# List of Suicide Squad members
The [Suicide Squad](https://www.edgepedia.org/suicide-squad) (officially Task Force X) is a [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) team of incarcerated super-villains who undertake high-risk covert missions for the United States government in exchange for commuted prison sentences. Its members are recruited from Belle Reve Prison by [Amanda Waller](https://www.edgepedia.org/amanda-waller), are considered expendable, and are fitted with an explosive device in the neck to enforce obedience.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) Because the roster is designed around expendability, the lineup is always in flux, and a large number of characters have served on the team since its debut in *The Brave and the Bold* #25 (1959).[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | *The Brave and the Bold* #25 (August–September 1959)[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) |
| Modern incarnation | First appears as Task Force X in *Legends* #2 (December 1986); first named "the Suicide Squad" in *Legends* #3 (January 1987)[2](https://www.comics.org/group/808/) |
| Recruiter and leader | Amanda Waller, founder of Task Force X (first appearance *Legends* #1, 1986); Rick Flag often serves as field leader[3](https://www.dc.com/characters/amanda-waller) • [1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) |
| Membership terms | Commuted or reduced sentences; explosive implant in the neck; every member is considered expendable[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) |
| Roster size | DC.com counted 244 characters who have suited up for a Suicide Mission across comics, television, film, and video games; more than half appeared only once[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| Most frequent members | Deadshot (86 Squad Score points), Captain Boomerang (80), and Harley Quinn (70) lead DC.com's unofficial tally[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| Base of operations | Belle Reve Prison, Louisiana[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) |
## Conditions of membership
Membership on the Squad follows a consistent bargain across its incarnations: super-villains serving time in Belle Reve Prison volunteer for deadly, off-the-books missions in exchange for reduced sentences or pardons.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) • [2](https://www.comics.org/group/808/) Control is maintained by small bombs implanted in each member's neck; disobeying an order or attempting escape triggers detonation.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) • [5](https://www.dc.com/blog/2014/07/09/new-suicide-squad-the-lineup)
Team safety is treated as a minor government concern, which is the origin of the nickname: missions are as dangerous as they come, and many operatives are not expected to return.[5](https://www.dc.com/blog/2014/07/09/new-suicide-squad-the-lineup) • [1](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad) This structure makes the roster inherently modular. DC.com's 2024 census found that more than half of the 244 characters who ever joined were one-timers, brought in for a single job or killed after one mission.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members)
## Early rosters
The original Suicide Squad of the late 1950s was a team of soldiers rather than supervillains, led by [Rick Flag](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-flag), Jr., who debuted in *The Brave and the Bold* #25.[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-tv-shows/peacemaker-season-2-the-comic-history-of-rick-flag-sr-the-secret-agent-whos-out-for-peacemakers-blood/) A separate World War II incarnation of the team, led by Rick Flag, Sr., first appeared in *Star Spangled War Stories* #116 (August–September 1964).[7](https://my.comics.org/group/2096/)
The modern concept was created by [John Ostrander](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-ostrander), Len Wein, and John Byrne. Under it, the U.S. government's Task Force X umbrella placed the Suicide Squad at Belle Reve under Amanda Waller, field-led by Rick Flag Jr., with hardened metahuman prisoners traded for lighter sentences.[2](https://www.comics.org/group/808/) The Ostrander-era roster, documented by the Grand Comics Database, drew heavily on obscure DC villains: members formalized in or after 1987 include Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, [Enchantress](https://www.edgepedia.org/enchantress-dc-comics), Bronze Tiger, Nightshade, Captain Cold, Chronos, Mindboggler, Plastique, Nemesis, Penguin, Ravan, and Javelin.[2](https://www.comics.org/group/808/) Other members of this generation joined later in the run, among them Doctor Light, Shade the Changing Man, Slipknot, Count Vertigo, and Punch and Jewelee.[2](https://www.comics.org/group/808/) Waller's original 1986 roster from *Legends* also included Enchantress, who remained a recurring member for decades afterward.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members)
## Later comic rosters
The 2011 New 52 relaunch brought two long-term additions to the roster: [Harley Quinn](https://www.edgepedia.org/harley-quinn) and the fiery antihero El Diablo (Chato Santana), a 2008 reimagining of one of DC's Western-era characters.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) [Killer Croc](https://www.edgepedia.org/killer-croc) joined in 2016, and [King Shark](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-shark) debuted with the Squad in the 2011 series.[2](https://www.comics.org/group/808/)
In the 2014 series *New Suicide Squad*, the lineup changed under the shared oversight of Amanda Waller and Victor Sage: [Captain Boomerang](https://www.edgepedia.org/captain-boomerang), King Shark, and James Gordon, Jr. left the team, and the new roster centered on Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Deathstroke, and Joker's Daughter.[5](https://www.dc.com/blog/2014/07/09/new-suicide-squad-the-lineup) A 2019 relaunch by [Tom Taylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-taylor) and Bruno Redondo again rebuilt the team around Harley Quinn and Deadshot, with new Belle Reve inmates pitted against, and then joined by, a group of super-terrorists called the Revolutionaries.[8](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/09/09/a-new-suicide-squad-series-this-december-from-taylor-and-redondo)
In 2024, DC launched *Suicide Squad: Dream Team*, a series in which Waller recruited the precog Dreamer alongside Harley Quinn, Bizarro, Clock King, Black Alice, and Deadeye, the last being Waller's own nephew.[9](https://www.dc.com/blog/2023/12/11/suicide-squad-dream-team-amanda-waller-recruits-a-new-task-force-x-to-control-the-dc-universe) • [4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members)
## The most consistent members
To identify which characters are most identified with the team, DC.com's Alex Jaffe devised an unofficial "Squad Score" in 2024: one point per collected comic-book story appearance, three points per television show, video game, or animated film appearance as a member, and five points per appearance in either live-action film.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) Only seventeen of the 244 characters scored in double digits.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members)
| Rank | Character | Squad Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deadshot | 86 | Drafted the moment Waller opened registration in *Legends* #1; served on nearly every incarnation through 2020, when he died on a mission[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| 2 | Captain Boomerang | 80 | With the Squad so long that his origin as a Flash villain is practically forgotten[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| 3 | Harley Quinn | 70 | On nearly every incarnation since the 2011 relaunch[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| 4 | Rick Flag | 44 | Stalwart government field leader, son of the Silver Age Squad's leader[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| 5–7 (tie) | Enchantress and Katana | 29 each | Both members of the 2016 film Squad; King Shark joins them at 29 once his video-game appearance is counted[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| 8 | Killer Croc | 28 | Dropped to part-time as King Shark's profile rose[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
| 9–10 | El Diablo (25), Bronze Tiger (21) | | Bronze Tiger was a field leader in the Squad's earliest incarnations[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) |
Lower on the list sit [Count Vertigo](https://www.edgepedia.org/count-vertigo) (16), Plastique and Peacemaker (15 each), [Black Manta](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-manta) (14), and Cheetah, Deathstroke, and Bloodsport (10 each). Bloodsport, formerly an obscure Superman villain, reached the list entirely through his cinematic debut and a headline role in the 2021 comic series.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members)
## Film and other screen rosters
The 2016 film *Suicide Squad* assembled a Squad including Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, El Diablo, Killer Croc, Enchantress, and Katana, with Rick Flag and Amanda Waller supporting.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members) [James Gunn](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-gunn)'s 2021 film *The Suicide Squad* functioned as both sequel and rebranding, keeping some survivors such as Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, and Captain Boomerang while adding Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin, Polka-Dot Man, and Weasel on a mission to the island of [Corto Maltese](https://www.edgepedia.org/corto-maltese).[10](https://www.dc.com/movies/the-suicide-squad-2021) • [11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/08/06/suicide-squad-movie-differences/)
Beyond the films, the team has appeared in the animated film *Batman: Assault on Arkham* (2014), whose Task Force lineup was deliberately different from the concurrent *New Suicide Squad* comic; the video game *Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League*, with Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, King Shark, and Harley Quinn as the four playable characters; and the anime series *Suicide Squad ISEKAI*, which again featured King Shark.[12](https://www.dc.com/blog/2014/08/05/batman-assault-on-arkham-meet-task-force-x) • [4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members)
## References
1. [Suicide Squad – Official DC Character page](https://www.dc.com/characters/suicide-squad)
2. [Suicide Squad (English), Grand Comics Database group index](https://www.comics.org/group/808/)
3. [Amanda Waller – Official DC Character page](https://www.dc.com/characters/amanda-waller)
4. [Alex Jaffe (2024). Will to Survive: Determining the Definitive Suicide Squad Members, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/02/02/will-to-survive-determining-the-definitive-suicide-squad-members)
5. [Tim Beedle (2014). New Suicide Squad: The Lineup, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2014/07/09/new-suicide-squad-the-lineup)
6. [Peacemaker season 2: The comic history of Rick Flag, Sr., GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-tv-shows/peacemaker-season-2-the-comic-history-of-rick-flag-sr-the-secret-agent-whos-out-for-peacemakers-blood/)
7. [The Suicide Squad (World War II incarnation), Grand Comics Database](https://my.comics.org/group/2096/)
8. [A New Suicide Squad Series This December from Taylor and Redondo, DC.com (2019)](https://www.dc.com/blog/2019/09/09/a-new-suicide-squad-series-this-december-from-taylor-and-redondo)
9. [Suicide Squad: Dream Team announcement, DC.com (2023)](https://www.dc.com/blog/2023/12/11/suicide-squad-dream-team-amanda-waller-recruits-a-new-task-force-x-to-control-the-dc-universe)
10. [The Suicide Squad (2021) – Official DC movie page](https://www.dc.com/movies/the-suicide-squad-2021)
11. [David Betancourt (2021). The 7 biggest differences between 'The Suicide Squad' and 'Suicide Squad', The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/08/06/suicide-squad-movie-differences/)
12. [Tim Beedle (2014). Batman: Assault on Arkham: Meet Task Force X, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2014/08/05/batman-assault-on-arkham-meet-task-force-x)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Comics and sequential art › Comics characters and fictional worlds › DC teams and groups*
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