Suicide Squad (New Earth)

{{DC Database:Team Template
 * Image                  = Suicide Squad.jpg
 * OfficialName           = Task Force X
 * Aliases                = The Suicide Squad,


 * Status                 = Active
 * Identity               = Secret
 * Universe               = Earth-One; New Earth
 * BaseOfOperations       = Belle Reve Prison


 * TeamLeaders            = Amanda Waller, Rick Flag
 * CurrentMembers         = Bronze Tiger, Multiplex, Plastique, Captain Boomerang (Owen Mercer), Count Vertigo, General Wade Eiling, Marauder, Blackguard, Twister, White Dragon, Windfall
 * FormerMembers          = Deadshot, Bane, Black Orchid, Captain Boomerang I, Doctor Light, Duchess, Enchantress, Javelin, Karin Grace, Killer Frost, Major Victory, Nemesis, Nightshade, Oracle, Poison Ivy, Punch and Jewelee, Ravan, Shade, Slipknot, Vixen, Atom, Outlaw, Thinker
 * Allies                 = Checkmate
 * Enemies                =


 * Origin                 =
 * PlaceOfFormation       =
 * PlaceOfDefunction      =
 * Creators               = Robert Kanigher; Ross Andru; John Ostrander
 * First                  = Brave and the Bold #25


 * HistoryText            =

The Suicide Squad is a covert black-ops government strike team. The team is partially made up of imprisoned super-villains who agree to serve as expendable agents on life-threatening top-secret missions for the US Government. In return, after sufficient service, the prisoners are granted full pardons for their crimes. The Government does not officially acknowledge the existence of the Suicide Squad, and claims their missions as random supervillain attacks. In addition, there are other non-prisoner members such as Nemesis and Nightshade who participate in the team as part of individual arrangements. The Suicide Squad operate out of Belle Reve prison in Louisiana.

To prevent members escaping in the field, the prisoners are shackled with explosive bracelets programmed to detonate a certain distance from the field leader, who also wears a remote control that can detonate or disengage the bracelets as desired. Typically the field leader will be either Rick Flag or Bronze Tiger.

The group is largely run by Amanda Waller, although at times someone else will act as a cover for her, like when the existence of the Suicide Squad became public. The Suicide Squad has also occasionally left Task Force X and Governmental Control to work freelance.

"Baptism of Fire"
The team's first mission as the Suicide Squad set them up against international super-terrorist group, the Jihad. They infiltrated their headquarters (the fortress known as Jotunheim, situated in Qurac) and proceed to defeat and kill most of the Jihad members. Dynamics of the group were established, such as consequences of the death of Mindboggler, Captain Boomerang's cowardly and treacherous nature, Nightshade's attraction to Rick Flag, a rivalry between Rick Flag and Rustam, and Ravan's defeat at the hands of the Bronze Tiger.

"Rogues" and "Final Round"
After a period spent clashing with other groups, notably the People's Heroes in Russia, Amanda Waller and the Squad are blackmailed by a Senator, "Cray," to help insure his reelection. There is also the threat of Waller being usurped by Derek Tolliver, who conspires with Cray against her. Tolliver is killed by Rick Flag in Suicide Squad #21.

Waller deals with the situation by counter-blackmail (with the help of Checkmate), but refrains from informing Flag, who, thinking that the existence of the Squad is in danger, decides to deal with the problem himself. Rick Flag goes after Senator Cray in order to assassinate him. In order to stop him, the Squad is sent after Flag, and it is eventually Deadshot who confronts Flag shortly before he can shoot Cray. Instead of disarming or killing Flag, Deadshot opts to kill Cray, nonetheless keeping to the mission statement: "preventing Cray's murder at the hands of Flag."

Against Flag's intentions, the Suicide Squad is exposed to the public, ironically, thanks to a note for a press release (exposing the Suicide Squad) left in Tolliver's office which the police discover while investigating his murder.

As the result of being exposed, Amanda Waller is replaced by a man called "Jack Kale", in fact an actor, working as a cover so that Waller can continue to run the Squad. The team then goes on a public relations offensive, becoming for a time, a prominent heroing team.

The Janus Directive
During the events of "The Janus Directive" there's an interagency war between Checkmate, the Suicide Squad, and Project Atom, who are manipulated by Kobra in order to distract the United States intelligence community from his activities. The interagency war destroys the headquarters of both Checkmate and the Suicide Squad, and costs the lives of all members of the Force of July, with the sole exception of Major Victory. In the aftermath, with the defeat of Kobra, the various government agencies are made autonomous, to be overseen by Sarge Steel. After sending the team on one last mission, and releasing Deadshot, Poison Ivy and Ravan, Amanda Waller is also put into custody.

The Phoenix Gambit
After a year of imprisonment for Amanda Waller, the Suicide Squad is in shambles. But she is eventually given a presidential pardon, courtesy of Sarge Steel, as well as one million dollars and her old privileges concerning the use of imprisoned villains. This is done so that Waller can reassemble the Squad and prevent a confrontation between American and Russian forces in the war-torn Vlatava. As the Suicide Squad succeeds and finishes their mission, they go into a new direction, seceding from the government, as freelance operatives, per the terms negotiated by Waller. Under the leadership of Waller, who herself now also goes into the field as an operative, they are a mercenary squad open to the highest bidder. After more conflicts with Kobra, the Justice League, and other various terrorists and despots, the Suicide Squad is disbanded by Waller in Suicide Squad #66.

Sgt. Rock's Suicide Squad
Later, in Suicide Squad Volume Two, Sgt. Rock starts up his own Suicide Squad. It was largely unsuccessful, and many of the members died in the missions they went on.

Membership:
 * Sgt. Frank Rock
 * Bulldozer
 * Deadshot
 * Havana
 * Killer Frost
 * Major Disaster
 * Modem

52
Another Squad was assembled during 52 by Amanda Waller to attempt to sanction the Black Marvel Family. Although the team is defeated by Black Adam, they do succeed in soiling his family's name. When the Persuader tries to murder Isis, in a rash moment of fear and confusion he is killed by Osiris. The footage of the murder is broadcast on television and the Black Marvel's become basically morally untouchable for alliances with any other super-teams around the world.

Membership:
 * Atom Smasher
 * Captain Boomerang II
 * Count Vertigo
 * The Electrocutioner
 * The Persuader
 * Plastique

One Year Later
In Checkmate (Volume 2) #6, Bronze Tiger rescues Rick Flag from a secret Quraci prison, where Flag had been imprisoned for four years. Afterwords, Amanda Waller enlists the aid of both men in tracking down a rogue Suicide Squad team led by the Mirror Master. The team is eventually revealed as having been under Waller's control all along, and now being led by the newly returned Rick Flag.
 * Mirror Master
 * Icicle
 * Javelin
 * Plastique
 * Punch and Jewelee
 * Tattooed Man

The Suicide Squad largely remained behind the scenes for awhile after 52, although a largely unseen version of the Squad was seen active in Santa Prisca during an attempt to falsify their new democratic elections. During this storyline, Colonel Computron defected from the team and attempted to contact Checkmate in an attempt to play the two organizations against each other. He was unaware of the connections between Suicide Squad and Checkmate, and was assassinated by Amanda Waller's agents shortly afterwords.

Countdown
In Checkmate it was revealed that Amanda Waller was using the Squad, in conjunction with her Checkmate resources, in a campaign against Earth's supervillains. After the events of World War Three, the US government had concluded that chaotic superhumans were too dangerous to leave unchecked. Waller and the Squad were secretly tracking down supervillains and capturing them. If the villains agreed to work with the Suicide Squad then they would be recruited. If not, they would be sent through a boom tube to an unknown location. The other leaders of Checkmate suspected Waller's involvement in the disappearance of the supervillains, but ousted her for other reasons before they could delve further into her scheme. Waller succeeded in deporting the majority of the world's most well-known supervillains prior to the events of Salvation Run.


 * Recommended          =
 * Suicide Squad (Volume One)
 * Suicide Squad (Volume Two)
 * Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag

Related Articles

 * Checkmate


 * Equipment              =
 * Transportation         =
 * Weapons                =


 * Notes                  =
 * Several incarnations of the Suicide Squad were formed sporadically in between Volume One and Volume Two, that were not elaborated upon in their own series'. These included:
 * A Suicide Squad was sent to help Cameron Chase on a mission to stop Kilg%re in South America, composed of Bolt, Sledge, Killer Frost and Copperhead. They betrayed her in the field.
 * The third Hawk and Dove are targeted by the government at one point, and a makeshift Suicide Squad is sent after them composed of Bronze Tiger, Count Vertigo, Shrapnel, Thermal, Flex and Quartzite.
 * Lex Luthor organized a Suicide Squad during the events of Our Worlds at War for the purpose of retrieving Doomsday from his prison on the moon to aid in the battle against Imperiex. The squad consisted of Chemo, Mongul, Plasmus, Shrapnel, Manchester Black and Steel.


 * Trivia                 =
 * Wikipedia              = Suicide Squad
 * Links                  =

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