Comic Book Origins: Rick Flag
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VOICE OVER: Dan Paradis
Script written by Craig Butler
Some people get to choose the members of their squad – but Rick Flag learns to make the best of the worst. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we explore the comic book origin of the Suicide Squad's Rick Flag.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character's past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1959's The Brave and the Bold #25 which was expanded upon in 1986's Legends #1 and 3, 1987's Secret origins #14 and 2008's Suicide Squad #4-5.
Special thanks to our users Godslayer79, Jacob Koopmann, TrueBackLash and many others for submitting the idea at WatchMojo.comsuggest
Some people get to choose the members of their squad – but Rick Flag learns to make the best of the worst. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we explore the comic book origin of the Suicide Squad's Rick Flag.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character's past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1959's The Brave and the Bold #25 which was expanded upon in 1986's Legends #1 and 3, 1987's Secret origins #14 and 2008's Suicide Squad #4-5.
Special thanks to our users Godslayer79, Jacob Koopmann, TrueBackLash and many others for submitting the idea at WatchMojo.comsuggest
Script written by Craig Butler
Some people get to choose the members of their squad – but Rick Flag learns to make the best of the worst. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of the Suicide Squad's Rick Flag.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1959's The Brave and the Bold #25 which was expanded upon in 1986's Legends #1 and 3, 1987's Secret origins #14 and 2008's Suicide Squad #4-5.
Rick Flag was one of the founding members of the original Suicide Squad, a group of four brave individuals who started taking on dangerous missions in 1959. In their debut adventure, it was revealed that each of the four members had promised to "carry on" the work of colleagues who had sacrificed their lives for others.
In the case of Col. Rick Flag, that sacrifice had come when he was flying a plane during World War II. Flag had watched as his fellow airmen had nobly acted as decoys so that he could fly in and bomb an enemy carrier. Vowing to carry on, he continued to make his dead colleagues proud through his missions with the Suicide Squad.
He also made other sacrifices. He and fellow Squad member Karin Grace were clearly in love. However, they refrained from getting involved, afraid that their forming an attachment would make interfere with their ability to risk their lives for the Squad.
When the Suicide Squad - or Task Force X, as it was also known – was reactivated in 1986, Col. Flag was once again chosen to lead it. But this would be a very different Squad. Flag would now be in charge of a ragtag group of individuals with dubious backgrounds and loyalties. The likes of Captain Boomerang and Blockbuster were offered pardons for their past criminal offenses if they undertook missions with the Squad – and survived.
A year after their reactivation, the Squad got a new origin story. In this re-telling, Capt. Rick Flag was again haunted by a desire to honor his fallen friends through deeds – but his activities with what is now called the Suicide Squadron started while World War II was in full swing. In addition, the members of the Squad are made up of soldiers who were, to put it lightly, not inclined to obey orders.
The Squad was disbanded in the 1950s. Flag married and had a son, Rick Flag, Jr. When little Rick's mother died saving him from an oncoming car, he felt the same sense of responsibility to, you guessed it, ‘carry on’ as his father did. That responsibility was compounded when his father died soon after on a mission to save people making Jr. the new Rick Flag.
As an adult, Rick. Jr. became the leader of a new Suicide Squad and, as before, fell in love with his colleague Karin. Unfortunately, the two other members of the Squad also had feelings for her as well. When these two eventually sacrificed themselves for Karin, the guilt drove a wedge between her and Rick.
Rick then spent some time with a group called the Forgotten Heroes before signing on again as part of the new Suicide Squad.
More changes to Flag's story came in 2008. Soon after having fathered a child, he made a startling discovery. It turned out that the original Rick Flag died without having a son. The man who had been carrying on the name was in fact a soldier named Anthony Miller. He had been brainwashed by General Wade Eiling into believing that he was Rick Flag. The news was unsettling to say the least, but it ultimately didn't Ricks desire to for a life of self-sacrifice. AAAammmerica, fuck yeah!
A team like the Suicide Squad requires a strong leader, one who has a solid moral code and a firm belief in his actions. In all its various incarnations, Flag has provided that. The man was born with a sense of responsibility and has never faltered in doing what is asked of him.
Are you a fan of the commanding Rick Flag? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
Superhero Origins: Rick Flag
Some people get to choose the members of their squad – but Rick Flag learns to make the best of the worst. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of the Suicide Squad's Rick Flag.
As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginings and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1959's The Brave and the Bold #25 which was expanded upon in 1986's Legends #1 and 3, 1987's Secret origins #14 and 2008's Suicide Squad #4-5.
Rick Flag was one of the founding members of the original Suicide Squad, a group of four brave individuals who started taking on dangerous missions in 1959. In their debut adventure, it was revealed that each of the four members had promised to "carry on" the work of colleagues who had sacrificed their lives for others.
In the case of Col. Rick Flag, that sacrifice had come when he was flying a plane during World War II. Flag had watched as his fellow airmen had nobly acted as decoys so that he could fly in and bomb an enemy carrier. Vowing to carry on, he continued to make his dead colleagues proud through his missions with the Suicide Squad.
He also made other sacrifices. He and fellow Squad member Karin Grace were clearly in love. However, they refrained from getting involved, afraid that their forming an attachment would make interfere with their ability to risk their lives for the Squad.
When the Suicide Squad - or Task Force X, as it was also known – was reactivated in 1986, Col. Flag was once again chosen to lead it. But this would be a very different Squad. Flag would now be in charge of a ragtag group of individuals with dubious backgrounds and loyalties. The likes of Captain Boomerang and Blockbuster were offered pardons for their past criminal offenses if they undertook missions with the Squad – and survived.
A year after their reactivation, the Squad got a new origin story. In this re-telling, Capt. Rick Flag was again haunted by a desire to honor his fallen friends through deeds – but his activities with what is now called the Suicide Squadron started while World War II was in full swing. In addition, the members of the Squad are made up of soldiers who were, to put it lightly, not inclined to obey orders.
The Squad was disbanded in the 1950s. Flag married and had a son, Rick Flag, Jr. When little Rick's mother died saving him from an oncoming car, he felt the same sense of responsibility to, you guessed it, ‘carry on’ as his father did. That responsibility was compounded when his father died soon after on a mission to save people making Jr. the new Rick Flag.
As an adult, Rick. Jr. became the leader of a new Suicide Squad and, as before, fell in love with his colleague Karin. Unfortunately, the two other members of the Squad also had feelings for her as well. When these two eventually sacrificed themselves for Karin, the guilt drove a wedge between her and Rick.
Rick then spent some time with a group called the Forgotten Heroes before signing on again as part of the new Suicide Squad.
More changes to Flag's story came in 2008. Soon after having fathered a child, he made a startling discovery. It turned out that the original Rick Flag died without having a son. The man who had been carrying on the name was in fact a soldier named Anthony Miller. He had been brainwashed by General Wade Eiling into believing that he was Rick Flag. The news was unsettling to say the least, but it ultimately didn't Ricks desire to for a life of self-sacrifice. AAAammmerica, fuck yeah!
A team like the Suicide Squad requires a strong leader, one who has a solid moral code and a firm belief in his actions. In all its various incarnations, Flag has provided that. The man was born with a sense of responsibility and has never faltered in doing what is asked of him.
Are you a fan of the commanding Rick Flag? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
