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With Nathan Fillion’s TDK, The Suicide Squad captures the spirit of one of DC’s strangest creations, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy,
Several of DC’s more obscure characters made their cinematic debut in The Suicide Squad. Peacemaker, Bloodsport, Polka-Dot Man and even Starro are characters that have stayed on the deep bench of the DC Universe for much of their history. However, one of the film’s original characters, Nathan Fillion’s TDK, draws heavy inspiration from one of the more out-there characters in the DC Universe, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy.
Floyd Belkin first appeared in Gerard Jones and Curt Swan’s Secret Origins #46 in 1989. In his first appearance, Floyd tried to enlist in the Legion of Super-Heroes, the famous DC superhero team of the 31st Century. Floyd had one of the most unusual powers conceived: the ability to detach his limbs. While unique to say the least, the usefulness of these abilities is questionable. And unfortunately for Floyd, he was the very first reject at the very first tryout for the post-Crisis team. However, this infamous character’s legacy lasted far beyond that.
The character would continue to make appearances throughout the years, most frequently in the titles and media related to the Legion of Superheroes. In the aftermath of the events of Zero Hour, Floyd was reintroduced in 1996’s Legionnaires #43. Here, he would take on the superhero moniker of “Splitter” in an attempt to make the character more serious. But after becoming a final qualifier in team tryouts, he failed when the pressure became too much for him and realized he wasn’t ready to be a member of the Legion.
Most recently, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy appeared in Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber’s run on Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. This is not too surprising, even if Floyd is supposedly from the 31st-Century, as Superman has long had a history with the Legion of Superheroes and, depending on the era and continuity, has even been one of the Legion’s most celebrated members.
Specifically, Floyd appears in the pages of Jimmy Olsen #9 as the subject of a human interest piece. Apparently, while at the fictional theme park “Kandorland,” Floyd had the misfortune of having his arms fall off while he was riding a roller coaster there. The incident went viral and Jimmy took up the cause to make roller coasters more accessible to everyone. What’s most interesting here is that we not only get to see Arm-Fall-Boy himself but the entire Belkin family. Each member sports their own ability to detach a certain part of their body.
Arm-Fall-Off-Boy’s inclusion in the series played well into the overall tongue-in-cheek humor of the book. His inherent ridiculousness was tailor-made for a book that was essentially about Jimmy Olsen getting himself into the wackiest and most outlandish scenarios possible.
While Arm-Fall-Off-Boy wasn’t in The Suicide Squad, TDK brought his deeply strange powers to the big screen. While neither of these heroes might be a world-ending threat, they both are always willing to lend a hand in battle.
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