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The Suicide Squad is almost here. James Gunn’s first DC film will hit theaters and HBO Max on August 6, and so far it has received rave reviews from critics. The film stars a number of supervillains, who are recruited by the government and blackmailed into taking on life-threatening missions as part of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X.
The movie will feature some characters returning from the first Suicide Squad, but its cast will largely be made up of new villains pulled from the comic book source material. Since some of the film’s characters are based off of incredibly obscure DC characters, here’s a guide to the main cast of The Suicide Squad, along with who’s playing them.
Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie)
Harley Quinn was one of the original Suicide Squad‘s breakout characters, so it only makes sense that she returns for The Suicide Squad. By this point in the DC Extended Universe, Harley has broken off her relationship with the Joker and is acting on her own, causing chaos wherever she can. She was last seen still on the run in Birds of Prey, so it’s likely that she was caught and returned to Belle Reve sometime between the events of that film and The Suicide Squad. Margot Robbie will be portraying Harley for the third time.
Bloodsport (Idris Elba)
Armed with a high-tech suit and an arsenal of weapons, Bloodsport attempted to assassinate Superman with a Kryptonite bullet and ended up in Belle Reve prison for his troubles. There, he is recruited by Amanda Waller for her Suicide Squad, with his only goal being to cut time off his prison sentence and see his daughter Tyla again. Bloodsport will be portrayed by acclaimed English actor Idris Elba, who joined the film after Will Smith was unable to reprise his role of Deadshot.
Peacemaker (John Cena)
Peacemaker is a vigilante who is committed to fighting for peace everywhere, no matter what it takes. He has no superpowers, instead using an extensive array of weapons to kill as many people as he deems necessary in his quest to bring peace. The character originally appeared in comics by Charlton Comics, but his rights were later acquired by DC and he was incorporated into their universe.
Peacemaker will be played by professional wrestler John Cena, who described the character as “a douchey Captain America” during the DC FanDome event. Cena will be reprising his role in the upcoming Peacemaker series on HBO Max.
Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney)
Another returnee from the first film is Digger Harkness, better known as Captain Boomerang. The Australian crook was captured by the Flash in the middle of a bank robbery, and since then he’s served as a member of the Suicide Squad. However, Harkness is kept on a tight leash due to his strong sense of self-preservation and tendency to betray his allies. Jai Courtney reprises his role from Suicide Squad.
King Shark (Sylvester Stallone)
King Shark, also known as Nanaue, is a massive humanoid shark. He has a fairly limited vocabulary and a big appetite, specifically for human flesh. Gunn has said that he gave the character a dad bod to represent the layer of blubber that deep-sea creatures usually have. In the comics, Nanaue was the son of a shark god, and frequently fought Aquaman. The character will be voiced by Rocky star Sylvester Stallone, with Steve Agee providing on-set motion capture.
Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman)
Rick Flag is a colonel in the U.S. Special Forces, who leads the Suicide Squad’s field missions. He was recruited by Amanda Waller, using his girlfriend June Moone as a bargaining chip. Over the course of Suicide Squad, Flag came to respect his teammates and see them as more than just degenerate villains.
Gunn has stated that the character will be less serious in The Suicide Squad, claiming in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that Flag is the character who has changed the most since the first film. Joel Kinnaman will reprise the role of Flag.
Amanda Waller (Viola Davis)
Amanda Waller is the ruthless director of A.R.G.U.S. and the supervisor of Task Force X. In the first Suicide Squad film, she convinced the U.S. government to allow her to create the team, reasoning that they would be needed to undertake high-risk missions involving metahumans. Waller controls the nano-bombs in the necks of each member of the squad, and is ready and willing to blow them away at the slightest provocation. She will once again be portrayed by Viola Davis.
The Thinker (Peter Capaldi)
The Thinker is a super smart supervillain, who aids the Suicide Squad in their mission on Corto Maltese. He has several pieces of machinery in his head that provide him with enhanced intelligence. The Suicide Squad’s version of the character is based on the unnamed fifth Thinker from DC’s New 52 relaunch, although Gunn has confirmed that in the film, his name is Gaius Grieves. The Thinker will be played by former Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi.
Blackguard (Pete Davidson)
Blackguard is a villain equipped with a large arsenal of firearms. Despite packing quite a bit of dangerous weaponry, he isn’t the smartest and can be easily manipulated into foiling his own plans. In the comics, the character wielded a large mace and energy shield, and was killed during his first mission with the Suicide Squad. Blackguard will be portrayed by comedian Pete Davidson, who claims that he took the role specifically because of the ridiculousness of the character’s real name, Dick Hertz.
Savant (Michael Rooker)
Brian Durlin is a vigilante and hacker, who uses the alias Savant. He has a genius intellect, but in the comics he also exhibits a non-linear memory due to a chemical imbalance in his brain. When DC’s continuity was rebooted in 2011, a new version of Savant appeared as an initiate for the Suicide Squad. However, he cracked under the pressure and was seemingly killed, only to return and join the Squad later down the line. In The Suicide Squad, Savant will be portrayed by frequent Gunn collaborator Michael Rooker.
Sol Soria (Alice Braga)
Sol Soria is a resident of Corto Maltese and the leader of a rebellion seeking to unseat the country’s dictator, Silvio Luna. She encounters the Suicide Squad and helps them navigate the war-torn country. Sol Soria does not have an immediate comic counterpart, although there is a metahuman character named Juan Soria who has served as a member of the squad in recent years. Brazilian actor Alice Braga will play Sol Soria in The Suicide Squad.
Weasel (Sean Gunn)
Perhaps the most deranged member of the new Suicide Squad, Weasel is a feral, anthropomorphic rodent with over twenty-seven kills to his name. He is feared by his teammates, with Blackguard in particular displaying an aversion to working with the creature. The only character who seems to like Weasel is Harley Quinn, who admires his odd and bloodthirsty nature.
In the comics, Weasel was a teacher named John Monroe who put on a costume and went on a killing spree, before being recruited into the Suicide Squad and then killed by Rick Flag. Sean Gunn will bring Weasel to life through a motion-capture performance.
Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian)
Abner Krill is a criminal from Gotham City, who goes by the name Polka Dot Man. He has a painful genetic disease that produces polka dots all over his body, and uses a suit to control them and ease his pain. Because of his troubled life, Abner is very depressed and looks forward to potentially dying during a Suicide Squad mission.
Gunn has described Polka Dot Man as a tragic character, while his actor David Dastmalchian told press at a set visit that “Abner is someone who has lived a lifetime with a lot of pain, a lot of shame, a lot of solitude because of a condition that he has.” In the comics, Polka Dot Man is a minor member of Batman’s Rogues Gallery, who also went by the name Mister Polka Dot.
TDK (Nathan Fillion)
The Detachable Kid, or TDK for short, is a new member of the Suicide Squad, with the ability to detach his arms and use them as weapons. The character, whose real name is Cory Pitzner, is an original creation for The Suicide Squad, although he is based on the obscure comic book hero Arm-Fall-Off-Boy. TDK will be played by Nathan Fillion, a fan-favorite actor, who has also appeared in several other projects by Gunn, such as Slither and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Mongal (Mayling Ng)
Mongal is an alien warrior from the planet Debstam IV, whose physiology provides her with superhuman strength and durability. Her father, Mongul, is a tyrannical warlord who raised his daughter to become a genocidal maniac, and she has committed heinous crimes in Mongul’s name. She clashes with the rest of the Suicide Squad, in particular the unstable Harley Quinn. Mongal will be played by Mayling Ng, an actor and martial artist who previously appeared in Wonder Woman as an Amazon.
Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior)
In the source material, Ratcatcher’s real name is Otis Flannegan, and he is a supervillain who can control rats. However, in The Suicide Squad, Ratcatcher is a female bank robber named Cleo Cazo. She inherited the Ratcatcher title from her father, who also provided her with devices to control and speak to rats, including her pet rat Sebastian.
Cleo will be played by newcomer Daniela Melchior in The Suicide Squad. Gunn has described Ratcatcher II’s story as “the heart of the film,” and noted that she isn’t a hardened killer like the rest of Task Force X. Gunn has also said that Cleo is the character who he is most excited for audiences to meet.
Javelin (Flula Borg)
As his name suggests, Javelin uses an array of javelins in his villainous escapades, each of which has a unique specialty (including explosive javelins, self-propelling javelins and more). In the comics, the character is a German athlete and engineer, who battled Green Lantern in his first appearance before eventually being recruited for the Suicide Squad. German comedian and YouTuber Flula Borg will be portraying Javelin, who has been given the real name Gunter Braun for the film.
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Aug. 6.
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