Ghost Initiative

For) the eponymous episode in which the group appears, see Suicide Squad.

Task Force X
Information
Base of operations	United States
Aim(s)	Off-the-books missions
Leader(s)	Amanda Waller

Task Force X, nicknamed the Suicide Squad, is a team of mostly incarcerated criminals who undertake high-risk missions for A.R.G.U.S. in exchange for reduced jail sentences.

History

Overview

To ensure their cooperation, each member of the team is implanted with a microbomb in the event they need to be killed for insubordination or other various reasons. However, if members prove themselves to be loyal, they will be given degrees of freedom. One example is Carrie Cutter, who roamed A.R.G.U.S. freely. A.R.G.U.S. is also fairly good at reforming criminals and even stabilizing mentally ill individuals, having turned Floyd Lawton and Ben Turner from selfish criminals into loyal comrades and made Carrie Cutter much more stable, even though she retained her obsession with The Arrow or whatever man would save her life, her impulse control was much better.

Early history

The team was put together by Amanda Waller, consisting of criminals who've been incarcerated.

In an early mission, Lyla Michaels and Digger Harkness were tasked with a mission, but it went wrong. Waller ordered Lyla to terminate the team, but Harkness's bomb malfunctioned and A.R.G.U.S. came to believe he was dead as he wasn't seen again. However, Harkness escaped and became a mercenary.

Some time after their defeats by The Arrow, Floyd Lawton, Ben Turner, and Mark Scheffer were drafted by Waller to join the team. Harley Quinn, Raven, and Torque were also recruited at some time.

The nerve agent and the bombing

Waller notified John Diggle and Lyla Michaels of a nerve agent being held by Gholem Qadir. She introduced them to the team made up of Shrapnel, Deadshot, and Tiger, and they proceeded to execute a plan to appropriate the nerve chemical from Qadir. During a mission meant as an attempt to gain Qadir's trust, Shrapnel was killed while attempting to escape. A while after, John and Lyla attended a party held by Qadir. They were able to find the nerve agent, but it was much bigger than they had expected. They evacuated the area above where the nerve agent was being held and Turner killed Qadir. In an attempt to destroy the nerve agent, Waller sent a drone directed towards the mansion. However, it was discovered that the drone was instead coded to the GPS in Deadshot's explosive chip. While the squad was escaping, Lyla was able to cut out the chip, saving them from imminent explosion. After the prisoners were returned later, Waller suggested that they would put the chips in their spines from then on, to ensure they could not be removed again.

Weeks following, Amanda Waller ordered a drone strike on Starling City, prompting John and Lyla to let the squad (except for Quinn and Turner) out of their cells in order to threaten Waller.

Work in Kahndaq

Deadshot, Bronze Tiger and Ravan Nassar

Following the extremist sect Onslaught coming to power, the squad was sent to the Republic of Kasnia to fight them, Deadshot and Bronze Tiger killing a number of them. Later, Lyla Michaels recruited Ravan Nassar to join the team. Deadshot and Bronze Tiger were training inside the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters as preparation for the team. Ravan Nassar was cleaned up and as they began to leave to Kahndaq, John Diggle joined them. The Squad soon arrived in Kahndaq and invaded an Onslaught camp, kiling several members and leaving one alive to bring them to Khem-Adam. With information gained partly through the torture of their prisoner, the squad pursued Khem-Adam to his stronghold in the mountains of the Akh-Ton Desert, where they liberated a group of captured schoolgirls and defeated the Onslaught forces, breaking the back of the rebellion. Bronze Tiger was killed in the battle.

King Shark

Oliver sent Carrie Cutter to Waller to become a member where she could put her skills to use rather than be in Iron Heights Prison, having taken pity on her.

Harkness was defeated by the combined forces of The Arrow and The Flash after attempting to kill Lyla, and was recaptured by A.R.G.U.S..

The Squad later watched The Flash take on the meta-human known as King Shark. Harkness wasn't impressed, saying he wouldn't let the shark beat him, but Cutter thought Allen was cute. Waller told the team that she was sending them in. They intercepted King Shark outside of his former home. Harkness threw a boomerang at the shark, while Deadshot knocked him down with a bullet and Cupid trapped him under a net from one of her trick arrows. Joe West approached, asking who they were. Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Cupid all tried to kill him, but he was saved by The Flash. However, the Squad managed to escape and take Lamden with them. Waller tortured Lamden back at A.R.G.U.S.' headquarters, before forcing him to join the Squad in a mission overseas.

Work in the Republic of Kasnia

After John and Lyla Diggle were married again, Deadshot met them at their wedding and told them that they had another mission. Back at A.R.G.U.S. headquarters, Waller briefed them on the meeting - save senator Joseph Cray, who has been taken hostage in the Republic of Kasnia. The group landed in Kasnia and staked out the hospital the insurgents were operating from. Deadshot saved Cupid from being shot by the senator, who had orchestrated the whole operation, and she fell in love with him. The Squad then noticed that the hospital had been rigged with explosives and made a plan. That evening, the Squad took down most of the terrorists, and got the hostages and themselves out, with Deadshot providing cover fire from the hospital's roof. However, Lawton sacrificed himself and stayed behind to allow John and Lyla to get back to their daughter, dying in the hospital's explosion.

Known members

Current members

• Carrie Cutter/Cupid
• Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang
• Shay Lamden/King Shark
• Harley Quinn
• Raven
• Torque
• Amanda Waller/Mockingbird (leader)

Former members

• John Diggle/Freelancer
• Lyla Diggle/Harbinger
• Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (deceased)
• Ravan Nassar (incarcerated)
• Mark Scheffer/Shrapnel (deceased)
• Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger (deceased)

Gallery

Promotional images

Suicide Squad.png

Appearances

Arrow

Season 2

• "Suicide Squad"
• "Unthinkable"

Season 3

• "Suicidal Tendencies"

Comics

Arrow: Season 2.5

• "Ascension" Suicide Squad: Crisis in Kahndaq
• "Outnumbered" Suicide Squad: Crisis in Kahndaq (mentioned)
• "Haunted" Suicide Squad: Crisis in Kahndaq
• "Awakenings" Suicide Squad: Crisis in Kahndaq
• "Gone" Suicide Squad: Crisis in Kahndaq
• "Blood part 11"
• "Blood part 12"

The Flash: Season Zero

• "Fish Fry"
• "Blood Loss"
• "A Little Help From Some Friends"
• "The Impossible Mission"