Would a Task Force X series work?

[Aizen]

Hey guys, I am new at this forums.
Well, the title pretty much explains it, and it might be good with Cadmus' point of view,etc.
Any thoughts?

[Silverstar]

Welcome to the forums! :)

Sorry, but I say no. The Cadmus story arc is over, and the organization of Cadmus is no more. The Justice League has already uncovered the secret of Cadmus and taken it down. Really, what else could they do with it?

So no, I don't think a Task Force X series would work. What would it be about? They couldn't have them trying to break into the Watchtower every week.

[Aizen]

Thanks for your kind greeting, and i suppose it would be a long shot, It would be really hard to do it from a villain's point of view.

[Silverstar]

...Especially since the Cadmus story arc is over and done with. Just sayin'.

[Aizen]

Yes I see what you mean but, after that Task Force X episode (i forgot the name) was over, they never showed them again. I am not really talking about Cadmus (who cares about Waller, lol), but like Rick Flag, Deadshot, Boomerang, etc.

[Blackstar]

Nah, "Task Force X" worked as a one-shot, but it wouldn't work as an endless series. I can think of least 5 other DC characters whom I'd like to see get their own shows before those guys. No superpowers=boring, at least to me (the exception being Batman).

[Aizen]

Well i suppose so, i just wanted to hear your views on it.

[Toddman]

I think it's kinda funny that Task Force X is being called a "one-shot" when the original comic book version had a 66 issue run. Yeah, Project Cadmus is pretty much over and done with, but I think there could be many, many more stories to tell about Task Force X (aka The Suicide Squad).

After all the original Suicide Squad comic that started in the mid-80's had a very popular run that lasted several years. Just look at the premise: a black ops government strike force comprised of convicted super-villains. What's not to love? Stories were told primarily from the villains' point of view, with other characters like Flagg and Waller trying to reign them in. Speaking of Waller, no Suicide Squad/Task Force X series would be complete without her in my opinion. She's a terrific character and was brought to life brilliantly on JLU.

My own fanboy dream-version of an animated series would air on Adult Swim so it could actually be called "Suicide Squad", and the members of the Squad would be portrayed as ruthless, backstabbing and ultimately expendable. I think it would make for a truly unpredictable and entertaining show.

And who says the members of the team can't possess any superpowers? The always changing comic book roster of the Squad included at one time or another Blockbuster, Count Vertigo, Lashina, Killer Frost and a number of other superpowered characters.


Toddman

[Aizen]

Yeah I was thinking about the Task Force X in Adult Swim too, about how they might go on missions and stuff lol (the more i think now the more it impossible it sounds).

Oh yeah i just remembered Plastique was either killed or captured, it would only be Rick Flagg, Boomerang, and Deadshot. 3 People isn't gonna be good.:sad:

[redtornado88]

Yeah I was thinking about the Task Force X in Adult Swim too, about how they might go on missions and stuff lol (the more i think now the more it impossible it sounds).

Oh yeah i just remembered Plastique was either killed or captured, it would only be Rick Flagg, Boomerang, and Deadshot. 3 People isn't gonna be good.:sad:

it would be 4 you left out the clock king he was part of task force x as well

[Aizen]

Oh yeah i forgot about him, but apart from deadshot and Rick flagg none of them are interesting much. It might be good if they had better characters like they did in the comics.

[Toddman]

Oh yeah i forgot about him, but apart from deadshot and Rick flagg none of them are interesting much. It might be good if they had better characters like they did in the comics.


That's one of the beautiful aspects of the entire concept. As members are killed off or captured or serve the length of their "term", new characters can take their place. New members could even be recruited for specific missions. A show with that kind of format could be similar to JLU's rotating cast.


Toddman

[Aizen]

[quote=Toddman;2620278]That's one of the beautiful aspects of the entire concept. As members are killed off or captured or serve the length of their "term", new characters can take their place. New members could even be recruited for specific missions. A show with that kind of format could be similar to JLU's rotating cast.
Yes I suppose. So which villains would you recommend in place of plastique?

[Aizen]

That's one of the beautiful aspects of the entire concept. As members are killed off or captured or serve the length of their "term", new characters can take their place. New members could even be recruited for specific missions. A show with that kind of format could be similar to JLU's rotating cast.


Toddman
Yes i suppose, so who do you think will replace plastique?

[Harley_Quinn]

That's one of the beautiful aspects of the entire concept. As members are killed off or captured or serve the length of their "term", new characters can take their place. New members could even be recruited for specific missions. A show with that kind of format could be similar to JLU's rotating cast.


Toddman
That's an intresting point, I think it would have been an intresting take, kind of like an anti Justice League but not quite the legion of doom.

I think it would have been best if they had done it as a 3 episode arch spreadout thru out that season. First episode shows how they were formed, 2nd shows a few missions and third being the assault on the Watchtower

[Aizen]

I don't see the Task Force X as a threat anymore because the only way they stole that Annihilator was because they met some weak superheroes along the way. When they met J'onn ( who is strong) they did not stand a chance and barely escaped, and they also suffered casualties like losing plastique, and that was only one superhero, if there were more...well you get the idea.

[BCVM22]

I don't see the Task Force X as a threat anymore because the only way they stole that Annihilator was because they met some weak superheroes along the way. When they met J'onn ( who is strong) they did not stand a chance and barely escaped, and they also suffered casualties like losing plastique, and that was only one superhero, if there were more...well you get the idea.

The point of the Suicide Squad was never to go head-to-head with the heavy hitters of the DCU; it was to cobble together a covert team of super-powered/raised-ability operatives under the discrete control of the government and without the morals that more hero-oriented individuals might bring with them. The episode portrayed this capably enough, displaying that when met with brute heroic opposing force, their M.O. is to escape by threatening innocents or expending one of their own.

[Young Justice]

That's one of the beautiful aspects of the entire concept. As members are killed off or captured or serve the length of their "term", new characters can take their place. New members could even be recruited for specific missions. A show with that kind of format could be similar to JLU's rotating cast.

Penguin was part of a Suicide Squad operation once in the comics. If I am not mistake, it was the one they enter the former Soviet Union to rescue Flagg.

[Aizen]

The point of the Suicide Squad was never to go head-to-head with the heavy hitters of the DCU; it was to cobble together a covert team of super-powered/raised-ability operatives under the discrete control of the government and without the morals that more hero-oriented individuals might bring with them. The episode portrayed this capably enough, displaying that when met with brute heroic opposing force, their M.O. is to escape by threatening innocents or expending one of their own.
If that is the case, the Task Force X would not be that interesting if they never even have a fight with the heavy hitters of Justice League

[BCVM22]

If that is the case, the Task Force X would not be that interesting if they never even have a fight with the heavy hitters of Justice League

But again, you're missing the point. The Suicide Squad was never meant to duke it out with the JLA, the JSA, the Titans, whomever. Those teams, and most of the DCU's heroes, operate in the bright, open world of the public eye. Batman aside, they stay within the law, they respect international boundaries, etc. The Suicide Squad does none of these things: they go where the black ops division of the government tells them to go, they do what the government tells them to do, they steal or kill what the government tells them to, rules, laws, boundaries and treaties be damned. I'm not even sure they've ever come into significant conflict with the League in the comics; they were used in JLU as a result of the creative team's desire to utilize more DC Comics lore than just the subsection of it associated with the Justice League. Whether the Squad would make for a good show or not has absolutely nothing to do with conflict with the League or lack thereof.

[Aizen]

But again, you're missing the point. The Suicide Squad was never meant to duke it out with the JLA, the JSA, the Titans, whomever. Those teams, and most of the DCU's heroes, operate in the bright, open world of the public eye. Batman aside, they stay within the law, they respect international boundaries, etc. The Suicide Squad does none of these things: they go where the black ops division of the government tells them to go, they do what the government tells them to do, they steal or kill what the government tells them to, rules, laws, boundaries and treaties be damned. I'm not even sure they've ever come into significant conflict with the League in the comics; they were used in JLU as a result of the creative team's desire to utilize more DC Comics lore than just the subsection of it associated with the Justice League. Whether the Squad would make for a good show or not has absolutely nothing to do with conflict with the League or lack thereof.
Oh...well I cannot imagine "Task Force X the animated series" to be on Cartoon Network. Maybe Toonami or Adult Swim, because it sounds mature.

[Young Justice]

If that is the case, the Task Force X would not be that interesting if they never even have a fight with the heavy hitters of Justice League

But there were an episode where Suicide Squad faced the Justice League International. At that time, the league roster was: Batman, Jonn Jonnz, Blue Beetle, Black Canary, Mister Miracle, Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Captain Atom (US representative), Rocked Red (Soviet Union representative).

The Suicide was trying to rescue Flagg from a Soviet Union prison and the Soviet government asked for the JLI help against the criminals super group. At the time, the Justice League was sort of a ONU super police, that sometimes have to follow the superpowers agenda.

[Aizen]

But there were an episode where Suicide Squad faced the Justice League International. At that time, the league roster was: Batman, Jonn Jonnz, Blue Beetle, Black Canary, Mister Miracle, Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Captain Atom (US representative), Rocked Red (Soviet Union representative).

The Suicide was trying to rescue Flagg from a Soviet Union prison and the Soviet government asked for the JLI help against the criminals super group. At the time, the Justice League was sort of a ONU super police, that sometimes have to follow the superpowers agenda.
An episode? I think you mean an issue:). So, was the Suicide Squad successful?

[redtornado88]

i don't think i can ever see this having its own show but i could see it popping in a couple episodes of like the batman since now they are doing a justice league kind of a feel and more characters could be introduced but no more than an episode or 2 in another series and prob not have its own series

[Aizen]

i don't think i can ever see this having its own show but i could see it popping in a couple episodes of like the batman since now they are doing a justice league kind of a feel and more characters could be introduced but no more than an episode or 2 in another series and prob not have its own series
Oh yeah it could come in The Batman, but I still have to see how the season would be like since is Batman a part timer or full timer in Jo'nn's League.

[Graymonk]

Yes i suppose, so who do you think will replace plastique?

Could be any of the long running members of the team, like Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, bronze Tiger, Nightshade, Lashina or Vixen. Or maybe one of the dozens of villains who were killed on squad missions. IIRC the team usually lost one or two members per story arc.

I'm not sure the Squad would work as a series outside of Adult Swim though. It might be better off as a DTV.

[Aizen]

Could be any of the long running members of the team, like Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, bronze Tiger, Nightshade, Lashina or Vixen. Or maybe one of the dozens of villains who were killed on squad missions. IIRC the team usually lost one or two members per story arc.

I'm not sure the Squad would work as a series outside of Adult Swim though. It might be better off as a DTV.
Count Vertigo-Boring...
Poison Ivy-Dead
Bronze Tiger-not in animation
Nightshade-not in animation
Lashina- In apocalypse
Vixen-:confused:

[Young Justice]

An episode? I think you mean an issue:). So, was the Suicide Squad successful?

The issue is that:
http://www.dcuguide.com/SS/SS_013.php

I think they get away with saving Flagg from the soviets. Batman quits the league in this issue.

[Aizen]

The issue is that:
http://www.dcuguide.com/SS/SS_013.php

I think they get away with saving Flagg from the soviets. Batman quits the league in this issue.
Why does Batman quit the league?

[Young Justice]

Why does Batman quit the league?

He gets to fight Flagg in the end of the story. They engage in a fierce fight were both get very injured but the fight ends in an uncomfortable tie.

During the fight, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and other members of Suicide Squad start enjoying seeing the two hard a.. guys punching each other.

Batman gets annoyed with his teammates and decides that was enough for him. He didn't want to belong in a League were the members were guys not serious committed to fight injustice like Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Guy Gardner and such.

[Toddman]

But again, you're missing the point. The Suicide Squad was never meant to duke it out with the JLA, the JSA, the Titans, whomever. Those teams, and most of the DCU's heroes, operate in the bright, open world of the public eye. Batman aside, they stay within the law, they respect international boundaries, etc. The Suicide Squad does none of these things: they go where the black ops division of the government tells them to go, they do what the government tells them to do, they steal or kill what the government tells them to, rules, laws, boundaries and treaties be damned. I'm not even sure they've ever come into significant conflict with the League in the comics; they were used in JLU as a result of the creative team's desire to utilize more DC Comics lore than just the subsection of it associated with the Justice League. Whether the Squad would make for a good show or not has absolutely nothing to do with conflict with the League or lack thereof.

That is exactly the point.

Even in the DCAU, it's logical to assume that Task Force X was around for at least five years (it was revealed that Boomerang completed his 5 year stint in "Flash and Substance"), and in all that time, they seemed to go up against the Justice League only once. That would mean that had plenty of other black ops missions to execute in the meantime...



Toddman

[Ed Liu]

But again, you're missing the point. The Suicide Squad was never meant to duke it out with the JLA, the JSA, the Titans, whomever. Those teams, and most of the DCU's heroes, operate in the bright, open world of the public eye. Batman aside, they stay within the law, they respect international boundaries, etc. The Suicide Squad does none of these things: they go where the black ops division of the government tells them to go, they do what the government tells them to do, they steal or kill what the government tells them to, rules, laws, boundaries and treaties be damned.

In addition to the above, the use of supervillains gave the government plausible deniability if the black op came to light. "We had nothing to do with those supervillains who happened to do something that was in our national interest. They're the BAD GUYS. They must have broken out of prison and done something crazy because, well, you know those supervillains. They KA-RAAAAYY-ZEEE!!!"

It's true that most of the cast were relative unknowns. I think Amanda Waller was a brand-new character created for the series. The reason why the book was good was that it took those unknowns and made them into characters that were cool and ones where we'd be genuinely upset when they met nasty ends on operations. The presence or absence of the DCU heavy-hitters had nothing to do with why the book rocked.

That being said, there were more crossovers with other costumed heroes than you'd think in the comic series (I remember appearances by the Flash, a Superman/Aquaman/Batman triad, the Atom, and Katana of the Outsiders). Batman seems to be the one who crossed over the most, though. This made sense, since he's the one who prowls around in the shadows. The fact that the comic was also coming out during the Bat-mania that surrounded the Batman movie didn't hurt. However, the heavy-hitters of the DCU were not necessary for the comic to be a serious thrillride of a book for just about its entire run (the exceptions would probably be the corporate-mandated crossover issues).

Don't just take our word for it, either. There is a Showcase edition coming out in November (http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=8207) of the first 18 issues of the 1980's Suicide Squad comics plus 3 or 4 crossover/bonus issues. It's in black-and-white, but it's totally worth the $18 to buy it.

All of which is a very long answer that can be summed up as, "Hell yes I'd watch a Task Force X animated series any way I could get one." ;).

-- Ed

[Anarky]

I'd watch a series if it featured Slade as the "quarterback" of the force.
and it'd have to be Ron Perlman as VA.

though I'd much rather see Birds of Prey.

despite being part of the same parent company, I wouldn't expect [as] to produce ANY DC/Vertigo series in the near future.

[Aizen]

I wonder what kind of missions they would have.

[maczero]

They're the BAD GUYS. They must have broken out of prison and done something crazy because, well, you know those supervillains. They KA-RAAAAYY-ZEEE!!!"I am so tempted to sig this.:D

[Wade Kruse]

Count Vertigo-Boring...
Poison Ivy-Dead
Bronze Tiger-not in animation
Nightshade-not in animation
Lashina- In apocalypse
Vixen-:confused:

Ivy's not dead. She showed up in Static Shock, which takes place around the same time as JL, after she "drowned" in BTAS.

Her drowning was just your typical "Batman villain faces certain death and vanishes! Did he/she survive?" thing.

As for Nightshade and Tiger, it's not like they couldn't just introduce them in the series itself. Like Plastique's first appearance was in "Task Force X".

If they were to actually make a series, I think Ivy would be a very good choice to add, both because she would make a strong female lead(besides Waller) and because it would give a little name value to the roster that might attract some extra casual DCAU fans.

[Aizen]

Ivy's not dead. She showed up in Static Shock, which takes place around the same time as JL, after she "drowned" in BTAS.

Her drowning was just your typical "Batman villain faces certain death and vanishes! Did he/she survive?" thing.

As for Nightshade and Tiger, it's not like they couldn't just introduce them in the series itself. Like Plastique's first appearance was in "Task Force X".

If they were to actually make a series, I think Ivy would be a very good choice to add, both because she would make a strong female lead(besides Waller) and because it would give a little name value to the roster that might attract some extra casual DCAU fans.
Well if you don't wanna say Ivy's dead then that's your opinion. One question. You think they should start with the original team consisting of Rick Flagg, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Clock King, and someone new? Or an entirely new team?

[Wade Kruse]

Well if you don't wanna say Ivy's dead then that's your opinion. One question. You think they should start with the original team consisting of Rick Flagg, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Clock King, and someone new? Or an entirely new team?

It's not my opinion. She was alive in Static Shock, which is in continuity.

It's just like how Joker "dies" every other episode he's in...and just shows up again.

[Aizen]

It's not my opinion. She was alive in Static Shock, which is in continuity.

It's just like how Joker "dies" every other episode he's in...and just shows up again.
The Static Shock episode could be before Chemistry.