Abner Krill, also known as the Polka-Dot Man, was a member of the Suicide Squad. A metahuman with the ability to generate multicolored-spot projectiles from his body, he was intended to serve as a child superhero by his abusive mother. After Krill murdered her with his powers, he was drafted incarcerated at Belle Reve Penitentiary by A.R.G.U.S.. Krill served as a member of the Squad during their mission to Corto Maltese, where he worked alongside Bloodsport, Harley Quinn, Peacemaker, King Shark and Ratcatcher 2. He was later killed in a battle with Starro the Conqueror.
Biography[]
Abner Krill was the son of a STAR Labs scientist obsessed with superheroes. As a child, he and his siblings were experimented on with an extra-dimensional virus with the intention of giving them powers. Abner among the ones to survive and was granted the ability to produce dots from special gauntlets on his wrists. However, the infection meant that he would build up sores and dots across his body, which needed to be released twice a day to avoid being eaten up by these.
Krill was branded the Polka-Dot Man by his mother, though he quickly turned to crime in his adult years. By this time, he'd become a joke amongst other supervillains, with some openly mocking him in his face. Due to his mother's abuse, Abner perceived everyone as her. It is also heavily implied he may have killed her. At some point prior to the Suicide Squad's Corto Maltese mission, Krill was arrested and imprisoned in Belle Reve. He was fitted with a power dampener to prevent him from using his powers to escape.
The Suicide Squad[]
Recruitment into the Squad[]
In preparation for "Project Starfish", Krill was recruited into Task Force X's Team Two alongside Bloodsport, Peacemaker, King Shark and Ratcatcher 2. As he was introduced to the team, he was mocked by a passing Calendar Man. Krill was given back his costume and gauntlets, with the dampener being removed to ensure he could use his powers in the field. During the briefing, he expressed a desire to die during the mission.
Arrival in Corto Maltese[]
Polka-Dot Man and the team were deployed during Team One's engagement with the Corto Maltese military on the south beach. Due to their peer's battle, they were undetected by the militia. During the night, Abner separated himself from the team to expel his dots, though this was noticed by Bloodsport. He also witnessed the argument between Ratcatcher and King Shark following the latter's attempt to eat the former.
After Rick Flag was located, Polka-Dot man joined the team to rescue him. During the fight, he used his dots to annihilate one of the revolutionaries and the watchtower he was using. Eventually, the team were able to locate Flag, learning that he'd been able to negotiate the resistance's assistance through their leader, Sol Soria. While most to the Squad attempted to cover up their massacre of the group, Polka-Dot Man blurted out that they'd killed them, much to everyone's shock. Despite this, Flag was able to keep the revolutionaries' trust to take down Jotunheim.
On the way to meet one of Sol's contacts, Abner began to regrow his soars. When the group confronted him, he informed them of his mother's experiments and the effects they had on his body. He presumably expelled the spots some time after it. After the Squad saved Milton, Abner was the one to greet and introduce themselves to him. Through him, the Squad were able to gain access to Corto Maltese' capital Valle Del Mar.
Kidnapping the Thinker[]
Krill was among the teammates who visited La Gatita Amable to capture the Thinker. During the night, he danced with several patrons whilst they waited for the scientist to arrive at the club. When the military arrived to capture any "Americans", Krill and Cazo took Thinker out of the club whilst DuBois, Flag and Smith stayed behind to provide a distraction. They were able to get him out of the club without confrontation, taking charge of him until they could reunite with their teammates. He later helped prepare for rescue attempt of Harley Quinn, though this moments before starting after realizing she'd managed to escape on her own.
Destruction of Jotunheim[]
After the Squad used Thinker to access Jotunheim, Polka-Dot Man joined Bloodsport, Quinn and King Shark in placing explosives around the structure. During it, he took notice of Milton joining the group. On one of the upper floors, Abner accidently dropped one of the explosives, with his attempt to pick it up leading to guards catching up. After they gunned down Milton, he killed them with his dots before mourning Milton, much to Quinn and Bloodsport's surprise. Eventually, more guards arrived, leading Krill to send more dots after them. However, these made contact with the explosives, causing them to detonate.
As Jotunheim fell apart, Polka-Dot Man and his teammates made their efforts to escape the collapsing building. Ultimately, he was able to make it safely to the ground with Quinn, after which they reunited with Bloodsport, Ratcatcher and King Shark. They were quickly surrounded by Corto Maltese's military, now under the command of Mateo Suárez. However, their main target, Starro the Conqueror, broke out from and began to attack all nearby inhabitants with its spawn. Krill and the Squad were able to survive the onslaught by fending off the creature's spawn, leading Starro to leave them.
Battling Starro and Death[]
As Starro turned its focus to Valle Del Mar, Polka-Dot Man originally followed Waller's orders to leave and be extracted from Corto Maltese. However, he followed Bloodsport and the other teammates to defy her, instead choosing to confront the creature and save the city. During the fight, Abner used his polka-dots to burn away one of Starro's legs. Having finally become a "superhero", he happily proclaimed himself as such to Bloodsport. However, this distracted him from Starro, who crushed him under one of its legs midsentence. A single shred of his costume was later found by Cazo, with the team mourning him after Starro's defeat.
Characterization[]
Personality[]
Compared to the other members of the Suicide Squad, Polka-Dot Man was quieter and more reserved. This could probably be attributed to his abusive and traumatic upbringing. At several points, he expressed self-loathing, even depredating himself on one occasion, and even seemed to show a death wish before the mission. Abner also expressed a dislike of killing, though still took lives on multiple occasions.
Krill also appeared to suffer from both post-traumatic stress disorder and Fregoli delusion, imaging everyone around him as his mother. However, it was indicated that he may have been recovering during the mission at Corto Maltese, as he was able to clearly distinct Milton to other teammates. In his final moments, Abner also began to express great self esteem by finally proclaiming himself a "superhero".
Powers and Abilities[]
Due to experiments performed on him by his mother with an "interdimensional virus", Polka-Dot Man had the ability to generate and "throw" colorful polka-dots from gauntlets attached to his wrists. The dots were also incendiary in nature, being able to burn or dissolve a variety of objects, and set off explosives. However, due to the condition, Abner would build up these dots within his body and he would need to expel them at least every twelve hours, either through his gauntlets or, if unavailable, vomiting. Failure to do so would eventually result in them eating up his body and his death.
Behind the Scenes[]
Director and writer James Gunn chose to adapt Polka-Dot Man into The Suicide Squad because he though it would be better to integrate lesser-known supervillains in the DC comics roster. Describing the character as "the dumbest DC character of all time", he chose to develop the character as a tragic figure who was constantly dismissed and bullied by others. The sentiment was also repeated by Polka-Dot Man's actor David Dastmalchian.[1]
Deleted Scenes[]
Polka-Dot Man features in several deleted scenes for The Suicide Squad. In one, he is left to guard the Thinker whilst Ratcatcher searches for a missing King Shark, during which the scientist attempts to manipulate him into letting him go. The scene also confirms that Abner had killed his mother in what he claims to be self-defense and is suggested to have become a supervillain after becoming known as "the world's lamest superhero". Though Thinker attempts to manipulate him into giving him a weapon, Krill instead uses a "moment of rebellion" to shoot him in the ear. This injury is noticeable in later scenes for the film.
In an extended sequence of the Squad's infiltration of Jotunheim, Polka-Dot Man uses his abilities to trick soldiers into letting Thinker into the facility Jotunheim, using them to act as an "other-worldly specimens". The scenes were likely cut for time concerns, though were later featured in Blu-Ray releases of The Suicide Squad.[2]
Notes[]
- Prior to the film, Polka-Dot Man had never appeared as a member of the Suicide Squad. This is also the case in current continuities for the comics.
- In the comics, Polka-Dot Man has the ability to use dots on his costume as a variety of weapons and tools, including a buzz-saw, teleportation and flight. However, this was changed in the film, likely due to practicality.