Suicide Squad's Bloodsport Relives Shooting Superman With a Dark Twist
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Suicide Squad #5
In the latest issue of DC's Suicide Squad, it's been revealed that Bloodsport has been working for Amanda Waller as a multiversal scout, gaining intel for the director of Task Force X while occasionally bringing back potential new assets for her team from different Earths. However, his most recent trip to Earth-3 has put him in the crosshairs of the world's dark version of Superman, leading Robert DuBois to relive his most infamous act in the DC Universe: shooting Superman, something that the upcoming DC film The Suicide Squad will speak to when he joins Waller's team. However, there is a dark and surprising twist that could spell disaster for Waller's operative.
Robert DuBois' first appearance as Bloodsport was in 1987, created by writer and artist John Byrne as a Superman villain. While having no superpowers of his own, he does have a device in his possession that allows him to teleport all sorts of powerful and exotic weapons directly into his hands, allowing him to be armed and prepped for all kinds of threats at a moment's notice. Originally working on the orders of Lex Luthor, DuBois was psychologically manipulated into hating Superman and seeing him as the ultimate target. His first battle with Superman resulted in the Man of Steel being shot with a Kryptonite needle gun. As a result, hurting Superman soon became Bloodsport's claim to fame (which will also be referenced in the upcoming James Gunn film).
Now, DuBois is a member of Waller's Task Force X in the comics as well, and his travels across the Multiverse have put him face to face with none other than the Crime Syndicates' Ultraman, a dark and evil version of Superman himself. Coming from Robbie Thompson, Julio Ferreira, Eduardo Pansica, Joe Prado, Dexter Soy, and Alex Sinclair, Suicide Squad #5 sees Bloosspot requesting his "Big Gun" while fighting this new Superman, but it doesn't quite go as well as the first time he shot the original Superman with kryptonite:
As it turns out, Ultraman is different from other Supermen in that his powers actually come from the irradiated pieces of Krypton, rather than it being his weakness. Essentially, all Bloodsport did was make Ultraman stronger, and he soon paid the price for his critical error. Not only did Ultraman burn out the implanted bomb in his head so Waller couldn't kill her compromised asset, but it seems as though he's going to use Bloodsport, wanting to get more kryptonite from Waller which will most likely lead to an imminent war between the Suicide Squad and the Crime Syndicate.
In any case, it looks like Bloodsport's hope of bolstering his rep by taking down two versions of Superman just wasn't meant to be. While it was certainly a surprise twist for DuBois, it unlikely that he'll make the same mistake twice should he survive Ultraman's wrath and plans for him. In the meantime, it looks like Ultraman will be planning a trip to the primary Earth, and he may be bringing his sinister friends to back him up as he goes in search of that sweet, sweet, kryptonite in future issues.