Suicide Squad: Five Potential Roles For Common

Now that Common has joined the DC Cinematic Universe, it should be no surprise that a major star [...]

By Russ Burlingame - April 22, 2015 09:39 pm EDT

Now that Common has joined the DC Cinematic Universe, it should be no surprise that a major star joining what could easily have been a smallish film by comic book movie standards is one of the biggest stories to come out of Suicide Squad's early production period.

Yeah, there's been plenty of talk about who's going to be playing what villain cameos and more obsessing on Jared Leto's hair than could possibly be healthy -- but now we've got a little mini-mystery to talk about.

So...who will the Academy Award-winning musician/actor be playing in Suicide Squad? We've got some ideas...

John Stewart/Green Lantern

This is the most obvious choice, since Common was at one point tipped to play John Stewart. That movie never happened, but as recently as last month, he was telling reporters that he still kind of hoped he gets to play him some day.

There's already been some talk that with John Stewart's military background, a pre-Green Lantern version of the character might not be a bad fit for the spy- and soldier-heavy Suicide Squad. That would presumably lend itself to a post-credits stinger that saw him get his ring, but that's all wild speculation.

John Henry Irons/Steel

This is another solid choice, in terms of a character who has plenty of motivation to pop up in Suicide Squad. He's got ties to defense contractors, the military, LexCorp and S.T.A.R. labs.

He's also a great potential science mind for future Superman movies, since Emil Hamilton was sucked into the Phantom Zone along with Zod's forces.

...And, of course, he's a pretty well-known black hero -- the only non-white male hero ever to get a solo film from DC and Warner Bros.

Bronze Tiger

A character with a long history in the Suicide Squad, his viability for non-comics media has been proven in the same testing ground as characters like Deadshot and Deathstroke: on Arrow.

He's also been in and out of the Suicide Squad for decades -- since the John Ostrander run upon which the film is chiefly based.

Sometimes seen as a literal tiger-man, Bronze Tiger also sometimes just looks like an African-American guy with big muscles and a tiger motif to his costume and gear. Which one would make it into the film? Well, it's hard to say, and would likely depend on what role they wanted the character to fill.

Black Manta

It would make sense for Black Manta to pop up in the film, especially if the rumors that Amanda Waller has custody of Aquaman's trident should turn out to be true.

It's hard to guess exactly what role such a powerful villain would be playing -- although he's currently appearing in the Convergence: Suicide Squad comic with other heavy-hitters like the Cyborg Superman.

All of that said, yeah, it might make sense for a last-minute cast addition to be somebody put in place to set up a future film like Aquaman.

Black Lightning

Common's got a passing physical resemblance to the bald-headed version of the veteran superhero who served on Lex Luthor's cabinet when he (Luthor) was President of the United States.

That Black Lightning is arguably the most identifiable non-white DC Comics superhero means that, like Black Panther, his name is always coming up in these speculative conversations.

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