"So, this is the famous Suicide Squad."

―Savant^[src]

Brian Durlin, also known as Savant, was a self-styled vigilante, a computer hacker who used most of his skills to blackmail people, and a member of the first of the two Task Force X strike teams for the deadly Corto Maltese mission.^[2][3] Upon reaching the island, the entire team was ambushed and brutally murdered by the Corto Maltesean military. Durlin freaked out and attempted to escape the island, but was killed by Amanda Waller, who detonated the nanite explosive in his head.

Biography[]

Criminal life[]

Brian Durlin was born during the year of 1960. Durlin eventually became a Genius computer hacker, bored of having nothing to do with his vast fortune, became the vigilante Savant, using his skills to track criminals and stop them in brutal fashion. In the eyes of the law, however, he was worse than the criminals he brought in, and he was jailed in Iron Heights Penitentiary in two different times for kidnapping and destruction of property respectively.^[1] Eventually, Durlin was transferred to Belle Reve Correctional Center.

Mission in Corto Maltese[]

Recruited by Amanda Waller[]

"Savant. Or would you rather be called Durlin?"
"I'd rather not be called at all. But I'll do anything to get out of this hellhole."

―Rick Flag and Savant^[src]

In August 2020, Amanda Waller proposed Durlin to become a member of Task Force X and go on a mission to Corto Maltese to destroy the Nazi-built prison and laboratory known as Jotunheim, and in the process annihilate the disastrous Project Starfish, in exchange for a 10-year sentence reduced once the mission was completed. He reluctantly joined, but proclaimed that he'll do anything to get out of Belle Reve.

A few days later, while Durlin was waiting in his cell, he began to play with a ball, when he saw a yellow canary enter his cell, Durlin decided to point his ball at the bird, which when he threw it began to rebound until hitting him hard, killing him. Catching the bloody ball, Durlin decided to wipe it with his pants. In that, Amanda Waller arrived, who told him that it was time for her to implant the nano-bomb and join the mission.

Durlin followed Waller into a room where Doctor Fitzgibbon placed the nano-bomb on the back of his neck while calling him a good dog. Savant later dressed in his uniform back and followed Waller to meet Colonel Rick Flag, upon meeting Flag shook his hand and asked if he wanted to be called Savant or just Durlin, Savant then replied that he didn't care and that he just wanted to leave Belle Reve.

Opening the door, Flag introduced him to the team while Durlin recognized the famous Suicide Squad. Durlin proceeded to escort them to the Sheba helicopter from where they would depart for Corto Maltese. Before starting off, Harley Quinn who was late accidentally hit Savant with her bag, for which she apologized. During the trip, Durlin remained silent while Captain Boomerang annoyed him, finally Flag would notify them of the arrival on the island and that they prepare their positions to jump.^[4]

Battle on the Corto Maltese Beach[]

"Savant is off the rails."

―John Economos to Amanda Waller during Savant's desertion^[src]

Savant proceeded to jump from the helicopter falling into the water and began to swim towards the coast, however when he saw that Weasel did not know how to swim and began to drown, Savant made the decision to dive into the water and rescue him, upon reaching on the beach of Corto Maltese with Weasel, Savant notified Waller of Weasel's supposed death due to no respiratory signs. Then Flag would tell Durlin to get into position, so Savant took the mission seriously and took the order from Colonel Rick Flag to stay covered.

However, after Blackguard betrayed his team and they were compromised, Savant stayed safe hidding on a rock and watched the other members on action combating on the beach, after a few minutes of battle they began to die brutally by the Corto Maltese Armed Forces. This took a mental toll on him, so he screamed for the fear he felt and started to run from the battle by running to the sea again and using a float to defect the mission.

John Economos notified Waller of Savant's defection, so Amanda Waller threatened to detonate his bomb, but he didn't turn back, Waller continued to warn for him to return in repeated shouts. Despite everything, Savant continued to try to escape, so Waller fulfilled her promise, detonating the bomb.^[4]

Legacy[]

Flo Crawley, who bet Durlin would die, ended up receiving money from her teammates short later while celebrating her victory. After the battle at dawn, a canary flew to Savant's corpse floating on the water, and began to feed on it.^[4]

Personality[]

Like many of the members in this iteration of Task Force X, Brian Durlin looked to be angry and hardened. Unlike the rest of them, however, Durlin appeared sane and professional, while the others had at least one likable quirk. This likely had to do with him being considerably older than many of the other members. However, he was also shown to be arrogant, cowardly and hypocritical as he said to his squad leader Rick Flag that he would do whatever to leave Belle Reve including joining the Suicide Squad to reduced his sentence and when him and his teammates arrived at the Corto Maltesean shore and after he rescued Weasel from drowning and declaring the latter dead, he declared that his teammates, including the presumed-dead Weasel, are "amateurs", only for him to fled in terror upon seeing his teammates get murdered. This decision resulted in his death.

Abilities[]

"He's an expert in weapons and hand-to-hand combat."

―Emilia Harcourt^[src]

• Expert hacker: Durlin was a computer genius and uses his knowledge of computers to commit crimes via blackmail, disable alarms in theft, and assist Task Force X in their missions.
• Expert marksman: Besides being able use a pistol, Durlin was able to kill a bird that flew in his cell by throwing a rubber ball with pinpoint accuracy.

Weaknesses[]

• Cowardice: Durlin was easily scared by the massacre of almost all members of Task Force X, which led to his defection and death.

Equipment[]

• Combat suit: Durlin wears a protective suit that shields him and carries equipment.
• Pistol: Durlin uses a pistol to defend himself in fights.

Relationships[]

Appearances[]

Behind the Scenes[]

• According to Jim Lee, Savant's killing of a canary at the start of the film may be an easter egg linked to the identity of the person who sent him to Belle Reve.^[5] However, James Gunn denied that the canary was an easter egg reference to Black Canary, during the Twitter Watch Party for The Suicide Squad.^[6]
• In the comics, Brian Durlin, better known as Savant, is the spoiled heir to an enormous fortune and a self-styled vigilante in Gotham City. However, after Batman discouraged his involvement in vigilantism because of his lack of care to protect others, he turned his formidable computer skills into a profitable blackmailing business. Savant was also a member of the Suicide Squad and an ally to the Birds of Prey.
• Larry Rippenkroeger was a stunt double for Michael Rooker in the role of Savant.
• During production, director James Gunn gave the hairdressers pictures of musician Edgar Winter to use as reference for Savant's long, white hair.^[7]
• His blood in the water forms the words “Warner Bros. Pictures Presents” right after he dies.

References[]

The DC Extended Universe Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Savant.

External Links[]

• Savant on DC Database
• Savant on Wikipedia