Who is Rick Flag Sr.? James Gunn explains Frank Grillo’s importance to Peacemaker, Superman

By Dan Girolamo Published October 4, 2024

When James Gunn’s DC Universe begins, Superman will be its most important superhero for the foreseeable future. Aside from the Man of Steel, another character who will play an integral role in multiple series is Rick Flag Sr.

Played by Frank Grillo, Flag is a military commander and leader of the Suicide Squadron during WWII. In the DC Universe, Flag is the father of Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr., the field leader of the Suicide Squad. Grillo will first voice Flag in Creature Commandos, the adult animated series coming to Max later this year. Grillo’s Flag is the leader of the titular commandos — a black ops team consisting of monsters.

After Creature Commandos, Grillo will debut his live-action version of Flag in Superman before starring in Peacemaker season 2. His Peacemaker inclusion is noteworthy because John Cena’s Peacemaker killed Flag Jr. in The Suicide Squad, a major storyline that will certainly be addressed in Gunn’s series.

“He is a really cool character that Frank has been molding,” Gunn said to EW. “The character’s also in Superman, and he’s an incredibly important part in Peacemaker. He is one of the primary characters in Peacemaker season 2. So we get to see this character from different angles, and he is not simple.”

For Gunn, Flag’s moral ambiguity makes him such a fascinating character. Gunn credits the character’s significance to Grillo, an actor the DC head wanted to work with for a long time.

“This isn’t just a good guy, not at all,” Gunn explained. “We see all different sides of his character. He is morally a complex human being. Grillo is somebody who I’ve known for a little while, and I’ve wanted to work with him for a long time. He was one of the first people that I talked to when I took over the studio, like, ‘We’re going to find something cool for you,’ and now he is everywhere.”

Creature Commandoes premieres on Max on December 5, 2024, with Peacemaker season 2 hitting the streamer sometime in 2025. Superman flies into theaters next summer on July 11, 2025.