DC’s Task Force X has had quite a few members over the years – the team’s nickname, the ‘Suicide Squad,’ makes it clear that the job has turned a lot.
And in that tradition, it looks like James Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad, which is something of a re-launch / sequel to the equivalent title 2016 film, will have an enormous roster of potentially spendable supervillains.
To that end, we look back on the greatest members of the Suicide Squad of all time – those who have lived on the job, but not necessarily the implicit result.
King Shark
King Shark got media attention that appeared on CW’s The Flash, but the massive human / shark hybrid has a long history in comics, and even served several stints as a member of the Suicide Squad.
Although his first turn came on Task Force X in the 1990s, King Shark became a staple member of the team in ‘The New 52’, as one of the most brutal, bizarre members the Squad has ever deployed. .
He appeared on the CW Flash TV show and is rumored to be one of the many characters in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
Count Vertigo
Count Vertigo has a reputation as a supervillain who has threatened everyone from Batman to Green Arrow, but he is also deeply trusted in the DC espionage community. Vertigo was a longtime serving member of Task Force X, who became a criminal after his family, the rulers of the fictional nation Vlatava, were overthrown.
Vertigo had an inherited inner-ear condition that made him unable to balance. He received a special implant that corrected his balance, but which he could change so that it would affect the balance of others with a disorienting effect.
After years as a villain, and on the Suicide Squad, Vertigo briefly served as the Knight of the White Queen in Checkmate under Amanda Waller. A younger, villainous version of the character was introduced in DC’s ‘Rebirth’ era, again challenging Green Arrow.
Enchantress
June Moone is an unstable wizard whose magical abilities come at the expense of her health.
After a few minor appearances in the ’60s and’ 70s, she was prominently brought up as part of the Suicide Squad, where her magical abilities were correlated by her handler, Nightshade.
In the early years of the Suicide Squad, Enchantress was perhaps the most powerful – and unstable – member of Task Force X. When June was in control, she was a team player, but many of her teammates had protocols around her. to take down if their Enchantress persona becomes too dominant.
In ‘The New 52’, Enchantress was an early villain of the magical Justice League Dark. She appeared in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, portrayed by Cara Delevigne.
Nightshade
Originally co-produced by Steve Ditko for Charlton Comics, Nightshade was integrated into DC Continuity with Crisis On Infinite Earths.
Nightshade’s DC version was a government super-spy tasked with monitoring Enchantress as part of Task Force X and as Amanda Waller’s liaison with other spy groups.
Nightshade was a landowner of the Land of Nightshades, with magical dark-based powers. She was a member of the Suicide Squad for the very original run, and later joined DC’s magic super-team the Shadowpact.
She has not appeared in the primary universe of DC since the arrival of ‘The New 52’, but was featured in several editions of the Elseworlds-style series The Multiversity.
Bronze Tiger
Bronze Tiger was originally created in a DC prose novel with the martyr artist Richard Dragon. He was later brought up in comic books as Dragon’s countryman, before washing his brains and turning against his friend by the villainous Professor Ojo.
After his recovery, Bronze Tiger was hired by King Faraday to take down the League of Assassins, but was taken prisoner and re-occupied. After serving as one of their top hitmen, he was deformed by Amanda Waller and enlisted in Task Force X. Bronstiger served for years with the Squad as Rick’s second-in-command, taking leadership after the apparent death of Flag. .
There is speculation that Idris will portray Elba Bronze Tiger in The Suicide Squad next year, although the appointed role has not been confirmed.
Rick Flag
Rick Flag is the longtime field leader of Task Force X, a government operative handpicked by Amanda Waller to keep the Suicide Squad’s dirty bosses’ in line – and put them down when they get out of hand.
A second generation war hero, Flagge’s father was part of the original Suicide Squad, a group made up of special agents with nothing to lose. Flag’s first trip to the Suicide Squad was a group similar to his father’s, consisting of soldiers and secret agents. After that team headed south, Flag joined Waller’s team of super-powered villains and ne-do-wells.
He will be played by Joel Kinnaman in 2016’s Suicide Squad and the upcoming sequel / reboot.
Captain Boomerang
The Rogues of Flash have always been a part of the Suicide Squad – even Captain Cold and Mirror Master have served on various iterations of the team. But perhaps the one most associated with the team is Captain Boomerang. George “Digger” Harkness is an Australian curmudgeon with an extraordinary ability to throw boomerangs (and piss people off).
Armed with an arsenal of trick-ranges, Captain Boomerang was a staple of the squad for years. He’s so iconically connected to the Squad that he’s included in the team’s Arrow version instead of appearing on Flash in CW’s Arrowverse, and is also part of the film crew.
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is the most recent addition to the Suicide Squad of anyone on this list, but since making her debut at ‘The New 52’, she’s become the face of Task Force X, appearing even for the first time on the big screen in the original Suicide Squad movie.
Fans know Harley’s history well – she was a complete psychiatrist before falling in love with the Joker and suffering from a psychotic break. She may not be superhuman, but her former years-long creative shepherds Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner said Harley is the greatest strength that she “does not realize she is incapable of doing. what then. “
Despite breaking out into a whole new team in this year’s Birds of Prey movie, she will also appear in The Suicide Squad, once played by Margot Robbie.
Deadshot
Deadshot is the Squad’s most trusted bad boy. He has been a part of Task Force X since its modern inception, and has occasionally served as the team’s field leader. Although he is a straightforward psychopath, he is perhaps the most level-headed of the horrible members of the Squad.
Floyd Lawton was also a key member of Secret Six, a team of semi-anti-heroes-but-also-sometimes-villains who spun out of the Suicide Squad. But since the beginning of ” The New 52 ”, he’s been front and center again with Task Force X. He made his debut on big screens played by Mr. July himself Will Smith in the 2016 Suicide Squad, although he after all thoughts will not return for the 2021 reboot / continuation.
And, in comics, it looks like his death is on the way, after being plagued as an upcoming Suicide Squad storyline.
Amanda Waller
Amanda Waller may not be a field agency for Task Force X, and she’s not a superhuman – but she’s the heart and soul of the Suicide Squad (as a cabal of murderers and psychopaths can be said to have such a thing).
Waller conceived and commanded the Squad through its naked determination and willpower. She is perhaps the most politically powerful woman in the DC Universe.
‘The Wall’, as it is often called, is notorious among the heroes of DC because it is impossible to intimidate – as you can see, they even knocked Batman down. She addresses her lack of physical strength with a level of grit and toughness that is incompatible in the DCU.
She is even known for backing Batman into a corner.
Amanda Waller is portrayed by Viola Davis in the movie franchise of Suicide Squad.
