Bloodsport

> No one likes a showoff.
>
> Bloodsport to Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad

**Robert DuBois**, codenamed **Bloodsport**, is an assassin who was hired to kill Superman using a kryptonite bullet, but ultimately failed to do so. As a result, he was arrested and incarcerated in Belle Reve, and subsequently became a member, and briefly the leader, of the Task Force X strike team sent to Corto Maltese. While there, he formed a close bond with Ratcatcher 2, became an integral part of destroying Starro, and successfully blackmailed Amanda Waller into letting him and his surviving teammates go free.

## Biography

### Early life

> Why are you so afraid of rats?"
> "My old man. When I was a lad, if I didn't finish a task right, he would dole out the punishment. And one day, he just locked me in a crate for 24 hours. And it was full starving rats.
>
> Ratcatcher 2 and Bloodsport, The Suicide Squad

Since he was born, Robert DuBois was trained by his father to become a hardened mercenary like himself. At some point, his father once locked him inside a crate full of starving rats for one day, making him gain a rat phobia. DuBois then used his father's training to join the military, serving alongside Rick Flag, but later became the paid assassin known as "Bloodsport". He married and had a daughter named Tyla, but he left his wife for unknown reasons.

### Arrest

 File:Bloodsport threatens Waller.png
DuBois attempted to assassinate Superman with kryptonite bullets, but only managed to send him to the ICU. He was incarcerated and sent to Belle Reve, and in 2021 was asked by Amanda Waller to join Task Force X on a suicide mission to Corto Maltese, the second of two strike teams sent to destroy Nazi-era laboratory and holding facility Jotunheim and wipe out the powerful and dangerous Project Starfish. When DuBois refused, a desperate Waller, knowing how dangerous the project was, threatened to have his daughter incarcareted, forcing him to comply.

### Mission in Corto Maltese

> Aw, he's offering you a pretty leaf, to show you that he means no harm"
> "Why the fuck would I want a leaf?
>
> Ratcatcher 2 and Bloodsport, The Suicide Squad

 File:Task Force X in Corto Maltese.png
The team successfully land undetected in Corto Maltese, with DuBois being amazed by the absence of any patrols. Moving on with the mission, DuBois faces some conflict with another member of the team, Peacemaker. After finding a proper camping spot for the night, DuBois gets awakened by Abner, and observes him covered in large glowing bumps as he expels polka dots from his system. Suddenly, Dubois is alerted by Sebastian to King Shark attempting to eat Cleo alive. He pulls out a gun and shoots King Shark, eventually pinning him against a tree, which also alerts the rest of the team to what is happening. Enraged, Cleo summons a horde of rats, which prompts DuBois to reveal his fear of rats. Waller questions DuBois about why he did not say anything before, leading him to protest that he did not have any right to share his liabilities. To prevent King Shark from trying to eat them again, Cleo decides to befriend him. Annoyed by her optimism, DuBois calls her a "little idiot" before storming off.

#### Finding Rick Flag

 File:Task Force X lower their weapons - TSS.png
As they head towards the direction of Jotunheim, Waller informs the team of Flag's location, surprising DuBois, and assigns them the task of rescuing Flag from his rebel captors. After finding the camp of Flag's captors and killing multiple rebels, at some point becoming a contest between DuBois and Peacemaker, the team learn that Flag was actually saved by the rebels rather than having been captured.

#### Ratphobia

After Flag convinces the rebel leader, Sol Soria, to help them, they meet up with her contact, Milton near the city. After changing into civilian disguises, Cleo asks DuBois why he has a fear of rats, with DuBois retorting her attachment to them is due to having daddy issues. Cleo talks about her father and how she lived with him, ending when he died from an overdose. DuBois, feeling sympathetic, tells her she reminds him of his daughter, as well as revealing to her his phobia came from a time his father punished him by locking him in a box with rats for 24 hours. Having bonded over their relationships with their fathers, DuBois promises to keep Cleo safe, with the latter promising the same to him as well.

#### Capturing Thinker and saving Harley

Arriving at a bar that the Thinker regularly frequents, the team decides pass the time by drinking and dancing. A few hours later, the Thinker eventually arrives and DuBois, holding him at gunpoint, forces him to leave with them. However, their departure is halted when the Corto Maltese military arrive, who have been tasked with searching for Americans. Realizing they cannot leave without being noticed, DuBois leaves the Thinker with Cleo and Krill and sends them away, planning for them to meet up later. As they leave undetected, DuBois reveals himself to the soldiers, as well as Flag and Peacemaker, albeit reluctantly, As they are taken prisoner by the soldiers, the trio are informed that Harley is still alive by a soldier.

After a brief talk with the soldier, the three quickly kill the soldiers in the truck before crashing. Before leaving for Jotunheim, Flag gets the team to come and rescue Harley first. As they head to Harley's whereabouts, Peacemaker disagrees with the choice in saving Harley, with DuBois remarking it being useless to argue with Flag. After forming a plan, the team head to various vantage points to infiltrate Harley's prison. However, before they commence the plan, Harley shows up, having killed her captors and broken herself out, much to DuBois's slight annoyance.

#### Infiltration in Jotunheim

The team, hiding in a bus driven by The Thinker, arrive at Jotunheim. Using the sudden rain as cover, they manage to infiltrate the base before the military stops them. Tasked with planting bombs in the building to destroy it, DuBois, Harley, Abner, and Milton head to the upper levels to plant explosives, while Cleo and Flag take Thinker to the basement. On their way there, some soldiers, alerted earlier, arrive and kill Milton, with Abner quickly killing them. After only realizing Milton was actually with them the whole time, they are taken by surprise by reinforcements, prompting Abner to accidentally cause the bombs to explode prematurely. As the building caves in, DuBois, Harley, and Abner manage to escape the upper levels of the building, which falls off and collapses onto the Corto Maltese military.

While Harley and Abner make the jump, Dubois ends up falling through the multiple floors, eventually landing on the ground floor, where he is greeted with the sight of a bloodied Peacemaker holding Cleo at gunpoint. Defending her, DuBois quickly draws the moment Peacemaker shoots him, with the latter getting shot in the neck from his smaller bullet, causing him to bleed out and lose consciousness. DuBois learns from Cleo that Peacemaker killed Flag in an attempt to keep the US government's involvement with Project Starfish a secret. As they reconvene with Abner and Harley, DuBois quickly stashes the hard drive away in his armor.

#### The Suicide Squad vs. Starro The Conqueror

Shortly after, Project Starfish, revealed to be a massive alien starfish named Starro, tears through the building, with the team managing to escape from getting crushed. Amongst the military, they witness Starro attack the soldiers by shooting out smaller starfish creatures which latch on and posses the soldiers, killing them as well. After surviving the initial assault, Starro informs the team that the city of Corto Maltese is his before heading towards the city. With the building's anti-communication array down, Waller manages to reestablish contact with the team. DuBois and Cleo inform her of Starro and his plans for invading the entire populace of the city. Waller dismisses their concerns and orders them to leave, as their objective, which was to destroy the lab and its records, was accomplished. DuBois initially complies before changing his mind and heading towards the city, with each of the team joining him as well, against Waller's furious protests.

In the city, DuBois orders various teammates to attack Starro from different points of attack, even convincing Abner to attack, although this causes Starro to notice him and promptly kills him. After fighting off several controlled corpses, DuBois saves Cleo from getting killed by Starro. As Starro once again states the city to be his, Cleo summons thousands of rats to attack Starro, terrifying DuBois. At this point, Harley manages to penetrate Starro's eye, leading the legions of rats to swarm inside and rip through his insides. Before dying, Starro laments to Cleo and DuBois he was happy floating in space.

#### End of the Battle

With the battle over, DuBois blackmails Waller with the data from the hard drive into letting him, his surviving teammates, and his daughter go free. Waller agrees to his deal. DuBois talks about his lack of friends with the sudden loss of Flag with Harley, who is also saddened by Flag's death and the fact DuBois chose to use it to blackmail Waller rather than inform the press like what Flag wanted.

Harley decides to offer her friendship to DuBois, mistakenly calling him Milton, much to his displeasure, but he accepts nonetheless. Shortly after, the team board their plane to go home. As DuBois begins to rest, he becomes shocked by Sebastian crawling on his lap and resting on it. Despite being evidently uncomfortable, DuBois slowly begins to pat him.

## Personality

> He always wants to be near you. I think he senses good in you."
> "Yeah, there's no good in me.
>
> Ratcatcher 2 and Bloodsport, The Suicide Squad

Robert DuBois takes his work as an assassin and a Task Force X membership seriously, acting as if he'd like to be finished with it and move on with his life. He's confident and tough, with flexible morality and a clear understanding of the mission's stakes, both for those close to him and the world at large. He is hardened, aggressive, and easily frustrated, and despite distancing himself from relationships, including his own daughter, he can be compassionate for his close friends and family, willing to sacrifice his life for what's right, showing a good to side that surprises even himself.

## Abilities

> A world-class marksman. In his hands, anything is a deadly weapon. His father was a mercenary who trained his son to kill from the moment he was born. He's in prison for putting Superman in the ICU with a kryptonite bullet.
>
> Amanda Waller to Emilia Harcourt and Flo Crawley, The Suicide Squad

* **Master marksman**: As a military veteran and assassin, DuBois has impeccable aim and has been described by Amanda Waller as a "world-class marksman." He managed to shoot Superman (who can travel faster than sound) with a Kryptonite bullet. As he admitted to Peacemaker, he always hits his targets dead center, and he proved his superior aim when he shot through Peacemaker's bullet projected at him. Given the astounding feat, he may rival Deadshot in accuracy.
* **Expert combatant**: When attempting to "save" Rick Flag from Sol Soria's resistance, Robert was capable of skillfully incapacitating three of the freedom fighters. After being captured by the Regime, Robert was capable of seemingly killing a soldier with one strike, along with Rick Flag and Peacemaker. Robert was capable of taking on a number of Starro's victims attempting to incapacitate him.
* **Expert assassin**: DuBois was raised learning how to kill. As such, he can turn any object into a deadly weapon, such as when he threatened Amanda Waller by holding a pen to her neck.

> You have the military experience necessary, and everything in your psychological profile tells me you have what it takes to be a leader.
>
> Amanda Waller to DuBois, The Suicide Squad

* **Keen intellect**: DuBois is a highly intelligent mercenary, with skills in strategy and leadership. He also made weaponry only he could use and crafted smaller bullets that pierced through Peacemaker's.
	+ **Expert tactician**: DuBois is a good strategist. During the Battle of Valle Del Mar, he figured out everyone's strong points to use them collectively to take Starro down. He is a resourceful man, able to use cunning means to gain advantages over others, which he demonstrated by using the drive containing incriminating evidence against Amanda Waller to blackmail her into releasing the surviving members of Task Force X.
	+ **Expert leader**: According to his psychological profile, and due to his military experience, DuBois is fit to be a leader. As such, Amanda Waller selected him to lead Task Force X on the mission to Corto Maltese.
* **Indomitable will**: DuBois defied Amanda Waller's threat of blowing him up, confronted Starro and began to overcome his fear of rats when he allowed Sebastian to be near him.

#### Weaknesses

* **Musophobia**: Due to being locked in a crate with starving rats as a child by his father, DuBois developed an intense fear of rats. This phobia is shown when Ratcatcher 2 threatened King Shark with a hoard of rats, disturbing Robert which even causes him to squeal.

## Equipment

* **Suit**: DuBois wears a specially designed tactical suit to protect himself during jobs and missions. The suit mounts his arsenal in collapsed form, along with utility tools such as grapnels, and fire extinguishers.
	+ **Helmet**: Bloodsport sports a fully collapsible xenomorph inspired helmet. It is bulletproof and appears opaque to the viewer as to conceal his identity.
	+ **Collapsible arsenal**: DuBois' primary weapons are firearms, the components of which he stores on his suit in a compressed form. His signature arms are modular; its base form fires high-caliber pistol rounds, and by connecting additional components he can transform it into more so powerful artillery forms; adding a second component transforms it into a high-powered shotgun, and by adding two more he creates a man-portable gunnery piece with tremendous destructive potential.
		- **Garroting Wire**: Robert can utilize the filament used for both his mace attachement and his sling shooter for stealth kills as a strangulation utility to choke out enemy combatants.
		- **Meteor Hammer**: For short-range attacks, DuBois utilizes a spiked mace on a cord, which he spins up like a before delivering lethal strikes to his opponent's head.
		- **Mini flamethrower**: Handheld thermal weaponry which, unlike most of his battlements, are limited to melee range.
		- **Multi-barrel pistols**: Unique knuckleduster-style multi-barreled handguns firing average caliber frangible bullets.
		- **Slingshot gauntlets**: For silent takedowns, DuBois utilizes a hand-drawn underarm-mounted dart launcher with incredible accuracy; his preferred target is the arteries and veins of an opponent's neck, which he is never shown to miss even at ranges of a dozen meters.
		- **Sword**: A weapon of last resort, also stored in collapsed form.
* **Derringers**: Fires low-caliber armor-piercing bullets with enough accuracy to hit bullets fired at him in flight.
* **Kryptonite bullets**: DuBois used these bullets to shoot Superman.
* **Mini gun**: Notably, he is shown firing this vehicle-mounted weapon from the hip after claiming it from a crashed enemy vehicle.

## Relationships

* Ex-wife †
* Tyla DuBois - daughter

Allies* United States Army
* Task Force X - former teammates and friends
	+ Rick Flag † - former team leader and friend
	+ Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man †
* Cleo Cazo/Ratcatcher 2 - surrogate daughter and former teammate
* Nanaue/King Shark - former teammate and attempted victim turned friend
* Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn friend and former teammate
* John Economos - former mission coordinator and manipulator turned ally
* Emilia Harcourt - former mission coordinator and manipulator turned ally
* Flo Crawley - former mission coordinator and manipulator turned ally
* Maltese Resistance - former enemies and victims turned allies
	+ Sol Soria
	+ Milton †
* Sebastian - enemy turned friend
* Superman - attempted victim
* ARGUS
	+ Amanda Waller - former manipulator and attempted victim
	+ Fitzgibbon - former physician
* Weasel
* Richard Hertz/Blackguard †
* Starro † - target
* Corto Maltese Armed Forces
	+ Silvio Luna †
	+ Mateo Suarez †
* Gaius Grieves/Thinker † - kidnappee and manipulatee
* Christopher Smith/Peacemaker - former teammate and rival turned attempted victim

## Trivia

* DuBois' surname is French for "from the forest" or "of the forest"
* DuBois likes chicken empanadas.

## Behind the scenes

* Nathaniel Perry was a stunt double for Idris Elba in the role of Bloodsport.
* Bloodsport in the DC Extended Universe is the second live-action incarnation of the character, following an incarnation portrayed by David St. Louis.
* Idris Elba was originally cast in the role of Deadshot, replacing Will Smith; however, Warner Bros. and James Gunn decided to re-write the character into Bloodsport in order to allow Will Smith to return in future movies.

## References

Gunn, James (writer and director) (August 6, 2021). *The Suicide Squad*.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `McFarlane`
3. ↑ James Gunn (@JamesGunn) - Twitter

## External links

The ***DC Extended Universe Wiki** has a collection of images and media related to* **Bloodsport***.*
* File:Favicon.png Bloodsport on DC Database
* File:WP favicon.png Bloodsport on Wikipedia

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