As reported by Comicbookmovie.com, Common just joined the cast of Suicide Squad as an unconfirmed character. A lot of people were buzzing about this news because David Ayer and crew have been very upfront with who each actor will be playing in their movie. There are only a couple of actors that have unannounced roles such as Ike Barinholtz, Jim Parrack, and Adam Beach (although many think Jim Parrack will be playing Joker henchman, Johnny Frost). Common has now joined the ranks of these few guys as someone whose character we don’t know yet. Many began to run rampant with speculation that he was the Green Lantern, John Stewart because of his old casting in the failed Justice League: Mortal. A lot of fans have given reasons why they think he is going to be GL, but I have a feeling he won’t be. I will address why I think he could be John Stewart, but also explain why I think he is the supervillain, Black Manta. But first, let’s see how John Stewart introduction could work in this movie.
Green Lantern
I think that if he were to be introduced as John Stewart in SS, he wouldn’t yet be GL. I don’t think it would make sense to have GL in Suicide Squad unless he hadn’t yet been given the power of the Green Lantern. In the case of John Stewart, he was an ex marine turned superhero. If they were to introduce the character John Stewart they could have him show up as an ex marine turned ARGUS agent. I believe this serves the character while giving him ample reason to be around in SS. By the end of the movie he could be detached from ARGUS and now available for the ring to come to him. There could be other ways for GL to be introduced in SS that I’m not thinking of, but for now, let’s take a look at who I think he is: Black Manta.
Black Manta
Common has had few acting jobs, but most have been as villains. He’s proven that he is comfortable enough to be a villain as well as talented enough to be menacing. To me, it would make sense to play to an actor’s skills. He also fits the physique for Black Manta way more than he does for John Stewart. However, beside just his acting abilities and physical resemblance to Black Manta, let us not forget that this is a villain’s movie. Sure there will be heroes and antiheroes, but this is primarily a movie about the baddest people in the DCCU. We’ve heard a lot about the Batman villains in the movie, but haven’t heard much more in terms of diversity amongst the villains. I think introducing an Aquaman villain in this fits perfectly and makes sense. Also, Black Manta has been involved in the Suicide Squad previously. He could also be used to set up not just Aquaman, but possibly Justice League if the rumors about Amanda Waller being in possession of Aquaman’s trident turn out to be true. Perhaps, he gets the trident by the end of the movie thus leading us into Aquaman and Justice League because anyone that holds that trident becomes a very powerful enemy. So not only do I think Common fits the bill for Black Manta, but I think it suites the story beautifully if he is indeed Black Manta.
As always what do you guys think? Can you seem him as GL or Black Manta? Which would you prefer him as? Do you think he’s someone else entirely? Let me know in the comments below and please thumbs up and share if you enjoyed this piece.