Rick Flag, born Richard Stafford, is the leader of the Suicide Squad and a supporting antagonist in the CW TV series Smallville.
He was portrayed by Ted Whittall.
History[]
Lazarus[]
After the fall of Checkmate, Rick Flag led the Suicide Squad in the abduction of Oliver Queen at the satellite station. Before he was abducted, Oliver told Chloe Sullivan that his attackers were not Kandorian. Watching the footage, Chloe saw Rick Flag appear on the monitor who said he was coming after the rest of their team before cutting the feed.
Oliver was kept in a secure location at the Metropolis docks where he was tied, tortured and beaten for information by Flag about the terrorist attacks on monuments around the world by the Kandorian army and The Blur's connection to the cryptic alien symbols. Flag later released Oliver but warned him that he wasn't through with him yet, in exchange for another prisoner, Chloe.
Shield[]
Somehow, Flag and the Squad learned the identities of Clark Kent, Oliver Queen and Carter Hall. He had Plastique and Deadshot track the heroes; Bette followed Hall to Egypt while Deadshot kept an eye on Clark in Metropolis. He attempted to assassinate Clark and Cat Grant by firing a homing bullet that streaked past every obstacle, and lodged itself perfectly into the car's combustion, causing it to explode into the air.
Luckily, Clark super-speeds Cat out of the car, before the car blew up and flames engulf them. At his warehouse hideout, Lawton talked to Rick Flag on the phone about not letting targeted people walk away. Flag said it was just a test and that Deadshot made sure they were after the right target.
Oliver went back to the warehouse in his Green Arrow suit where he was kept hostage searching for Chloe. Rick Flag came out, and they had deluded conversation. After getting into a fight with Oliver, in which he grazed him with a bullet and arrow, Flag tagged him with the mark of the Suicide Squad. He told Oliver that Chloe had killed herself by ingesting cyanide pills. He professes that she's dead. Later in a darkened bunker, Flag and Plastique came to a cell holding Deadshot, and got him out. They walked away, revealing their team name was the Suicide Squad.
Ambush[]
Rick Flag later targeted General Sam Lane for his support and contribution to the Vigilante Registration Law. He aimed to eliminate those who would force heroes and super-powered people to come out of hiding. On Thanksgiving, Flag disguised himself as a soldier from a local base and approached Lucy Lane who is getting ice. He warned Lucy that her father was in danger from pro-vigilante sympathizers, and Clark is one of them.
Flag asks Lucy to give Sam an envelope, and claim that she found it herself in Clark’s loft. Lucy agrees, and Flag asks her to plant a tracker pen on her father. After Clark and the General got into a heated argument, Sam left the Kent Farm with his daughters. Flag's agent confirms that Lane had left Clark's house and was not protected. Just as Flag's man prepares to launch the missile, Clark arrives at Watchtower to find that Tess has managed to decode the encrypted message.
Clark thought he was the target, but Tess states that Rick identifies with super-powered individuals, and he would try to recruit Clark before killing him. She tells him that he'd attack anyone who would threaten them, and Clark realizes that Flag is targeting Sam. Reciting part of the National Anthem, Flag launches the rocket, which heads straight for the Talon.
After The Blur rescued Lois from the explosion, Flag realizes that Sam survived. Oliver and Clark flip over the agents' van and inform Flag that he's lost. Flag insists that he's a patriot, and the Registration Act was a weapon that the politicians will use to gather superheroes and force them to work for the government. When Clark says that he's stirring up antihero hysteria, Flag insists that they have to show people that vigilantes are their leaders and that violence is the only way.
Flag's operative, a teleporter, got himself and Flag away. Flag later reads a newspaper article on the successful passage of the Vigilante Registration Act. He takes it as a declaration of war and was forced to make his move by having his Squad members take down Anti-Vigilante support areas.
Collateral[]
Rick Flag and another Suicide Squad member, Deadshot, joined forces with Chloe Sullivan to save the Justice League from the VRA's abduction and experimenting of their special abilities. They were trapped in a virtual reality prison.
