Captain Boomerang

Who would have guessed, when Suicide Squad was announced, that one of its best performances would end up being Captain-freaking-Boomerang? An Australian roughneck, Boomerang is devious, scheming and ruthless - and that's his good side. Utilizing an assortment of his trademark weapon - razor-sharp, incendiary and electrically charged boomerangs - his wise-cracking attitude and short fuse often irritate the other Squad members and escalate the already dangerous situation. Yep, that's Digger, all right. Deadshot in the comics has never been treated like a guy with Will Smith-levels of charisma, but that's what the movie made him. The Joker was never James Franco's character from Spring Breakers, but that's what the movie made him. But Captain Boomerang has always been a liar, a cheat, a self-serving underhanded schemer who's always looking for a corner to cut... and that's what the movie made him. If anyone on any incarnation of the Squad was going to talk someone else into running away just to test their bombs, it'd absolutely be Boomerang. Captain Boomerang was played by Jai Courtney, the emergency backup Michael Rosenbaum. He's best known for being in the worst Die Hard and the worst Terminator, but now he's in a film we can all agree is equally deserving of praise as Spider-Man 2 (or so say the Oscars). He doesn't look much like he does in the comics (balding and with bushy sideburns), instead opting for a kind of mohawk and Jason Wyngarde Mastermind mustache. What kind of weirdo would have that combo? Yes he's Australian, but he doesn't need to look like a Dreadnok or a refugee from Mad Max! His costume is a major departure from the comics, but it's still better than the version seen on Arrow, which wasn't a costume at all. Captain Boomerang was a Silver Age creation, so of course he dressed ridiculously: a long white scarf, black tights, and a billowy blue blouse with white boomerangs printed all over it. The movie tones things way down, but keeps the feeling the same. He still has a blue top, but it's a tracksuit jacket with white stripes on the trim (no boomerangs) and the big word "CAPTAIN" printed across the chest. His pants are grey rather than black, and have built-in padding on the knees. His feet seem a little too small for his body, but the detailing on the boots is excellent: they remembered to sculpt the duct tape he has around his left foot and the knife taped to his right. For his big gray jacket, Mattel simply went back to the tools for Bane, which isn't a bad choice at all. Digger gets a new right forearm, at least, to create the large pad he's got there, and both his hands are unique. His right hand is sculpted with a watch and a pinkie ring, while his left answers the question of how anyone can possibly throw and catch a razor-sharp weapon: he wears a metal glove on that hand. He does come with boomerangs - three of them - but they're not the ones seen in the film; those seemed to be fashioned from knives, while these are just plain silver ones. He has a holster hidden under his coat, but that only holds a single 'rang. His articulation is the usual for this line: ie, disappointing. Of course, not as disappointing as the knowledge that Suicide Squad is just as valued by the Oscars as Spirited Away or Leaving Las Vegas, but still disappointing. All the figures in this series (including the exclusives) come with a piece of the Killer Croc BAF. Like Deadshot, Boomerang comes with an arm, though it has the bandaged hands that are supposed to be on the variant arms. Suicide Squad wanted so. Very. Badly. to be Guardians of the Galaxy it's honestly a little bit sad. The bright colors, the throwback pop music, the attempts at comedy... SS's editors tried to shoehorn in everything they thought made GotG a success. After everyone went gaga for the first trailer (which was cut to ape Guardians' style, not to be representative of the actual tone), they were painted into a corner where they then had to try to live up to their own work. The final product shows why there's a difference between being a trailer house and being a film editor. And yet is not the movie commonly talked about with the same high praise as Almost Famous (a fellow winner of one Oscar)? Jai Courtney turned in one of the film's best performances, because he actually seemed to be having fun, but the toy is just a bit better than average. -- 03/16/17

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