The Suicide Squad brought a few members of the original team back and introduced a bunch of new villains/anti-heroes, among those Bloodsport, whose arc repeats that of Suicide Squad’s Deadshot but was done a lot better. DC’s Extended Universe is one of the most important connected superhero universes in the genre, but it has gone through a couple of rough patches since it kicked off in 2013 with Man of Steel. The DCEU aimed for a darker, more realistic vibe than that of its competitor, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that didn’t connect well with the audience, which along with studio interference forced the same studio to make some big changes.
In 2016, viewers were introduced to Task Force X in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, which saw Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) recruiting imprisoned villains to execute dangerous black ops missions and save the world from a powerful threat in exchange for reduced sentences. These villains were Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), and Slipknot (Adam Beach). The only one who was given a real motivation to join Task Force X was Deadshot, as his priority and his main concern was his daughter, Zoe, and her well-being, and Bloodsport’s arc mirrored this.
By the end of Suicide Squad, the surviving members got reduced sentences and some of them got a couple of perks (except for Boomerang, who was just locked up in a cell and continued to scream at the security cameras). Deadshot was granted visits from his daughter and continued to receive letters from her, bringing his arc to a full circle. Deadshot didn’t return in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, and his place was taken by Robert DuBois a.k.a. Bloodsport (Idris Elba), a man imprisoned for shooting Superman with a Kryptonite bullet and who turned Waller’s offer down many times until she used his daughter, Tyla (Storm Reid), to her advantage. Tyla got into trouble for stealing, and Waller was ready to send her to jail if Bloodsport didn’t join the team.
Both Deadshot and Bloodsport are moved by their relationship with their daughters, though for different reasons. Deadshot did everything he could to keep Zoe safe, especially as she lived in a dangerous neighborhood with her alcoholic mother, and one night, he was captured by none other than Batman while on a walk with her. Deadshot tried to shoot the Caped Crusader but Zoe stood on his way, so he surrendered himself and ended up at Belle Reve. Deadshot tried to negotiate Zoe’s safety and financial stability, and by the end of Suicide Squad, he was granted a supervised visit. Bloodsport, on the other hand, had a difficult relationship with his daughter, whose actions were a way to get her father’s attention, but were used by Waller to push Bloodsport to join her team. Bloodsport didn’t get to reunite with Tyla at the end, but she did see him in the news as he fought against Starro, changing her view of her father and his actions. Although their arcs are all about realizing the good inside of them and reconnecting and saving their daughters, Bloodsport’s feels more complete as he had a lot more to fix with his daughter than Deadshot did, and there was more at risk with Tyla potentially going to jail.
The Suicide Squad set up the spinoff series Peacemaker in one of its post-credits scenes, but with Bloodsport (as well as Harley Quinn, King Shark, and Ratcatcher 2) still alive and Waller honoring their new deal, if a sequel is to happen he will surely come back and his relationship with Tyla can be explored a bit more – and if Deadshot returns, it will be interesting to see how these two similar characters will get along and how their personal lives continue to mirror each other.
