Amanda Waller is apparently taking an "if it ain't broke..." approach to recruitment in The Suicide Squad. Billed as neither a sequel nor a reboot, The Suicide Squad is looking to take the DCEU in a fresh direction with James Gunn as director. Nevertheless, the non-sequel borrows several stars from 2016's Suicide Squad, most notably Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, and Viola Davis' Amanda Waller. Once again, it's Waller rounding up a new batch of deadly convicts to partake in a mission so dangerous, only the most disposable warriors are sent along.
Traditionally, Waller offers her Task Force X members an attractive ten-year sentence reduction should they complete (and survive) the mission, but this isn't always enough. Not known for giving up, Waller must occasionally resort to even less scrupulous methods to land the supervillains she wants, and so it proves with Idris Elba's Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad. After he refuses the initial deal, Waller secretly visits Bloodsport's daughter and offers "help" with an unspecified court appearance. Although Waller has enough clout to suggest the deal is genuine, Bloodsport reacts badly to his daughter being involved and holds a writing implement to the A.R.G.U.S. director's throat. His anger obviously subsides because Robert DuBois is later leading Task Force X in the field.
What might seem like a wily tactic is actually Amanda Waller reaching back into her tried and tested playbook of manipulation. In the 2016 Suicide Squad (mostly) directed by David Ayer, Waller finds herself faced with another stubborn sharpshooter in Will Smith's Deadshot. Despite initially demanding a full pardon, custody of his daughter, and the youngster's Ivy League education paid for, Waller eventually makes Deadshot settle for supervised visits. It seems this experience taught Amanda a great deal about motivating reluctant recruits, which could be why she heads directly for Bloodsport's daughter in The Suicide Squad. An assassin may care little for themselves, but they'll do anything for their children. Even fight a giant starfish.
Getting to Bloodsport through his family highlights Viola Davis' character as considerably more hardened and ruthless than she was in 2016's Suicide Squad. Amanda Waller was already a badass, but diving into the world of supervillains is a learning curve for even the toughest civilian. Since The Suicide Squad isn't her first Task Force X rodeo, it makes sense that Waller is even more determined and unflappable, not caring if she upsets Bloodsport, involves children in dangerous business, or gets stabbed with a pen. Her resolve is steelier, and it'll need to be now that Waller has ignored Bruce Wayne's warning to end Task Force X from the end of the first movie.
Intentionally or otherwise, Waller's recruitment of Bloodsport only serves to underline his similarity to Deadshot. Early Suicide Squad 2 reports claimed Idris Elba would actually be playing a recast Deadshot, and though he was ultimately revealed as Bloodsport instead, the two characters share much common ground. Both are supervillains whose expertise lies in firearms, and both kill targets at another's behest (albeit one more willingly than the other). Deadshot and Bloodsport each occupy leadership roles in their respective Suicide Squad movies; Rick Flag is the official leader, but Smith and Elba's characters are the level-headed prisoners trying to keep their zanier colleagues in line. It now appears that both characters are motivated by their daughters too. They're family men who eschewed a regular 9-to-5 because they preferred shooting people, and Task Force X is their means of finding atonement. Sadly, Bloodsport's chances of surviving The Suicide Squad are far lower than Will Smith's.
