Frank Grillo is officially locked in to play Rick Flag Sr. in Peacemaker Season 2 – so, who exactly is Rick Flag Sr.? And what do we know about him from DC’s comics canon?
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Peacemaker Season 2’s Rick Flag Sr., Explained
Rick Flag Sr. is (as his name suggests) the father of Rick Flag Jr. Rick Jr. was the leader of Task Force X (AKA the Suicide Squad) in Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad, and died fighting Christopher Smith/Peacemaker in the latter. As such, Rick Flag Sr. is presumably out for revenge in Peacemaker Season 2. Showrunner James Gunn said as much when announcing Grillo’s casting via a May 2024 Threads post. “Christopher Smith and Rick Sr. have a little unfinished business to take care of,” Gunn wrote. And given Rick Sr. is (like his late son) a highly trained soldier, Peacemaker could be in trouble!
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Grillo’s turn as Rick Flag Sr. in Peacemaker Season 2 will actually mark his second outing as the grizzled veteran. He’ll first portray Rick Sr. in the upcoming Max animated series Creature Commandos, which Gunn is also showrunner on. Grillo teased his Creature Commandos performance in a recent Screen Rant interview, outlining how his Rick Flag differs from the character fans have already met. “Sr. is just that, he’s senior,” Grillo explained. “So there’s a gravitas to him, I think, that Jr. didn’t have yet. He’s in control, he’s the boss.”
What We Know About Rick Flag Sr. From the Comics
Rick Flag Sr. is more or less the same in DC Comics continuity as he is in the big screen DCU’s mythos. In the comics as in the likes of Peacemaker Season 2 and Creature Commandos, he’s a decorated soldier. Rick Sr. is also Rick Jr.’s dad in the comics, the same as in the movies and TV shows. That said, more recent comic book stories often depict Rick Sr. as Rick Jr.’s granddad instead, as the comics’ Rick Sr. canonically served in WWII.
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The comic books’ Rick Flag Sr. and the version Grillo plays have different ties to the Suicide Squad, too. While the DCU’s Rick Sr. is seemingly linked to Task Force X solely through Rick Jr.’s stint with the covert outfit, his comics counterpart headed up the original team! And speaking of teams, Rick Sr. was never part of the Creature Commandos in the comics. Presumably, Gunn added Rick Sr. to the Commandos’ roster as a nod to his comics history with the equally unorthodox Task Force X.
Peacemaker Season 2 will premiere on Max. It does not yet have a release date.
