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One of the most exciting aspects of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is that it introduces a new group of characters to the DC Extended Universe. For instance, Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher 2 and David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man are only a few of the film’s strong additions. The reason Gunn has so much success with his characters is in part due to the fact that he injects so much detail into the characters’ personal histories. So there are a lot of details that weren’t actually on the page, and this seems to have been especially true for Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, as it pertained to the villain’s history with Superman.
Bloodsport and Superman have an interesting history in the comics, so hardcore DC fans were likely excited when this carried over to the DC Extended Universe. Still, the exact details of that history in the cinematic realm wasn’t so clear. CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg recently had the opportunity to speak with The Suicide Squad’s Idris Elba and Daniela Melchior, during which he asked if there were any aspects of their character’s backstories that aren’t quite apparent on screen. When answering, Elba recalled learning about his character’s link to the Man of Steel:
There’s a whole history as to why Bloodsport is in jail that’s related to, you know, trying to kill Superman. And unraveling that, there was lots of stuff that I found out about Robert DuBois/Bloodsport that was interesting to fill in to my character.
The trailers for The Suicide Squad established that Bloodsport put Superman in the ICU with the help of a Kryptonite bullet. In the comics, Robert DuBois was manipulated into doing this by Lex Luthor and, instead of a bullet, he used a Kryptonite needle. Considering the history in the comics, one has to wonder what kind of details James Gunn might have incorporated into DuBois’ history within the DCEU. Could Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex have theoretically played a role there?
Honestly, that may be a bit much to assume, at this point, seeing as how James Gunn hasn’t even confirmed that it was Henry Cavill’s Superman that was on the receiving end of that bullet. Still, given that the film does take place in the established DCEU, there’s always a chance Cavill’s Superman and Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex played a role in the history of Idris Elba’s Robert DuBois.
One thing that can be said for sure is that Idris Elba’s Bloodsport is one of the highlights of The Suicide Squad. The grizzled marksman becomes a key member of the team and ultimately proves to be a pretty compelling character in the process. Elba definitely deserves kudos for his A+ performance as does James Gunn for finding ways to effectively update the character.
You can check out Bloodsport action by heading to your local theater to see The Suicide Squad or by streaming it on HBO Max, which you can sign up for using this link.
