WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Suicide Squad, now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
James Gunn’s take on The Suicide Squad is bursting with new recruits. In addition to returning members from David Ayer’s previous Suicide Squad (2016) iteration, including Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman) and Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), a fresh team is formed with the likes of Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena) and King Shark (Sylvester Stallone). But even as it introduces a brand-new team, The Suicide Squad also finds time for a quick cameo from a classic Batman villain, Calendar Man.
Calendar Man’s live-action debut comes when Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) goes to collect the withdrawn Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) from his cell. As his power-dampening collar is removed, there is a quick moment of Calendar Man — with his distinct head-tattoos — insulting Polka-Dot Man, sarcastically asking to perform at his children’s birthday party. The villain is played by director Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn, who not only provides the motion-capture for Weasel in The Suicide Squad but also appears in his Guardians of the Galaxy films as the Ravager Kraiglin and provides the mo-cap for Rocket Racoon.
Calendar Man first appeared in Detective Comics #259 as a decidedly goofy villain who corresponded his crimes to the dates they were committed on and wore a cape composed of tear-away calendar sheets. However, he was given a sinister reinvention in Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. In that limited series, set during Batman’s early years, Calendar Man functions as a Hannibal Lecter-esque figure inside Arkham Asylum, helping Batman track down the Holiday Killer whom Calendar Man feels is stealing his modus operandi. Interestingly, in the recent animated adaptation of The Long Halloween, Calendar Man is voiced by David Dastmalchian, who as the Polka-Dot Man is now insulted by the villain in The Suicide Squad.
The Long Halloween removed Calendar Man’s flamboyant costume, redesigning him as a bald, pale white figure whose cells were littered with calendar dates, his gimmick now a psychopathic obsession. In the sequel series, Batman: Dark Victory, he returns sporting the abbreviated months encircling his head. This head tattoo design was further popularised by Calendar Man’s appearance in Rocksteady’s videogame Batman: Arkham City and is now generally how he appears in the comics and other media, including The Suicide Squad.
The villain’s appearance in The Suicide Squad was spoiled for eagled-eyed followers of the film’s marketing. In fact, the official Twitter account even posted a behind-the-scenes featurette that has the main cast talking through their characters, which also included a single frame of Sean Gunn as Calendar Man in the introductory highlight reel. And while the character’s live-action debut doesn’t have much impact upon the plot or world-building, it does further demonstrate the love for obscure comic book villains The Suicide Squad possesses.
To see Calendar Man’s live-action debut, The Suicide Squad is now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
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