No One Has More Unique Characters in Live-Action Superhero Stories Than This Guy (2024)

The rise of the superhero genre has seen some incredible actors give life to various characters. It's even jump-started careers, like Robert Downey Jr., who had a rocky past before re-emerging as Iron Man, and Hugh Jackman, who was catapulted into stardom once he played Wolverine. But one actor in particular stands out in the world of capes and cowls, and that's David Dastmalchian. Dastmalchian is notable for appearing in a wide range of superhero-themed projects over the years, including The Suicide Squad, The Dark Knight, Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Flash. Not only did these roles show off Dastmalchian's incredible range and led to him appearing in other major franchises like Dune, but he's also taken up a new career as a comic book writer! Not only did these roles show off Dastmalchian's incredible range and led to him appearing in other major franchises like Dune, but he's also taken up a new career as a comic book writer!

David Dastmalchian Proved That He Could Play Funny and Scary in His Early Comic Book Roles

For his first comic book role, Dastmalchian came out the proverbial gate swinging with The Dark Knight. In the film, he plays Thomas Schiff, a recent inhabitant of Arkham Asylum who the Joker (Heath Ledger) recruits for his latest plot. The Joker disguises himself, Schiff, and other henchmen as the honor guard for a police funeral, shooting and apparently killing Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman). Schiff is collared by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) when Dent learns that his girlfriend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is the Joker's next target; what follows is a tense scene that foreshadows Harvey's evolution into Two-Face. It's Dastmalchian, however, who's the standout; he doesn't get much to say, but his wide-eyed glare and twitchy movements clue viewers into the fact that Schiff isn't in the best mental state before Batman reveals that he's a "paranoid schizophrenic."

Dastmalchian went on to play a very different type of character in Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp as Kurt, an expert hacker who befriends Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). Where Schiff is quiet and tense, Kurt is more talkative - he offers strange observations on everything from the ending of James Cameron's Titanic to the presence of the Baba Yaga (no, not John Wick). Dastmalchian also showed great insight by coming up with his own backstory for Kurt, including his style choices. "I had this idea that Kurt was born and raised in a town even further out than Siberia and he was just an amazing computer wizard who fell in with the wrong people. But he was obsessed with two things: "Saturday Night Fever" and Elvis Presley, hence the polyester shirts unbuttoned too far and the hair in that pompadour," he told the Chicago Tribune prior to Ant-Man's release. For Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Dastmalchian took on a different role as Veb, a gelatinous creature; he still manages to have perfect comic timing, including a running bit about holes.

A Pair of DC Villians Cemented David Dastmalchian’s Range

Dastmalchian might have started with bit parts in major comic book film franchises, but his next two roles would prove that he had some serious chops. First up was his role as Abra Kadabra in The Flash; he appeared as an enemy to Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), then possibly as an ally when he revealed that he knew the God of Speed Savitar, who Barry was trying to prevent from killing Iris West (Candice Patton). Abra Kadabra would later reappear in the Season 7 episode "Central City Strong," seeking vengeance against the Flash since Barry's escape from death in Crisis on Infinite Earths led to the death of his family. Dastmalchian infused Abra Kadabra with genuine pathos to the point where viewers felt pity for him - and shock when a mysterious creature killed him.

Dastmalchian carried that over into his next DC role as Abner Krill, aka the Polka Dot Man, in The Suicide Squad. Abner had a particularly sad backstory. When he was a child, his mother subjected him and his siblings to various experiments to create a superhero. The process left Abner with the ability to generate extra-dimensional "polka dots" that shred anything in their path. But the downside is that he was severely traumatized to the point where he sees his mother everywhere he goes. Dastmalchian makes this performance a little funny, very sad, and overall touching, especially when Abner and the rest of the Suicide Squad face off against Starro the Conqueror. When Abner wounds Starro, a moment of sheer joy crosses his face when he shouts, "I'm a superhero!" Only Dastmalchian and James Gunn could take a character that could have been an absolute joke and make him into someone you want to root for.

David Dastmalchian Has Moved to the World of Writing Comics

Dastmalchian has recently made waves in his comic career, including his Count Crowley series at Dark Horse Comics. Like Dastmalchian’s Marvel and DC roles, Count Crowley is full of layers: it’s got a wacky premise (a host of a late-night horror TV show hunts monsters) with plenty of heart and charm. Dastmalchian recently revealed to the Hollywood Reporterthat he has eight comic book series releasing later this year, including the medieval mashup Knights VS. Samurai from Image Comics and a Creature Commandos miniseries. In an ironic twist of fate, Dastmalchian said that he told James Gunn about his Creature Commandos miniseries without knowing that Gunn had an animated series based on the characters: “I was afraid maybe my comic series would get canceled, because it’s a different Creature Commandos than what James is doing, and he said, “No, no, no. It’s totally fine. It exists. And certain publishing stories can exist separately.” Looking at Dastmalchian’s resume, it’s no surprise that he’s taken the same talents he honed on screen and translated them to actual comic books.​​​​​​​

The Suicide Squad

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker, and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese.

Release Date

July 28, 2021

Director

James Gunn

Cast

Margot Robbie , Idris Elba , Joel Kinnaman , John Cena , Jai Courtney , Viola Davis

Runtime

132

Main Genre

Action

Writers

James Gunn , John Ostrander

Tagline

Boom.

The Suicide Squad is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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