DC has reminded fans just how dangerous Idris Elba's The Suicide Squad character, Robert DuBois/Bloodsport, truly is.Following the release of The Suicide Squad red band trailer, DC's official Batman Twitter account tweeted "[Didn't] Bloodsport put you in the hospital one time?" at the official Superman account. "You promised you wouldn't bring this up again," the latter posted in response.
There are three different Bloodsports in the DC Comics Universe. The most famous one, Robert DuBois, was created by John Byrne and Karl Kesel and first appeared in 1987's Superman Vol. 2 #4. Robert became obsessed with the Vietnam War after fleeing to Canada to avoid being drafted, allowing Lex Luthor -- acting through a subordinate known as Kimberley -- to manipulate and condition him into wanting to kill Superman. He nearly succeeded in doing just that, using a Kryptonite needle gun to severely weaken the Man of Steel in their first battle. Fortunately, Jimmy Olsen was able to prevent Robert (now going by Bloodsport) from murdering Superman and got him medical attention. This gave Kal-El the time he needed to recover and defeat Bloodsport in their next showdown.
In honor of Elba's 48th birthday last year, The Suicide Squad writer/director James Gunn reveals he wrote the movie's version of the character specifically for Elba. "I rarely write roles for actors I've never met, but I did exactly that for [Idris Elba] in [The Suicide Squad]," Gunn said, adding, "[I] couldn't be happier I did -- you went beyond my expectations as an actor AND as a human being. I can't wait for folks to see you as [Bloodsport]."
The full synopsis for The Suicide Squad reads,
Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, Michael Rooker as Savant, Flula Borg as Javelin, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Mayling NG as Mongal, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Alice Braga as Solsoria, Sylvester Stallone as King Shark, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Sean Gunn as Weasel, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, John Cena as Peacemaker, with Steve Agee, Taika Waititi and Storm Reid. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Aug. 6.
Source: Twitter