James Gunn's rapidly approaching sequel/quickest reboot ever The Suicide Squad really seems to have a thing for the obscure and the baffling. From John Cena as the deep cut character known as Peacemaker to the King Shark with a dad bod, Gunn's repeated insistence that anybody can die in this movie feels more and more plausible with each passing day. But perhaps no character is more intriguing (for one reason or another) than David Dastmalchian's Polka-Dot Man, who looks like The Tick's Arthur after a dry cleaning incident.
But aside from his novel appearance, what does this unhinged team member bring to the group? After all, as a character many likely never even knew existed until he showed up in the trailers for The Suicide Squad, his powers aren't exactly common knowledge. Well, it turns out they're exactly the kind of abilities one would expect from a comic book villain created during the 1960s, but the movie looks to be taking a far more tragic twist on the character.
In the comics, Polka-Dot Man's abilities involved using the colored dots on his outfit in various utilities (usually some sort of projectile). The Suicide Squad, however, has made his lot in life a bit more personal. Now, the dots themselves are actually part of Abner Krill's (his real name) skin as a symptom of a disease, and the suit works as a way to keep them from getting out of control and growing to horrendous size. "They can be literally like, almost look like sores on my body," Dastmalchian said in a round table interview. "It's really intensely painful [for Abner]." Hey, on the bright side, at least Gunn admitted that Polka-Dot Man's outfit was his favorite.
This new twist on the character affected how Dastmalchian physically played the role, as someone who appears to be in near-constant pain. But it also influenced this entirely new take on Polka-Dot Man, who is now a bit of an outcast who's never really been a part of anything. "He's somebody that hasn't ever found much connectivity with people, because of certain things that I can't discuss today," Dastmalchian continued, "but also just because he's Polka-Dot Man."
The idea of making these misfit villains and anti-heroes into more sympathetic characters isn't exactly surprising, particularly since audiences need to relate to them in some way if they're going to be the stars of the movie. But this new idea behind Polka-Dot Man feels like a real departure from his comic book origins. Of course, this is the same director who made audiences feel a genuine connection with a cursing, machine-gun-toting raccoon in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, so anything's possible.
Maybe these changes will be for the best. Even if Polka-Dot Man ends up being one of those tragic victims of The Suicide Squad's "anyone can die" nature, it's starting to look like audiences will still find a way to fall in love with the lovable weirdo. Frankly, those last few words kind of feel like the entire premise of everything ever created by Gunn.
The Suicide Squad will release July 30th in U.K. theaters and August 6th to both U.S. theaters and HBO Max.
Source: Collider