Name: Suicide Squad
Universe: Earth-1
First Appearance: Brave and the Bold #25

History:
The first Suicide Squadron was formed during World War II and was comprised of disaffected soldiers as ready to fight one another as they were the enemy. Being transferred to the group was regarded as sure suicide; hence, the group’s nickname. Among their hazardous duties were attempts to take a small atoll in the Pacific known as Dinosaur Island. Morale and discipline in the group was low while casualties were high.

This changed late in the war when the Squadron was put under the command of Capt. Richard Montgomery Flag, who managed to make the team a more efficient fighting unit, despite the feuds among the members.

Flag had risen to the rank of Colonel by the war’s end. After the war, he met and married Karen Jace, the niece of General J.E.B. Stuart. Flag and the Squad were reactivated for the Korean conflict but were withdrawn to become a part of the newly formed Task Force X.

The years that followed saw a son born to Flag, Richard Rogers Flag, but the boy was to become an orphan before he reached ten; his mother was killed in a traffic accident and his father sacrificed his own life for the sake of his country, the success of the mission, and the lives of his teammates. General Stuart became the boy’s guardian.

After graduating from West Point, he entered flight school, finally becoming an ace test pilot before joining the astronaut training that he met and fell in love with Karin Grace, a flight nurse specializing in space medicine. Reluctantly, Flag left the program after being asked by General Stuart to head-up the newly re-formed Suicide Squad.

Grace also joined the Squad and she and Rick were joined by physicist Jess Bright and astronomer Dr. Hugh Evans. Flag and Karin’s joy at being reunited was marred by the fact that both Evans and Bright also fell for the young nurse. For the good of the group, Flag determined that neither he nor Karin should give in to their feelings. Reluctantly, Karin agreed but both found it increasingly difficult to avoid hurting the others.

The new Suicide Squad was to achieve worldwide acclaim for their exploits as they fought prehistoric dinosaurs, aliens, and criminals, traveling everywhere from the U.S. to Paris to outer space to an alternate dimension. They relied on their courage, wits, science, a variety of weapons and the SS-1 (a large, specially equipped jet also referred to as a "flying lab") to save mankind over and over again.

Time, odds, and budget cuts finally caught up with the Squad, however. Financial planners in Washington were increasingly reluctant to fund a group which they felt was "redundant," given the actions of the super-heroes.

On a secret mission to Cambodia, the Squad parachuted into the Cardamom Mts. and while pursued by a Yeti, fell into a deep crevasse and came upon a golden temple hidden beneath the mountains. Their mission was compromised and they had to fight their way to safety; two of the Squad didn’t make it out. Following a complete report of the disaster, including the discovery of the temple, Flag was informed that the Squad was being disbanded, and a top secret classification was being clamped on the whole matter.

Shortly after this, Flag was recruited, along with others who had found other golden temples and run into similar dangers, by the Immortal Man into a group that called itself the Forgotten Heroes. After solving the mystery of the Temples, the group opted to stay together under the leadership of the Immortal Man. However, when he perished during the so-called crisis on infinite earths and did not regenerate, the group broke up again.

However, events were already in motion that would soon call forth yet another version of the Suicide Squad.