The Suicide Squad: Ranking Every Task Force X Member From Worst To Best

Joel Kinnaman himself has stated that he essentially reinvented the Rick Flag character for the Suicide Squad, and having seen the film, it's difficult to disagree.

This worked because James Gunn's take on the Suicide Squad wasn't a direct sequel to the 2016 David Ayer release. Flag didn't need to be precisely the same as he was in 2016, but, of course, some similarities did exist.

In particular, Flag's scenes with Peacemaker made for riveting viewing. His unexpected death at the hands of the John Cena-helmed character was shocking. Of all the characters, surely Rick Flag wouldn't be written out? This reinforced the statement from the film's opening that literally nobody was safe from death. The scene of Peacemaker slashing into the chest of Flag was, understandably, as graphic a scene as you'd expect.

As undeniably improved as Rick Flag was, there wasn't quite enough depth to him. A magnificent character, sure, but nowhere near as well-rounded as he needed to be. He would have benefitted from a major subplot in the same vein as Harley Quinn's engagement to the Corto Maltese dictator.

Regardless, there's a stark difference between the Rick Flag in 2016 and the one in 2021.