Rick Flag

Last updated
Rick Flag Jr.
Rick Flag Jr Modern 001.png
The Rick Flag Jr. version of the character.
Art by Tom Derenick.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Richard Flag Jr:
The Brave and the Bold #25 (September 1959)
Richard Flag Sr.
Secret Origin #14 (1987)
Created by Robert Kanigher
Ross Andru
In-story information
Alter egoRichard Rogers Flag Jr.
Richard Montgomery Flag Sr.
Team affiliationsRick Flag Jr:
Suicide Squad (Task Force X)
Navy SEALs
United States Air Force
Forgotten Heroes
Rick Flag Sr:
United States Army
Suicide Squad (Squardon S)
PartnershipsRick Flag Jr.:
Amanda Waller
Bronze Tiger
Notable aliasesRick Flag Jr.
Anthony Miller
AbilitiesBoth versions are skilled military leaders proficient in unarmed combat, armed combat, and knowledgeable in military protocol.
Altered in-story information for adaptations to other media
Alter egoRichard Bill Flag Sr.
Richard Bill Flag Jr.
PartnershipsRick Flag Jr:
June Moone

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.

Contents

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 which uses super-villains as expendable agents for dangerous missions in return for a commuted sentence. 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. Joel Kinnaman portrayed Rick Flag Jr. in the DC Extended Universe films Suicide Squad (2016) and The Suicide Squad (2021), while Frank Grillo plays his father, Rick Flag Sr., in the DC Universe (DCU) animated series Creature Commandos (2024–present) and the film Superman (2025). Both reprise their roles in the second season of Peacemaker (2025), set in the DCU.

Fictional character biography

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.

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

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 and DC Universe

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]

Video games

References

  1. ↑ "Rick Flag". DC. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  2. 1 2 The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. Matthew K. Manning, Stephen Wiacek, Melanie Scott, Nick Jones, Landry Q. Walker, Alan Cowsill (New ed.). New York, New York: DK Publishing. 2021. ISBN   978-0-7440-2056-4. OCLC   1253363543.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ↑ "The Ballad of Suicide Squad Founder Rick Flag Sr". DC. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Secret Origins (vol. 2) #14 (May 1987)
  5. ↑ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-4654-8578-6.
  6. 1 2 Wallace, Dan (2008). "Flag, Rich". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 128. ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1. OCLC   213309017.
  7. 1 2 Wallace, Dan (2008). "Flag, Rich". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 128. ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1. OCLC   213309017.
  8. ↑ Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special (March 1988)
  9. ↑ Suicide Squad #26 (April 1989)
  10. ↑ Suicide Squad (vol. 3) #3 (January 2008)
  11. 1 2 "Rick Flag Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 13, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  12. ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 8, 2024). "Suicide Squad Isekai Anime Reveals More Cast Members". Anime News Network . Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  13. ↑ Gee, Jeremy (July 6, 2024). "Crazy to say that I'm part of the DC universe, but I am! I play Rick Flag in Suicide Squad Isekai! Check it out on Hulu, new episodes weekly! #voiceactor #dcuniverse #anime". Instagram. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Rick Flag Sr. Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 13, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  15. ↑ Jeff Sneider (February 13, 2015). "Joel Kinnaman to Replace Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg in WB's Suicide Squad". The Wrap.
  16. ↑ Gonzalez, Umberto (April 12, 2023). "Frank Grillo to Play the DCU's Rick Flag in Creature Commandos (Exclusive)" . TheWrap . Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  17. ↑ Kit, Borys (July 10, 2019). "Storm Reid Joins Idris Elba in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  18. ↑ Massoto, Erick (January 31, 2023). "Creature Commandos: Meet the Cast of the New DC Animated Series". Collider. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  19. ↑ Kit, Borys (January 31, 2023). "DC Slate Unveiled: New Batman, Supergirl Movies, a Green Lantern TV Show, and More from James Gunn, Peter Safran". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  20. ↑ Hermanns, Grant (February 12, 2024). "Frank Grillo Talks Lights Out, His Close Friendship With Mekhi Phifer & DCU Future". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  21. ↑ Behbahkt, Andy (June 25, 2024). "Superman Set Photos Confirm DCU Crossover & First Major Story Reveal". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  22. ↑ Moreau, Jordan (May 10, 2024). "Frank Grillo Joins Peacemaker Season 2 as Rick Flag Sr". Variety .
  23. ↑ Patton, Joshua M. (September 5, 2025). "Peacemaker's Shocking Cameo Blew My Mind, Mainly Because It Solidifies a Connection to the DCEU". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved September 5, 2025.
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