- "Listen up! In your necks, injection you got, it's a nanite explosive. It's the size of a rice grain, but it's powerful as a hand grenade. You disobey me, you die. You try to escape, you die. You otherwise irritate or vex me, and guess what? You die."
- ―Rick Flag to the Suicide Squad[src]
Richard "Rick" Flag, Jr. is a U.S. special operations forces specialist, and the lover of June Moone.
In 2016, he was recruited by Amanda Waller to lead her new Suicide Squad team, alongside a team of Navy SEALS, in a high-risk operation to defeat the wicked siblings Enchantress and Incubus. The mission proved successful, and Flag stayed on as the Squad's field leader.
In 2021, Flag led the Squad on a mission to Corto Maltese to assassinate ruthless dictator Silvio Luna and to destroy a Nazi-era fortress known as Jotunheim.
Biography
Early life
- "I have the witch's heart. And Dr. Moone has his. Now he'll follow my orders as Holy Writ."
- ―Waller, on her control over Flag[src]
Rick Flag was born in Washington, D.C.[2] and was known to have graduated from West Point. He proceeded to serve an unknown number of tours in the United States Military, before getting assigned to ARGUS, under the jurisdiction of Amanda Waller. She promptly sent Rick on a mission to subdue the Enchantress that possessed June Moone. Rick and June quickly got close, becoming lovers. He also ran into the formidable samurai warrior Katana, and managed to convince her to become his personal bodyguard.[3]
Saving the world
Recruited into Task Force X
- "All those rumors, and my dumb ass didn't believe them."
"Hardly anyone does." - ―Flag and Waller[src]
Following the approval of Waller's Task Force X pitch to the Pentagon, Rick was assigned by her to be the task force's field commander. He attempts to object, however, stating that Waller needs actual soldiers instead of criminals and supervillains. Ultimately though, Waller forces him to comply and accept his position by revealing the debilitating leverage she had over him.
Flag soon accompanied Waller as he arrived at Belle Reve in Louisiana to recruit the members for the task force. Upon arrival, he was greeted by Captain Griggs and was first introduced to Deadshot at the firing range to test the alleged hitman's skilled marksmanship. Deadshot impressed Flag and Waller on the shooting range; then Deadshot listed his demands to Waller, but saying it to Flag, knowing the hierarchy. He also saw Killer Croc in Belle Reve.[3]
Deployment in Midway City
Before Task Force X was activated, a Non-Human Entity known as Incubus appeared in the subway of Midway City, causing havoc. Flag and a Special Forces team was sent in with the help of June Moone, who was possessed by a metahuman called Enchantress; Enchantress' ability to move instantly was the key to approaching Incubus, however, unbeknownst to the team and Waller, Enchantress had planned Incubus' release and when tasked to destroy him using a powerful demolition charge, Enchantress bolted, leaving the operation in tatters. In response to this, the Pentagon decided to activate Task Force X and gather them in Midway City Airport.
Flag talking with the Squad.
Flag arrived with two squads of Navy SEALs and authorized them to gear up for the mission. Prior that, Flag explained that the Task Force has been injected with a nano-explosive that will kill them and that any sign of dissent would lead to their deaths. After briefing from Waller to extract "HVT1", the team then departed for Midway City, with Katana promptly joining them, with another helicopter carrying squad B escorting them. When they arrived in the city, their helicopter was shot down. Flag killed Slipknot after attempting to escape after he was tricked by Captain Boomerang into thinking that the bombs were a ploy.[3]
Battle of Midway City
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Retrieving Waller
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Drowning sorrows
Following the presume death of Amanda Waller, the team decided to drown their sorrows with a drink. Distraught over what had happened, Flag smashed the detonator to the Squad's neck implants, allowing Harkness to then leave. He then gave Lawton the letters his daughter had written him while he was in prison. Angered by the sudden revelation, Lawton told Flag he would help him get to the Enchantress so that his daughter would know that he wasn't just "a piece of shit".[3]
Facing Enchantress and Incubus
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Personality
- "Uh, hey, man. I know you can't hear me 'cause you're trapped in your temple of soldierly self-righteousness, but a two-faced dude like you wouldn't survive a second on the street."
- ―Deadshot to Rick Flag[src]
Trained in West Point, Rick Flag is very confident in his abilities. Flag's tough military attitude, however, does occasionally make him seem less intelligent. When in combat, he tends to be very serious and short-tempered, particularly when concerning other allies' mistakes. Also, Rick has a rather negative view of the Suicide Squad, vocalizing his outrage when Harley Quinn nonchalantly steals things. As a result, Flag requested Deadshot's assistance in maintaining the team in check. Moreover, Flag is quite loyal to Amanda Waller and ARGUS, despite the intimidating rumors around her. Indeed, Rick even notes one can get used to Waller's ruthless personality after a while.
Rick's softer side comes from his love for June Moone, the unwilling host of the fearsome and malevolent Enchantress. Having been assigned to watch her, Rick promptly fell in love and they began dating. Hence, he follows Waller's orders "as Holy Writ", to protect his lover, whom Waller uses as exploitable leverage over him. In addition, the events in Midway City seem to have allowed Rick to gain a better understanding of the Squad members, with him ultimately destroying his nano-bomb detonator and releasing them from the mission after Waller's capture, giving up Zoe Lawton's letters to Deadshot, happily hugging Deadshot upon their victory over Enchantress, and making sure Deadshot's first supervised visit to his daughter lasts a few moments longer.
Abilities
- "You take the finest special forces officer this nation has ever produced, Colonel Rick Flag."
- ―Amanda Waller[src]
- Peak Human Condition: Rick Flag, as a US Armed Forces colonel, is in top physical condition (from frequent missions and extensive experience in the field), though not even near to Batman's level. Hence, it took an entire group of Eyes of the Adversary to overpower Flag, though he was still swiftly overpowered by the mighty Enchantress. Flag is also a skilled athlete, as he golfs with a three handicap.
- Peak Human Durability: Rick Flag is exceptionally durable, swiftly recovering after being sent flying back by a superhumanly strong blow from Incubus, though this was also due to Flag's bulletproof vest.
- Expert Marksman: Rick Flag and his men are the best Tier One shooters in the military.[1] Hence, he is a highly skilled marksman, able to use any weapon in US inventory, landing several shots on some of Enchantress' monstrous troops, though he is far surpassed in accuracy and precision by Deadshot.
- Expert Combatant: Rick Flag, as a US Armed Forces colonel, is a highly skilled armed and hand-to-hand combatant (though not quite on par with Batman, Enchantress and Katana), able to take down quite a few Eyes of the Adversary, and even momentarily able to hold his own against the extremely skilled Enchantress herself (notably blocking her dagger slashes several times), though he was ultimately brought down by her.
- Knife Expertise: Rick Flag is experienced with using a knife in combat. This is best demonstrated when he used his combat knife during his fight against the Enchantress.
- "I don't do luck. I do planning and precision."
- ―Rick Flag to Amanda Waller[src]
- Gifted Intellect: Rick Flag is quite intelligent, having graduated from the prestigious West Point, where he would hone his leadership, tactical and career networking skills to exceptional levels. Flag's tough military attitude, however, does occasionally make him seem less intelligent than he actually is.
- Expert Leader: Rick Flag, as an experienced US Armed Forces colonel, is an extremely skilled leader (with Amanda Waller even referring to him as "the finest special forces officer that [the USA] has ever produced"), able to successfully lead the Suicide Squad in the mission to extract Waller from Midway City, and then to lead them against Enchantress and Incubus. He did, however, initially have trouble motivating his Squad subordinates, due to them initially despising him, and the feeling being mutual, hence Flag requested Deadshot's assistance and he also had Edwards help in leading the SEALs. He also initially offered to contact the Tier One units and build Waller a team of "pipe hitters" who would do anything she could dream up; real soldiers, instead of the "scumbags."
- Expert Tactician: Rick Flag is the best tactician Amanda Waller had ever known.[1] He is an expert in special operations and counter-insurgency, able to come up with an effective strategy to bring down Incubus by attacking him from both fronts (with El Diablo chasing the gigantic opponent into a corner and Killer Croc helping Edwards plant a bomb right under him), and an equally effective one to destroy Enchantress' mystical superweapon.
- Expert Networker: Rick Flag, as an elite US colonel, has a network of professional and social contacts to further his ambitions. Hence, he tries to gain leverage on Amanda Waller by threatening to call his powerful friends (though this proved ineffective due to Waller holding June Moone over him), and he tried to gain Deadshot's loyalty by claiming that he has "plenty of [his] own strings to pull" in order to ensure that Deadshot gets paid for the mission, and gets a fresh start (as well as a chance to see his daughter Zoe again).
- Bilingualism: Rick Flag, apart from his native English, has a good understanding of Japanese, given that Katana usually communicated with him in her native language.
Weaknesses
- Loyalty to June Moone: Rick Flag's greatest weakness is his beloved girlfriend, June Moone, since Amanda Waller is able to use his girlfriend as psychological leverage against Flag, forcing him to comply with her orders concerning the Suicide Squad, much to Flag's dismay. The fact that his girlfriend was unwillingly hosting the malevolent Enchantress made it extremely hard for Flag to destroy the latter when he has the chance, with him only able to do so after recalling that June Moone had made him promise her to do so in such a situation.
Equipment
- Glock 17: Rick Flag is seen carrying a 9mm Glock 17 pistol, which he uses as his sidearm.
- Heckler & Koch HK416A5: Rick Flag is seen carrying an HK416 rifle equipped with different attachments and accessories. His version of the HK416 is the DS20R full-sized barrel version, a standard among US Special Forces equipment.
- Shotgun: To be added
- Winkler combat knife: Flag carried this combat knife on his vest for close quarters purposes, most notably using it during the final fight against Enchantress.
- C4 explosive: Rick Flag carried an explosive ordinance to destroy Enchantress's weapon. After Harley Quinn cut the heart out, Flag readied the explosive and gave it to Killer Croc to throw, which is then detonated when Deadshot fired at the explosive.
- Demolition charge: In the original mission to stop Incubus, Flag carried a demolition charge powerful enough to destroy Incubus. Originally set for two seconds to explode, when given to Enchantress, Enchantress dropped it in the subway and escaped, leaving the bomb intact with a second set to explode. In the battle against Enchantress, his subordinate Lt. "GQ" Edwards of the Navy SEALS detonated it and destroyed Incubus, with El Diablo and GQ being casualties of the explosion.
- Bulletproof vest: Flag wore a bulletproof vest when in the field to protect him from rifle bullets. It's seemingly durable enough to take a hit from Incubus.
Former equipment
- Nano-bomb detonator: Rick Flag, in order to ensure the compliance of most Suicide Squad members (apart from his bodyguard Katana), keeps the detonator of their implanted nano-bombs on him (with a separate button for each individual) - ready to blow off the heads of any of them if they step out of line or fail to comply, with him notably killing Slipknot in this way. Ultimately, however, when Amanda Waller is captured by Incubus, Flag destroys his detonator, releasing his subordinates (who, however, are still motivated to stay and fight the mystical duo nonetheless).
Relationships
Trivia
- In DC Comics, Rick Flag is the name of three characters appearing in various DC Comic books. They are a father, son, and grandson, with Richard Flag Jr. being the son.
- His main weapon is a 5.56x45mm Heckler & Koch HK416 carbine outfitted with various accessories, while his sidearm is a 9mm Glock 17 pistol and a combat knife.
- Along with Deadshot and Katana, he is one of the relatively sane members of the Suicide Squad.
- After Enchantress was destroyed, which freed June Moone of her control, Flag is the only member of the Suicide Squad to no longer have any leverage that Amanda Waller can use against him. However, should the films keep true to DC Comics, Flag may end up working willingly for Waller.
- In John Ostrander's original Suicide Squad comic run, Flag is seemingly killed by a nuclear explosion inside Jotunheim. Thus, Jotunheim's presence in The Suicide Squad has sparked much speculation among fans that Flag will sacrifice himself and die in the upcoming film.
Behind the scenes
- Luke Evans, Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Cruise, Joel Edgerton, Karl Urban, and Jon Bernthal were considered for the role of Rick Flag.
- Tom Hardy (who previously played Bane in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises) was originally cast as Rick Flag but dropped out due to his prior commitment to filming The Revenant.
- Justin Howell and Kyle Mclean were stunt doubles for Joel Kinnaman in the role of Rick Flag.
References
External links
| Task Force X | |
| Founder | Amanda Waller |
|---|---|
| Members | Peacemaker | Vigilante | Emilia Harcourt | Leota Adebayo |
| Supporting members | Clemson Murn | John Economos | Flo Crawley | Briscoe | Fitzgibbon |
| Former members | Enchantress | June Moone | Slipknot | El Diablo | Deadshot | Katana | Killer Croc | Rick Flag | Captain Boomerang | Polka-Dot Man | T.D.K. | Javelin | Blackguard | Mongal | Savant | Harley Quinn | Bloodsport | King Shark | Ratcatcher 2 | Weasel |