James Gunn's upcoming The Suicide Squad is filled to the brim with tons of surely doomed supervillains. Some Squad members, such as Rick Flagg and Harley Quinn, will return for Task Force X's next adventure. Other characters, such as Daniela Melchior's Ratcatcher and John Cena's Peacemaker, will make their live-action debut when the movie hits theaters.
However, unlike his new teammates, Peter Capaldi's new character, the Thinker, has been adapted before in live-action. This take on the character appeared in the fourth season of The CW's The Flash, and though initially hyped as a potentially great villain, the foe fell tremendously short by the season's end. While, as part of an ensemble cast, Capaldi's Thinker will have a much smaller role than the villain had in the show, there's already the potential to correct the show's mistakes.
Thought Police
Clifford Devoe was first alluded to on The Flash in Season 3, mentioned by Abra Kadabra as one of The Flash's dastardly villains in the future. Though Team Flash makes nothing of the comment, the threat of Devoe quickly becomes apparent in the following season. Neil Sandilands' version of the character didn't merely wear a technological "thinking cap," but a highly advanced suit connected to a chair similar to that of the New God Metron. This is needed to stave off the effects of a degenerative disease caused by his increased metahuman intelligence. His mannerisms were fittingly cold and sterile, as he meticulously planned every aspect of his agenda. Said agenda involved devolving the world's collective intelligence as part of a "Great Enlightenment," as he felt that technology and wayward emotions were the cause of the modern world's problems.
Though he started out as a menacing and deservedly hyped villain, the Thinker and his story devolved around the time of the mid-season finale. He began a series of body hops, in which he planted his consciousness into different people. This resulted in his gaining the powers of all of the metahumans which he had engineered to be created. Thus, the character, who was already light on any actual intelligent thinking, was reduced to simply another typical villain with physical powers. Though he wasn't simply another speedster for the Flash to outrun, his array of powers that were completely unrelated to his intellect made him essentially just the same. On top of that, his grand plans didn't make sense or were outright stupid at the best of times, and at worst relied on all manner of plot devices and contrivances to justify ever working. This in turned soured viewers on the villain, who by the end many felt had overstayed his welcome.
Smart Thinking
As shown in the character breakdowns through DC FanDome, Capaldi's take on the Thinker will be more based off of the traditional design, where he simply has a number of electric diodes jutting from his head. While this ironically lacks the more cinematic imagery of the TV version's hovering chair, it also speaks to how this version will likely be more accurate. Simply being a man with mental diodes on a team of actiony antiheroes and monsters, the character will probably have to live up to his name and actually think up numerous gadgets or ways for the Squad to get out of jams.
While this too has the potential for plot contrivances, it doesn't run the same threat of the TV version's complete abandonment of his own metahuman premise. It might also give the villain some time to shine at the last minute, with his incredible schemes saving the team's bacon when everyone else doubts him. Though this won't be the character's first time in live-action, it definitely has the chance to be more faithful.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, David Dastmalchian, John Cena, Joaquin Cosio, Nathan Fillion, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Sean Gunn, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, Pete Davidson, Taika Waititi, Alice Braga, Steve Agee, Tinashe Kajese, Daniela Melchior, Peter Capaldi, Julio Ruiz, Jennifer Holland, Idris Elba and Michael Rooker. The film arrives in theaters Aug. 6, 2021.