Polka-Dot Man
The Polka-Dot Man is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Abner Krill
As the fearsome Mister Polka-Dot, he wore a bizarre costume covered in spots, the point of which soon became apparent - once removed from the costume, the spots could be used for a variety of purposes, creating deadly weapons and a bizarre escape vehicle. He encountered Batman and Robin while robbing the Spot Service Cleaning Company, but managed to escape. Despite the predictable nature of his crime locales, he succeeded in avoiding Batman and Robin while looting a number of Gotham businesses including The Ink Spot and Domino Game Co. Robin managed to track Mr. Polka-Dot to his hideout, an abandoned tank in the city dump, but ended up a captive. Mr. Polka-Dot forced Robin to send Batman a ransom note that would lead the caped crusader into a trap, but he failed to notice the holes punched in the note, actually a Braille message from Robin secretly warning Batman. Batman rescued Robin, and he also figured out another pattern in Mr. Polka-Dot's crimes. The crime locations formed a connect-the-dots image of a stick figure, needing only a dot at the Drummond Map Company to complete the picture. Batman arrived at the map company, and Mr. Polka-Dot was shocked that Batman had uncovered his master scheme. He was so stunned in fact, that he didn't think to use one of his polka-dot weapons before Batman felled him with a single punch and sent him off to jail. (Detective Comics v1 #300)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Abner Krill in his guise as Mister Polka-Dot was among the local Gotham-based criminals that began dressing up as supervillains following the emergence of the Batman. (Batman: The Widening Gyre v1 #4)
Polka-Dot once got drunk and belligerent at the My Alibi bar leading to the bartender knocking him out with a baseball bat. (Batgirl: Year One v1 #5)
Some years later, Mr. Polka-Dot returned without the use of his gimmicks. He used a baseball bat to assault Officer Foley leaving the policeman with minor injuries. The Polka-Dot Man was then assaulted by Harvey Bullock who was tired of seeing costumed villains in the city. The assault put the Polka-Dot Man in traction, and he filed a brutality suit against the police department which resulted in Bullock being forced to see a psychiatrist for some time. (Batman: GCPD v1 #1)
As Nightwing, Dick Grayson encountered the Polka-Dot Man a second time when he trashed the My Alibi bar. Nightwing pitched Krill through a window display and into the street, where he was picked up by the police. (Nightwing v2 #104)
Afterwards, he came to join a group of second-rate villains that began to work for General Immortus. They were then brought to Professor Milo who began to upgrade their power and gadgets. (Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! v1 #2) Their group came to be betrayed by their teammate the Human Flame where most of them were killed in the brutal battle with Mister Polka-Dot being among the casualties. (Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! v1 #4)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Overview
Personality and attributes
He sometimes referred to himself as Mr. Polka-Dot. (Detective Comics v1 #300)
As a costumed criminal, he intended to use his inventive dots to make a name for himself in the criminal underworld. (Detective Comics v1 #300)
It was shown that his target crime locales tended to have a dot and spot theme behind them. (Detective Comics v1 #300)
Powers and abilities
Whether he created the suit or stole the technology is unknown, but Abner Krill possessed advanced technology in the form of his costume's dots. When attached to his costume, they were inert, but once removed, they would enlarge in size and become various different devices which could aid in his crime spree, most notably a flying saucer which he used as a getaway vehicle. The spots were controlled through the costume's belt.
He noted that his costume contained numerous wires that were connected to one of the dots on it. Whilst a dot was on the costume, it remained neutral but when ripped off they were activated electronically. Upon pulling a dot from his body, he was able to throw them where they enlarged and took on various properties. This could see them turn into flying buzz-saws that he could throw at a target or enlarge to become a flying saucer allowing for a getaway or grow in size to emit a large burst of light that could blind people. A control panel on his belt allowed him to direct the dot. (Detective Comics v1 #300)
As a follower of General Immortus, Mr Polka Dot has presumably been operated upon by Professor Milo to internalise his technology.
After their use, the Polka-Dot Man had rigged the dots to disintegrate thus leaving no clues behind. (Detective Comics v1 #300)
Notes
- The Polka-Dot Man was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #300 (February, 1962).
In other media
Television
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Polka-Dot Man appeared in the animated television series in the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite." He, along with Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Tiger Shark, Mad Hatter, and several other villains appear briefly in Bat-Mite's imagination. He later reappears in "A Bat Divided!" playing billiards against the Zodiac Master and Zebra-Man at a shady Gotham City bar, which is soon crashed by three atomic counterparts of Batman and the superpowered hero Firestorm.
Films
- In The Lego Batman Movie, the Polka-Dot Man made a non-speaking minor appearance in the setting of the animated film.
- In The Suicide Squad, the Polka-Dot Man appeared in the setting of the 2021 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor David Dastmalchian. This version was one of a number of siblings that were the children of a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist. Their mother became obsessed with turning her children into superheroes and came to infect them with an interdimensional virus. The exposure killed his siblings and he came to be the only survivor of his mother's experiments. As a result, he manifested a disease that causes him to grow multicolored polka-dots and glowing pustules on his body over time, which he has to expel at least twice a day and can use as destructive projectiles. After killing his mother, he was sent to Belle Reve Penitentiary, though due to his traumatic upbringing, he perceives everyone around him as his mother. In the present, Amanda Waller recruits Polka-Dot Man to join the Suicide Squad and infiltrate and destroy a Corto Maltese laboratory called Jötunheim containing Starro. While assisting the squad in an assault on the alien, Polka-Dot Man was crushed by Starro.
Video Games
- In Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, the Polka-Dot Man appeared in the video game where he was voiced by actor Dee Bradley Baker.
- In LEGO DC Super-Villains, the Polka-Dot Man appeared in the setting of the video game where he was voiced by actor Greg Miller. As part of his next evil scheme, he placed 'evil dots of doom', which he asked the player to test. Completing it unlocked Polka-Dot Man as a playable character.
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1962)
- Batman: GCPD v1:
- Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! v1:
- New Year's Evil v2:
External Links
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