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“
A.R.G.U.S. has been monitoring Peacemaker ever since Rick Flag, Sr. was named director.
„
~ John Economos
The Advanced Research Group of the United States, commonly abbreviated as A.R.G.U.S., are major antagonists in Chapter One of the DC Universe.
It is a United States government organization. An agency of the United States Department of Defense, it surveils and polices metahuman, occult, and paranormal activity and detains superhuman criminals in prisons such as Belle Reve Correctional Center, assembling covert groups of metahuman or talented individuals such as Task Force X and Task Force M.
Technically, Congress said A.R.G.U.S. can't use incarcerated human beings as mission operatives any longer.
„
~ Amanda Waller to Rick Flag, Sr.
Under the codename Project Starfish, A.R.G.U.S. Director Amanda Waller sent Task Force X led by Rick Flag, Jr. to conduct an operation on the island nation of Corto Maltese. During the course of the mission, Weasel, one of the operatives, was presumed dead after drowning, only to be found and recaptured later, and Flag Jr. confronted his fellow operative Peacemaker, who managed to kill him. In order to help Task Force X save Corto Maltese, assistant Flo Crawley had to turn on Waller, preventing her from stopping the team, but in retaliation, Waller had her A.R.G.U.S. agents arrest Crawley for her rebellion. Waller's assistants Emilia Harcourt and John Economos also turned against her to assist the squad.
Butterfly Invasion[]
“
I thought Congress put a stop to all Task Force X activities since your daughter outed you.
„
~ Rick Flag, Sr. to Amanda Waller
After the fiasco that the Corto Maltese mission turned out to be for Amanda Waller, Peacemaker survived and was sent to a hospital to recover under the director's orders, as she still had other plans for him. Waller planned to create a task force led by the mercenary "Clemson Murn" to covertly run Project Butterfly. A.R.G.U.S. investigated Senator Royland Goff as a suspected Butterfly and handed the file over to Murn. A.R.G.U.S. created Peacemaker's diary containing false evidence intended to incriminate him for any crimes his undercover team committed during the mission, and Waller instructed her daughter Leota Adebayo to hide it in Smith's house so the police could find it later. When Peacemaker killed Annie Sturphausen, the Evergreen Police Department began an investigation.
Seeing the operation in danger, A.R.G.U.S hired mercenary Caspar Locke, manipulating local authorities to appoint him as Captain and divert the investigation. However, the Butterflies took over the entire police force, including Locke, and used the forged diary against Peacemaker, making him a wanted person. The task force team managed to reach Coverdale Ranch, and working together, they defeated the Butterflies. However, Leota Adebayo, who held a deep resentment toward her mother, made public her clandestine operations with Task Force X, discrediting Waller's reputation and causing the United States Congress to halt all activities involving humans. However, taking advantage of the legal loophole, Waller created Task Force M, composed of non-human prisoners.
Invasion of Pokolistan[]
Assembling the Task Force M[]
“
This is your new task force, Flag. Lets call it Task Force M. M for monster. Also known as... Creature Commandos.
„
~ Amanda Waller to Rick Flag, Sr.
In 2023, A.R.G.U.S. Director Amanda Waller and Rick Flag, Sr. learned of the incidents in Pokolistan caused by Circe and the Sons of Themyscira, who were threatening to overthrow the Pokolistan royal family. Waller called for urgent action in the nation, as it was a major supplier of oil to the United States. Waller led Flag to the non-human division of Belle Reve to introduce him to the special force he was to command, confusing Flag, who believed that Congress had halted Task Force X's activities, before she explained how she managed to bypass Congressional regulations by working with monsters.
Once inside, Waller introduced Flag to all the members: The Bride, Doctor Phosphorus, Weasel, G.I. Robot, and Nina Mazursky. Waller opened the entrance and Phosphorus, the Bride, and Weasel rushed to attack her; however, she used the Nano-Bomb Remote Detonator to shock them and knock them to the ground. After handing the detonator to Flag, Waller informed him that they were his task force, which she called Task Force M, also known as the Creature Commandos. As they left the hallway, Waller informed him that an Osprey was already waiting to take them directly to the castle and protect Rostovic.
Meanwhile, to prevent Weasel's lawyer, Elizabeth Bates, from learning that her client had been sent on the mission, John Economos lied to her, telling her he was sick.
Circe's Interrogation[]
“
John, contact the Pokolistani Embassy. Tell them we have information of another credible threat against the Princess.
„
~ Amanda Waller to John Economos
Following the Battle at Poko Castle, Task Force M defeated Circe and was sent back to Belle Reve, where Waller ordered Circe locked in the interrogation room, accompanied by John Economos and Rick Flag, Sr.. After she was forced into a chair, Circe claimed she was trying to prevent a catastrophe, while Waller only saw charges for murder and assault in her files. Circe confessed to her that she was a clairvoyant, which was supported by Economos, who read Circe's files and said that, even though she was bound, she could penetrate her mind, but Flag warned Waller not to do so.
However, Waller entered the chamber with Circe, where she used her powers to show her a grim future where Rostovic and her guards conquered Earth, transforming it into an apocalyptic wasteland and massacring numerous superheroes, leaving Waller horrified. After returning to Flag and Economos, Waller claimed the vision was legitimate and called Dr. Aisla MacPherson, who analyzed Circe and determined she was legitimately clairvoyant, prompting Waller to order Flag to assemble Task Force M to kill Rostovic, but he steadfastly refused to believe the vision.
Waller then asked John Economos to contact the Pokolistan embassy to make them believe there was another threat, while Flag claimed to know Rostovic. However, Waller was willing to save the world at any cost, so Flag backed out of the mission and left the room, and Waller then installed the Bride as the new leader. Economos visited the food court to inform Task Force M that they had a new mission: to return to Pokolistan to kill Rostovic and inform the Bride of her leadership, and then followed Waller's orders by contacting the Embassy, receiving permission for the team to return to Pokolistan.
Prevention of the Pokolistani Conquest[]
Flag's Warning[]
“
We made a mistake.
„
~ Amanda Waller to the Bride of Frankenstein
Amanda Waller and John Economos were informed that Rick Flag, Sr., had been found critically injured, so they rushed to the hospital, and Waller explained to the nurses that Flag worked for her at A.R.G.U.S. and inquired about his condition. The doctor reported that a monster had left him at the front desk and Economos immediately recognized him as Eric Frankenstein when the nurse described him, but they were instructed to wait outside the room. They both deduced that Flag motivated him to stop Task Force M, so Waller ordered Economos to deploy A.R.G.U.S. agents to all local airports.
Waller sat in front of Flag's gurney waiting for him to recover, until he briefly awoke from his coma, gasping to warn her that she was wrong about Rostovic and uttering Aisla MacPherson's name, before fainting again. A bewildered Waller called Economos to go with her to MacPherson's address, where Economos expressed concern that Circe's vision made them start a war for no reason. Upon breaking into the house, they found MacPherson's corpse, and Waller assumed Circe had lied to them, quickly calling the Pokolistan Embassy to apologize and asked to speak with Bride and the team, who were about to kill her. Waller warned her she had made a mistake, but Bride destroyed the communicator.
New Task Force M[]
“
I know Waller has a reputation as hard ass, but I think she knows how to express gratitude when it's deserved. And you really saved the day, so we converted one of the abandoned wings for you and your team.
„
~ John Economos to the Bride of Frankenstein
Due to Bride's performance in preventing the disaster, Amanda Waller ordered John Economos to put her in charge of leading a new lineup of Creature Commandos, restructuring the non-human division to the team's gratitude. After selecting the team members, Economos accompanied Bride into the elevator and informed her that Waller thanked her for her service, introducing her to the new team she would be leading, which delighted her.
Targeting Peacemaker[]
New Director[]
Infiltration into Chris Smith's House[]
Attack on Chris Smith's House[]
Capture of Peacemaker[]
Earth-X[]
In an alternate universe, titled Earth-X. The Nazis won the second World War and took over the entire world, A.R.G.U.S. is also a United States government organization tasked with managing major threats threatening Earth. The only major difference is that since they come from a Nazi world, they are also Nazis. Emilia Harcourt, Rick Flag Jr. and Billy are the only named A.R.G.U.S.' members on this universe, their logo is also the same from the mainline universe.
Belle Reve Correctional Center: A maximum security federal prison located in Louisiana for incarcerated criminals, where A.R.G.U.S. Director Amanda Waller made up the majority of the members of Task Force X. The facility features a non-human division for incarcerating metahumans, which Waller used to form Task Force M after Congress imposed restrictions against human activities.
In the comics, A.R.G.U.S. is the Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans, a U.S. Government agency led by Steve Trevor. They act as government support and liaison to the world's foremost heroes in the Justice League.
