Rick Flag
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Rick Flag is the name of three fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. They are father, son, and grandson.
The father, Richard Flag was in the original Suicide Squad, a World War II unit. After the war he was a member of Task Force X. The son, Rick Flag Jr. was a member of the Forgotten Heroes and led two different incarnations of the Suicide Squad.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Rick Flag
Richard Montgomery Flag led a division in World War II called the Suicide Squadron. In his first mission, Flag was the only survivor. After that he enjoyed increasing success and decreasing mortality. After the war, he married Sharon Race. 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.
Task Force X would be comprised of two units: the military unit "Argent" (led by "Control"), which would deal with civilian matters — masked villains and the like. General J.E.B. 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. Eventually, Flag sacrificed himself in stopping the former Blackhawks' nemesis, the War Wheel.
[edit] Rick Flag Jr.
[edit] The second Suicide Squad
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 Jeff Bright. In one tragic mission in Cambodia they were pursued by a Yeti. Evans and Bright and the Yeti fell into a crevasse, presumably to their deaths. Bright survived, angered at being left behind. (Secret Origins vol. 2 #14)
Bright, frostbitten and near-death, was found by the Chinese who nursed him back to health. He then passed onto the Russians who transformed him into the 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, the Jihad. Grace also 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. After the "death" of the Forgotten Heroes' leader, the Immortal Man, the team disbanded and Flag worked covertly for the U.S. government.
[edit] A new Squad
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.
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 was too determined to notice them.
Flag also held good relationships with Nemesis and the Bronze Tiger, even though both were in some ways opposed to Flag. Although Nemesis had feelings for Nightshade, something that Flag was also oblivious too, 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 in order to free Nemesis from Soviet captivity. He also threatened a superior who was himself 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. None of Flag's people returned from that one. 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, Amanda Waller had already dealt with the threat, and Flag set out to assassinate Cray in order 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. The villain Deadshot found Flag and Cray, but instead of killing Flag however, Deadshot murdered the senator. Flag was forced to flee, and unwittingly, the existence of the Suicide Squad was still revealed.
Flag set out to destroy the Jihad team once and for all after learning that his father had previously attacked their stronghold, Jotunheim, during World War II in order 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 was unaware of its presence. Flag snuck in and slew his way through to the bomb itself. He battled the Jihad's leader personally as the bomb exploded.
[edit] One Year Later
In Checkmate (vol. 2) #6, Rick Flag is revealed to be alive and is rescued from a secret Quraci prison by the Bronze Tiger. He had been imprisoned there for four years until Amanda 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 Amanda Waller, and against the expressed mandate of the Checkmate organization.
Bob Greenberger, who co-created the Suicide Squad alongside John Ostrander, has publicly objected to the resurrection of Rick Flag. [1]. According to Greg Rucka, Rick Flag's subsequent re-appearance had nothing to do with the Infinite Crisis and John Ostrander has stated that he knew how Rick Flag could survive the explosion at Jotunheim when he first wrote it. [2]
[edit] Rick Flag III
Rick Flag Jr.'s young son by Karen Grace who also shared his name was introduced in Suicide Squad #50. The boy was kidnapped by Koschei the Deathless (Jeff Bright) a member of the Jihad, but was rescued by Nemesis of the Suicide Squad. His current whereabouts are unknown.
[edit] Other media
- In episode 69 of Justice League Unlimited, Colonel Rick Flag Jr. is the leader of Task Force X, the son of Rick Flag Sr. and a patriot to his country. He recruited Captain Boomerang, Clock King (Temple Fugate), Deadshot, and Plastique for a stealth mission to steal the Annihilator from the Watchtower for Amanda Waller and the rest of Project Cadmus. He was voiced by Adam Baldwin.
