Polka-Dot Man is one of the many villains making up the team in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Details on the sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad were few and far between right up until the movie’s release, allowing for a thoroughly surprising – and entertaining – experience, containing a range of relatively obscure comic characters.
Given his oeuvre, it is not surprising that Gunn chose to dive into the depths of DC Comics in developing The Suicide Squad. One of Gunn’s earliest projects as a screenwriter was The Specials – an independent superhero comedy about a second-rate superhero team, in which Gunn also played the role of the team’s Ant-Man surrogate, the shrinking Minute Man. Gunn wrote and directed several other comedic superhero movies, but it was Guardians of the Galaxy which brought Gunn mainstream recognition, as Gunn took several unknown Marvel Comics characters like Groot and Rocket Raccoon and turned them into household names.
It’s safe to say that Gunn did the same with the likes of Polka-Dot Man, who is perhaps one of the most obscure figures in Batman’s rogues gallery. Despite possessing an armory of wonderful toys to rival that of the Dark Knight himself, the Polka-Dot Man has never risen through the ranks of the Gotham City underworld to attain a position of respect, perhaps due to his ridiculous name and costume. Here is everything you need to know about the Polka-Dot Man, including his background and powers, and how they translate to the big screen.
Polka-Dot Man’s Comic History Explained
![Who Is Polka-Dot Man? The Suicide Squad’s Batman Villain Explained](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Polka-Dot-Man.jpg)
The Polka-Dot Man first appeared in Detective Comics #300 in February 1962. Born with the unlikely name of Abner Krill, the Polka-Dot Man was originally known by the even more ludicrous moniker of Mister Polka-Dot. Whatever the name, Krill was one of the many gimmick-driven costumed criminals in the Silver Age of Comics who sought to make a name for himself in Gotham City by pitting himself against the Batman and proving himself superior to the Dark Knight.
Krill first made a name for himself with a daring series of robberies, targeting businesses connected to dots and spots, like a night club called The Ink Spot and the Domino Gaming Company. In the end, he was brought to justice by Robin, who sniffed out his lair using a prize hunting leopard and ironically warned Batman of a trap that Mister Polka-Dot had set for him using a message coded in the dot-based language of Braille. Krill’s first outing as a costumed criminal proved to be his most successful and, unable to afford to rebuild the technology that empowered his first costume, he was reduced to robbing grocery stores armed with only a baseball bat.
Krill’s death was as ultimately as sad as his life. He ended up in the service of long-time Doom Patrol nemesis General Immortus, along with other low-level losers such as the Condiment King and Sportsmaster. Krill died while in pursuit of the Human Flame; an equally obscure Martian Manhunter villain, who had betrayed Immortus’ new team during the events of the Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! mini-series. Polka-Dot Man’s head was accidentally smashed in by a manhole cover, as it returned to Earth after being sent skyward by an explosion in the sewers triggered by the Human Flame’s powers.
Polka-Dot Man’s Powers Explained
![Polka-Dot Man Fights Batman and Robin](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Polka-Dot-Man-Fights-Batman-and-Robin.jpg)
Just like Batman has no superpowers, the Polka-Dot Man has no superhuman abilities, but instead arms himself with a variety of useful gadgets that help him in the course of committing his crimes. However, rather than storing these gizmos in a common utility belt, the Polka-Dot Man stores them upon his costume as a series of adhesive dots. Whenever he needs a tool, all he has to do is simply peel the appropriate dot off of his super-suit and it will automatically expand to full size. These devices are further manipulated through the controls contained within the belt of the Polka-Dot Man’s costume.
The dots include a number of offensive and defensive devices, such as spinning circular saw-blades, gas-dispensing discuses, teleportation pads and miniature fists that can pummel a target into submission. Several of the dots even contain fully automated vehicles, such as floating bubbles and flying saucers. However, the most amazing aspect of the dots is that the Polka-Dot Man can make them dissolve after a set amount of time, eliminating any evidence of his passing after he’s fled the scene of the crime.
Polka-Dot Man’s DCEU Powers & Origin (& What The Suicide Squad Changed)
![Polka-Dot Man shooting his polka dots in The Suicide Squad](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/David-Dastmalchian-as-Polka-Dot-Man-in-The-Suicide-Squad.jpg)
While much of Polka-Dot Man’s background has been changed for The Suicide Squad, the character itself remains surprisingly similar in tone. The major difference between the two is that Abner Krill does possess superpowers, having been experimented on by his mother in an attempt to imbue him with powers. The process killed many others, but was horrifically successful on Krill, manifesting Polka-Dot Man’s powers as a disease in him that required him to expel polka dots from him twice a day or risk death. Said polka dots appear to be inherently incendiary or explosive in nature, as they destroy any matter they come into contact with – be it people or not.
Despite having substantially more intimidating powers, Abner is just as unintimidating as his comic counterpart, as he is deeply shy and embarrassed about the nature of his powers, which is partially a result of the fact that Krill is traumatized enough that he sees everyone to look visually like his mother. Tragically, the motivations for this Polka-Dot Man are different too – making the DCEU version even sadder, as his happiness to be acting as “a superhero” is revealed literal seconds before his death.
Polka-Dot Man’s DCEU Future After The Suicide Squad
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Polka-Dot Man is decidedly unlikely to appear in any DCEU installments coming after The Suicide Squad, as the film does kill him off towards its very end by seeing him be crushed underneath one of Starro’s colossal tentacles. Though this cuts his personal arc short, it actually doesn’t totally count out the idea of having a polka dot-based character enter a theoretical later fray. Abner mentions that some of his peers who were experimented on did in fact survive – suggesting that others may have similar if not identical abilities. As such, it may not be unrealistic to anticipate another Polka-Dot Person appearing some time in the DCEU’s future – especially if The Suicide Squad gets a follow-up film.
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