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Rick Flag

DC Comics characters From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Rick Flag the name of several characters featured in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru, he made his first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #25 (September,1959). While originally a single character, due to the nature of the character's resurgence in John Ostrander's Suicide Squad run, the history was retroactively altered to featured two Rick Flags as relatives, one existing during the World War II era and in contemporary times respectively.

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The most-well known version, Richard Rogers Flag Jr. (Rick Flag Jr.), the field commander of the modern Task Force X (Suicide Squad), a black-ops team in which uses super-villains as expendable agents for dangerous missions in return for commute. Differing in not being a criminal asset coerced and having a exemplary military record, he is considered one of Amanda Waller's loyal and trusted operatives.[1] Due to the character's existence in contemporary times, he has been altered to either be the son or grandson of the "original" Rick Flag.[2] The second version of the character, Richard Montgomery Flag Sr (or simply Rick Flag Sr.), is the father (or grandfather) of Rick Flag Jr whom was retroactively stated to have led the original Suicide Squad (codenamed Squad S) during World War II, composed of expendable soldiers whose experience with them left an impression on him. Rick eventually fathered his son, whom he named after him. His history as the original squad leader would influence his son's eventual placement within a new iteration decades later.[3]

The character made his live-action debut in the television series Smallville, played by Ted Whittall. In the DC Extended Universe, Rick Flag Jr. was played by Joel Kinnaman in the films Suicide Squad (2016) and The Suicide Squad (2021), also appearing in archive flashbacks in the 2022 first season of Peacemaker. Frank Grillo currently voices his father, Rick Flag Sr., in the DC Universe animated series Creature Commandos (2024), and appears as the character in live-action in the film Superman (2025) and the 2025 second season of Peacemaker.

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Fictional character biography

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Rick Flag Sr.

Richard Montgomery Flag led a division in World War II called the Suicide Squad.[4][5] In his first mission, Flag was the only survivor. After that, his team had increasing success and decreasing casualties. After the war, he married Sharon Race.[4] In 1951, with the disappearance of the Justice Society of America and other super-heroes, President Harry S. Truman again called on Flag when he created Task Force X.[4][6]

Task Force X would have two units: the military unit "Argent" (led by "Control"), and the civilian unit "Suicide Squad" which would deal with civilian matters — masked villains and the like. Commander Jeb Stuart would lead the military side to deal with national and international crises.> Though Argent's recorded activity ceased after 1960, Stuart's Suicide Squad continued on.[4] Eventually, Flag sacrificed himself in stopping the former Blackhawks' nemesis, the War Wheel.[4][6]

Rick Flag Jr.

Flag was replaced in the Squad by his now-grown son Richard Rogers Flag. Young Rick headed a new, public team which included his girlfriend, Karin Grace, Dr. Hugh Evans, and Jess Bright.[4] In one mission in Cambodia, they were pursued by a Yeti. Evans and Bright and the Yeti fell into a crevasse, presumably to their deaths.[4]

Bright survived, angered at being left behind. Frostbitten and near-death, he was found by the Chinese, who nursed him back to health. He was then passed onto the Russians, who transformed him into a bionic monster called Koshchei the Deathless. With his expertise in engineering, Bright assisted in the creation of the Rocket Red Brigade and lent a hand to the nation of Qurac in assembling their metahuman team Onslaught.

Meanwhile, Grace secretly bore Flag's son and placed him with an adoptive family. Later, Rick was sent to infiltrate the Forgotten Heroes as a spy for the government.[4] After the "death" of the Forgotten Heroes' leader, the Immortal Man, the team disbanded and Flag worked covertly for the U.S. government.[4]

Rick Flag Jr. was then tapped by the government to lead the new Suicide Squad as formed by Amanda Waller, a role he reluctantly assumed. Immediately, Rick showed signs of instability, which were worsened when Karin Grace became the team's medic. Flag hated working with the criminals under his command, and resented the notion that he and Deadshot were alike in any way.[7]

There were bright points amongst the Suicide Squad however, as the team was not completely filled with criminals. Nightshade, although she resented Flag at first when she was forced to become an accessory to murder when she became an undercover operative in the Jihad, grew attracted to him. She was never able to admit her feelings to him however, and he took no notice.

Flag also held good relationships with Nemesis and Bronze Tiger, even though both were in some ways opposed to Flag. Although Nemesis had feelings for Nightshade, something to which Flag was oblivious, he stepped out of the way and respected Nightshade's feelings. Similarly, the Tiger was originally tapped to become the Squad's leader, but was instead replaced by Flag, something that the Tiger had no problems with.

The loyalty Flag had towards his teammates and Waller was evident in the fact that he did not shy away from a conflict with the Justice League to free Nemesis from Soviet captivity. He also threatened a bureaucrat who was threatening Waller's position.

This did nothing to ease Flag's mental instability, and it soon worsened. Flag led a different Squad in a deadly mission involving the Doom Patrol in which he was the only survivor.[8] The death of Karin Grace also served to amplify this and it came to a head when US Senator Cray threatened to reveal the existence of the Suicide Squad to the public.

Unbeknownst to him, Waller had already dealt with the threat, and Flag set out to assassinate Cray to ensure the existence of the Suicide Squad, even though he loathed some of its members. The Squad set out to stop him, with the clearance to do so by any means necessary. Deadshot found Flag and Cray, but instead of killing Flag, Deadshot instead murdered the senator. Flag was forced to flee, and unwittingly, the existence of the Suicide Squad was revealed.

Flag set out to destroy the Jihad team after learning that his father had previously attacked their stronghold, Jotunheim, during World War II to neutralise a Nazi prototype nuclear weapon. He left a note to Nightshade detailing his plans. The bomb was still there, buried under rubble and the Jihad were unaware of its presence. Flag sneaked in and killed his way through to the bomb itself. He battled the Jihad's leader Rustam personally, just before the bomb exploded.[9]

In Checkmate (vol. 2) #6, Rick Flag is revealed to be alive and is rescued from a secret Quraci prison by Bronze Tiger.[7][10] He had been imprisoned there for four years until Waller discovered him and alerted the Tiger to his whereabouts. Rick was later revealed to be leading a clandestine Suicide Squad unit at the behest of Waller, and against the expressed mandate of the Checkmate organization.

As seen in Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag #2, Rustam used his Scimitar to teleport both Rick Flag and himself to Skartaris. In Raise the Flag #5, General Wade Eiling admits that Rick Flag Jr. is not the son of Rick Flag Sr., but a soldier named Anthony Miller who was brainwashed by Eiling into believing he was Flag's son. Miller's conditioning means that Eiling still has control of him, and uses him as part of his takeover of the Suicide Squad. Forced to activate an explosive implant in Waller's brain, Miller breaks free from his mind control enough to activate Eiling's implant instead, leaving him helpless enough to be captured. Confronted with the possibility to give up his presumed identity and return home, Miller decides that the Suicide Squad needs a Rick Flag, and refuses the offer.

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Skills and abilities

Having an extensive military background, Flag is considered to be an excellent military pilot and is proficient in military tactics, strategy, and leadership. Flag also has extensively combat and special operations training, making him capable in unarmed and armed combat and able to use a wide-range of weaponry used by the United States' military.[2]

Other versions

Rick Flag III is the son of Rick Flag Jr and Karin Grace whom also shares his name with his relatives. He kidnapped by Koschei the Deathless, a member of the Jihad, but was rescued by Nemesis of the Suicide Squad. Later, when Flag Jr. and Bronze Tiger visited Rick Flag III's adopted home, Flag Jr. refused to approach him.

In other media

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Television

Film

Rick Flag Sr. appears in Justice League: The New Frontier, voiced by Lex Lang.[14] This version is Hal Jordan's instructor and co-pilot during a mission to Mars. Additionally, a young Rick Flag Jr. makes a non-speaking cameo appearance.

DC Extended Universe / DC Universe

Not to be confused with General Flagg.

Colonel Rick Flag Jr. and General Rick Flag Sr. appear in media set in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and the DC Universe (DCU), portrayed by Joel Kinnaman and Frank Grillo respectively.[15][16]

  • Flag Jr. first appears in the DCEU film Suicide Squad (2016). This version is a Special Forces officer who is later tasked with leading the Suicide Squad. After being hired by Amanda Waller to watch over June Moone, he falls in love with the latter.
  • Flag Jr. appears in the DCEU film The Suicide Squad (2021).[17] He leads a new iteration of the squad on a mission to destroy a Corto Maltese laboratory called Jötunheim that is conducting inhumane experiments via the alien Starro. After learning the U.S. government secretly funded the experiments, Flag attempts to retrieve a hard drive containing the information and leak it, only to be killed by squad member Peacemaker, whom Waller secretly assigned to scrub the information.
  • Flag Jr. appears in the series Peacemaker via archive footage from The Suicide Squad.
  • Flag Sr. first appears in the animated DCU series Creature Commandos.[18][19][14] This version is a contemporary general and temporary leader of the eponymous team.[20]
  • Flag Sr. makes a minor appearance in the DCU film Superman.[21]
  • Flag Sr. appears in the second season of Peacemaker (2025).[22] By this time, he has become the acting director of A.R.G.U.S.

Video games

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References

External links

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