The Suicide Squad is the covert arm of Task Force X, the metahuman agency of the United States Government. They get the assignments that, for one reason or another, the government cannot openly undertake. The current organization is only the latest incarnation of the Suicide Squad. Originally an army squadron during World War II known for it's unmilitary, chaotic structure, it took Capt. Richard Montgomery Flag to forge the men into a crack fighting unit.

This Suicide Squad is largely composed of accused or convicted "supervillains" who are recruited on an as-needed basis for the Squad's dangerous missions. The members are recruited from one of the metahuman holding facilities the United States has, including The Slab, The Vault, Belle Reve Prison, & Gramercy Island. If the Squad succeeds and survives and the villains keep quiet, their sentences are commuted to time served. To ensure loyalty, each member has a chip implanted in their head. The chip allows the mission leader to discharge a potentially paralyzing electric shock, should that person endanger a mission or try to flee.