathan Fillion’s character has the ability to detach his arms and attack enemies with them. That’s it.
If this film doesn’t scoop up an Oscar just for that then we don’t know what will!
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