The Comic Book History Of Rick Flag From 'Suicide Squad'

Suicide Squad comes out in less than a month, so we're diving into the comic book history of its main characters to prepare for their live-action adventure and discover some of their essential storylines. Here's the deal on Amanda Waller's right hand man, Rick Flag.

Rick Flag's Origin

Richard Rogers Flag — or Rick Flag Jr. — was originally a part of a team called the Forgotten Heroes, but after the "death" of their leader, the team dissolved. His father had led the original incarnation of the Suicide Squad, so after the falling out of his own team, Amanda Waller approached him about leading her incarnation of Task Force X, which he did — albeit begrudgingly.

As the team's field commander, not only did he hate working with criminals, but he resented the idea that he and Deadshot shared any likeness. Though he would eventually feel loyalty towards the Squad, it took a long time for Flag to build that camaraderie with his teammates. Eventually, he would even put his job on the line to save them. Perhaps due to his experiences or spending so much of his time with sociopaths, Rick is generally emotionally unstable.

Rick Flag's Powers

Like a few of the other members of Task Force X, Rick Flag has no superpowers, but he makes up for it in his substantial skills and abilities. With extensive military knowledge and extreme skill in both unarmed and armed combat — he's a top-level marksman, for instance — Flag is in prime physical condition and has the leadership qualities necessary to take a group of supervillains and turn them into a team.

Flag Is Almost As Good As Batman

Flag once engaged in a lengthy brawl with Batman and the two fought to what was nearly a standstill. Directly disobeying Waller, Flag took the Squad to rescue their fellow member, Nemesis. Waller was so angry that she had the president send in the Justice League to stop them. After Flag attempted to reason with Batman, the Caped Crusader called him a disgrace, leading to a vicious altercation. Ultimately both men needed to be restrained, but Batman walked away — and Flag needed to be hospitalized.

Major Storylines For Rick Flag

The pages of Checkmate and Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag deal with Rick Flag returning from the grave (sort of) and the creation of a new Suicide Squad. A reinvention of the team with Amanda Waller is chronicled in Suicide Squad: Trial by Fire. This is a collection of the first eight issues of Suicide Squad, along with a tale from Secret Origins #14.