- "If she... they... A.R.G.U.S.... the government, whatever you want to call it, has a real interest in fighting for the future, they ought to work with those of us who are already on the front lines."
- ―Lex Luthor[src]
The Advanced Research Group Uniting Superhumans[1] or Advanced Research Group United Support[2], commonly known as A.R.G.U.S., is a United States government organization directed by Amanda Waller. A.R.G.U.S. is known to collaborate with the CIA and FBI in some instances and uses people with superpowers or otherwise impressive skills to make their ends, protect the country, and handle major threats.
History[]
Foundation[]
- "What is it?"
"Experimental A.R.G.U.S. device, an Adhesive Explosive." - ―Leota Adebayo and Clemson Murn[src]
A.R.G.U.S. was formed by the United States government as an agency with the intention of conducting advanced research on superhumans. Eventually, Amanda Waller became director and under her leadership, she gained a fearsome reputation.[1] At some point, A.R.G.U.S. developed a government website that only authorized agents could access, containing files on the investigations carried out.[3] Eventually, under Waller's orders, A.R.G.U.S. built the Task Force X Black Site facility under the sea in Antarctica, where various dangerous metahumans were imprisoned.[4] A.R.G.U.S. also developed prototypes of an Adhesive Explosive which worked when tested in laboratories.[5]
Meeting Lex Luthor[]
- "I’m sorry, can we— what is Argus?"
"What. Is. Argus. Spelled A.R.G.U.S." - ―Ron Troupe and Lex Luthor[src]
Director Waller was known to have encountered super-genius businessman Lex Luthor, allowing him to familiarize himself with her organization, as Lex subtly revealed while conversing with Ron Troupe.[6]
Approving Task Force X[]
- "I move to, uh, authorize Amanda Waller to establish Task Force X under the A.R.G.U.S. program."
- ―Dexter Tolliver[src]
After the death of Superman, amidst the emergence of metahumans, Waller noted that while Superman was a benevolent and powerful ally of the United States of America, other powerful beings may become hostile and leave humanity helpless to defend themselves. To counter this possibility, Waller advocated for the formation of Task Force X, a black-ops team of expendable criminals with exceptional skills, abilities, and powers to combat superhuman threats.
Her roster included the formidable marksman Deadshot, rope assassin Slipknot, Australian bank robber Captain Boomerang, the psychopathic Harley Quinn, the monstrous crocodilian metahuman Killer Croc, pyrokinetic metahuman El Diablo, and the mystical witch Enchantress, all of whom would be led in the field by Colonel Rick Flag and his formidable samurai bodyguard Katana.
On behalf on A.R.G.U.S., she gathered support for Task Force X with Dexter Tolliver and joined a conference with Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Edwards to present her initiative. While initially skeptical of Waller's plan, she commanded Enchantress to teleport to Iran and steal nuclear arsenal papers to deliver to Edwards. Impressed with her results, he authorized funding and support for Task Force X.[1]
Butterfly Investigation[]
- "A year ago, Alan Kupperberg, the billionaire CEO of Waresoft, and pop singer Vandalia perished in a plane crash. During their autopsies, small insect-like winged creatures, presumably extraterrestrial, were found in their skulls. This is when we first became aware of the butterflies."
- ―Clemson Murn[src]
In early 2020, businessman Alan Kupperberg and pop singer Vandalia traveled on a plane with butterflies on their heads. During the trip, the plane crashed, killing them. When they were taken for autopsies, dead alien creatures were discovered in their skulls. This led A.R.G.U.S. to notice butterflies for the first time, beginning an exhaustive investigation into other individuals carrying these life forms, hiring mercenary Clemson Murn to run a domestic operation to stop the alien menace.[7]
Mission in Corto Maltese[]
- "I wouldn't take such extreme measures if this mission weren't more important than you could possibly imagine. I'm protecting this country."
- ―Amanda Waller to Robert DuBois[src]
In August 2020, A.R.G.U.S coordinated a new mission as Waller launched a new iteration of Task Force X to Corto Maltese to assassinate Silvio Luna and destroy any evidence of Project Starfish. However, the true purpose of the mission was to erase America's involvement in it. When the remaining members of Task Force X destroyed Jotunheim, Starro was inadvertently released and wreaked havoc on Valle Del Mar. When Waller threatened to kill the remaining Task Force X members after they decided to disobey her orders and kill Starro, some of her subordinates also decided to rebel against her and help Task Force X take down Starro with success. With the crisis now over, Bloodsport, an assassin and a team leader blackmailed Waller into releasing them or he would release the evidence behind Project Starfish that field leader Flag obtained prior to his death at the hands of Peacemaker, a delusional pacifist who turned on the team after it was revealed he was tasked to ensure no one knew the truth about Project Starfish in exchange for a pardon.[8]
Project Butterfly[]
- "Anytime anyone officially starts to deal with the butterfly situation, someone higher up in the government shuts them down."
"Which is why this task force doesn't officially exist. Waller is funding us by secretly diverting funds from other operations, which... leaves us on our own." - ―Emilia Harcourt and Leota Adebayo[src]
After the Battle of Valle Del Mar, A.R.G.U.S. found Peacemaker buried under the rubble of Jotunheim, taking him to the Mount Rouge Health Center to recover under Waller's orders as she still had other plans for him.[9] Waller planned to create task force team lead by Murn to conduct Project Butterfly as she knew that any attempt to investigate the Butterflies would be shut down by her superiors, forcing her to conduct the mission illegaly by covertly diverging funds from other operations, also recruiting her daughter after she lost her job. A.R.G.U.S. researched Senator Royland Goff as a suspected butterfly, and delivered the file to Clemson Murn.
A.R.G.U.S. created a Peacemaker's Diary which contained fake evidence meant to incriminate him for whatever crime her undercover team would commit throughout the mission, and Waller instructed Leota to sneak the fake diary on to Peacemaker's house so that the police could find it later.[10] When Peacemaker killed Annie Sturphausen, the Evergreen Police Department began an investigation, so that when seeing the operation in danger, A.R.G.U.S. hired mercenary Caspar Locke to undercover, putting him as the Captain of the Police Department.[7] However the Butterflies took over the entire policemen including Locke, and they used the forged diary against Peacemaker, turning him in the most wanted person in Evergreen.[11]
The task force team managed to reach the Coverdale Ranch, requesting Waller to contact the Justice League for aid as they didn't have time for backup. A.R.G.U.S. contacted the Justice League, but when they arrived the battle had already ended. Days later, Leota Adebayo called for a press conference where she publicly exposed her mother for all of Project Butterfly's secrets, also revealing the Task Force X activities orchestrated by Waller, requesting an exhaustive investigation into A.R.G.U.S. for their human rights violations, as Waller watched on TV, shocked by the turn of events.[12]
Release of Teth-Adam[]
- "Find us a cell that can hold him. We'll take care of the rest."
- ―Carter Hall to Amanda Waller[src]
After Teth-Adam was freed from Kahndaq and began slaughtering Intergang soldiers, A.R.G.U.S. quickly took action on the matter, with Amanda Waller contacting Carter Hall to send the Justice Society to apprehend Adam, while Hall requested that A.R.G.U.S. managed to get a cell to hold him.
The following day and with Teth-Adam's voluntary surrender, the team took charge of taking him asleep on a stretcher to the maximum security prison, Task Force X Black Site, where they were received by Emilia Harcourt and her troops, who thanked the Society for their work. The soldiers of A.R.G.U.S. Later they took it upon themselves to lock him up in a capsule submerged in water, where they placed an oxygen mask and handcuffs on him, preventing him from speaking.
Teth-Adam confronts A.R.G.U.S. guards
Teth-Adam, being helped telepathically by Kent Nelson, managed to get out of his cell, despite the fact that the A.R.G.U.S. tried to stop them, Adam confronted them and managed to escape from prison, traveling back to Kahndaq where he would kill Sabbac in search of saving the nation from him. Seeing Adam as a threat to Earth, Waller ordered the dispatch of an A.R.G.U.S. drone to Kahndaq to contact Adam and warn him not to leave Kahndaq, threatening to send people from other planets to stop him.[4]
Recruitment of Billy Batson[]
- "Alright, let's go. And you can tell Waller that even though, Waller said this guy is powerful as they come, but a lil immature."
- ―Emilia Harcourt to John Economos[src]
A.R.G.U.S. later acted in the recruitment process for the Justice Society. After the Battle of Philadelphia, Waller became interested in recruiting Billy Batson into the team, so an research of him was made, with John Economos and Emilia Harcourt finally going on to recruit him.[13]
Staff[]
Executive[]
(director)
Employees[]
(scientist)
(agent and liaison)
(tech support)
(physician)
(pilot)
Former[]
(field leader for Task Force X)
(senior security officer)
(mission coordinator)
Facilities[]
- Belle Reve Correctional Center: A maximum security federal prison located in Louisiana for incarcerated criminals and metahumans, in which Amanda Waller makes up the majority of Task Force X's membership.
- John F. Ostrander Federal Building: A federal government building in Midway City, which served as one of A.R.G.U.S.'s field offices. It has a command center where Amanda Waller would observe and monitor field teams' missions.
- Task Force X Black Site: An underwater prison located in Antarctica, where metahuman criminals with an enormous range of powers are apprehended and held in cells.
Relationships[]
Trivia[]
- In the comics, A.R.G.U.S. is a government agency that supports heroes like the Justice League, and is led by Steve Trevor.
- The motto for A.R.G.U.S. is "Noster quaerere incipere", which is Latin for "Our search begins".
- A.R.G.U.S. is the first to refer to Barry Allen as "Flash" even before he starts to use the name.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Suicide Squad
- ↑ Peacemaker: 1.02: Best Friends, For Never
- ↑ A.R.G.U.S. website - Archive
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Black Adam
- ↑ Peacemaker: 1.03: Better Goff Dead
- ↑ Lexical Analysis
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Peacemaker: 1.05: Monkey Dory
- ↑ The Suicide Squad
- ↑ The Suicide Squad post-credits scene
- ↑ Peacemaker: 1.01: A Whole New Whirled
- ↑ Peacemaker: 1.06: Murn After Reading
- ↑ Peacemaker: 1.08: It's Cow or Never
- ↑ Shazam! Fury of the Gods
