By now, pretty much everyone can rattle off the names of the members of the eponymous team in the upcoming film Suicide Squad. There's Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc, El Diablo, and Slipknot. The team was put together by Amanda Waller, and they're led by Rick Flag; with Katana serving as his personal bodyguard. Then there's the Enchantress, who isn't a member of the squad, but is somehow involved in the proceedings. But what about the team as it appears in the pages of DC Comics? Do you know who's on Suicide Squad in the comics?
Much like many superhero teams, the squad's membership has fluctuated greatly over the years. The original Suicide Squad dates back to the 1950s, and was a group of non-superpowered crimefighters who beared little resemblance to the current team. The one thing they had in common was that they counted Rick Flag as a member. The name "Suicide Squad" was revived in 1986, when it was used to describe a team of villains employed to fight crime... sound familiar? The first lineup was of this incarnation was led by Amanda Waller, and included familiar names like Rick Flag, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Enchantress; plus less familiar names like Bronze Tiger and Blockbuster.
When Suicide Squad received its own spin-off title in 1987, the lineup began changing almost constantly — usually featuring very obscure villains who were expendable, legitimizing the team's "suicide mission" reputation. I'm not going to list all of them since there are well over 100, but I will say that Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Amanda Waller have all been on the team for nearly its entire 30-year history; and Rick Flag has had a fairly consistent run as well. Other notable members over the years include Killer Frost, King Shark, Poison Ivy, and even Penguin. But what about the other members from the movie?
Slipknot appeared briefly with the squad for a single mission in 1987, where he was betrayed by Captain Boomerang and lost an arm. El Diablo joins as a member of the team in Suicide Squad volume 4 in 2011, but soon leaves the team. He later tries to seek vengeance on them and is killed by Amanda Waller, who activates his bomb implant. Then, when DC rebooted all of their titles with the new 52, he once again became a member of the New Suicide Squad. Harley Quinn also joined the team in volume 4, and remains a member of the New Suicide Squad. Then there's Killer Croc and Katana, who have never appeared in any incarnation of Suicide Squad.
The most recent team in the comics was called New Suicide Squad, and its lineup included movie stars Harley Quinn, El Diablo, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang. The team is set to be rebooted again with DC's upcoming "Rebirth" event, so maybe Killer Croc and Katana will finally get their chance to join the crew when that happens.
There's no real classic lineup for the Suicide Squad, so you could pretty much say the movie had the freedom to include whoever they wanted to. But by including team stalwarts like Deadshot, Boomerang, Amanda Waller, and Rick Flag; as well as newer fixtures like El Diablo and Harley Quinn, the film likely came up with a winning combination.
Images: Warner Bros. Pictures; DC Comics
