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Suicide Squad Reading Order

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The Suicide Squad as we know it today wasn’t always like that. First created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru in 1959 in the pages of The Brave and the Bold #25, the first incarnation of The Suicide Squad was a team of good guys with a scientific edge led by Rick Flag Jr. They faced monsters and nuclear bombs. It didn’t last long, and we will not talk about it more here.

The Suicide Squad, as we know it, was introduced by writer John Ostrander (with Len Wein) and artist John Byrne in the pages of the Legends miniseries in 1986, the first major DC Universe crossover after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This governmental team, controlled by the morally ambiguous Amanda Waller, is really called Task Force X and is composed of supervillains like Blockbuster, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Enchantress. Rick Flag Jr. is still the leader. The team is sent on “suicide” missions—sometimes, not everybody comes back.

After Ostrander’s run ended in 1992, Suicide Squad saw multiple revivals. In 2001, Keith Giffen and Paco Medina reintroduced the team, and in 2011, as part of DC’s New 52, written by Adam Glass, Harley Quinn was introduced as a core member for the first time. Another relaunch came with DC Rebirth in 2016 by Rob Williams and Jim Lee, cementing Harley’s prominence alongside Deadshot. The Squad continues to appear across comics and media, with frequent roster changes and thematic ties to espionage and black ops missions. Amanda Waller stayed in control through the multiple incarnations of the team and has grown to become a central figure in the DC Universe.

Suicide Squad Reading Order:

Note: All of the original Suicide Squad stories are collected in Suicide Squad: The Silver Age Omnibus Volume 1 (Brave and the Bold #25–27, 37–39 and
Star Spangled War Stories #110–111, 116–121, 125, 127–128).

Navigate through the different eras of the Suicide Squad

Each ear is a new entry point for readers, usually with a new team being recruited. 

The Suicide Squad by John Ostrander (aka Volume 1)

From 1987 to 1992, John Ostrander wrote the Suicide Squad ongoing series with the help of Kim Yale, and art by Luke McDonnell and John K. Snyder III, among others. The 66-issue run defined the modern Squad, mixing espionage and superhero elements, deepening Amanda Waller’s character, and expanding the roster with recurring members like Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and Bronze Tiger.

The Suicide Squad by John Ostrander Omnibus Collection

DC Comics collected the entirety of John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad run in omnibus editions, 1000-page hardcover books collecting everything connected to the team, from the main series to the crossovers.

  • Suicide Squad by John Ostrander Omnibus Vol. 1 new
    Collects Suicide Squad #1-18; Checkmate #1, #8; Manhunter #1; Justice League International #13; Secret Origins #14, #28; Who’s Who #14; Detective Comics #582; The Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1; Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3-8, #11-12, #15-18, #20-23, #25; The New Teen Titans #31; The Fury of Firestorm #62-64; Firestorm: The Nuclear Man Annual #5; Who’s Who Update 1987 #1, #3-5; Legends #1-6; Millennium #4; Who’s Who Update 1988 #1-4.
  • Suicide Squad by John Ostrander Omnibus Vol. 2 (2026)
    Collects TBC

The Suicide Squad – DC Finest Collection

DC Finest is a trade paperback line launched in 2024 that chronologically collects key DC Comics runs and storylines in affordable, large-format editions, similar to Marvel’s Epic Collection. DC Comics started publishing John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad run in that new format, if you are not able to get the omnibuses.

  • DC Finest: Suicide Squad – Trial by Fire new
    Collects Suicide Squad #1-10; Secret Origins #14; Detective Comics #582; The Fury of Firestorm #62-64; Firestorm: The Nuclear Man Annual #5; Legends #1-6; Millennium #4.
  • DC Finest: Suicide Squad – The Nightshade Odyssey (2026)
    Collects Suicide Squad #11–20, Suicide Squad Annual #1, The Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad Special #1, The Flash #12, Manhunter #1 and #6, Justice League International #13, Deadshot #1–4, Checkmate #1 (1997), and Checkmate #8 (1988).

The Suicide Squad by John Ostrander Trade Paperback Collection

For the longest time, those stories were only available in classic trade paperbacks, and it’s still a good way to explore the story in order.

The Suicide Squad Volume 2 & 3

Before the relaunch in 2001, the Suicide Squad made appearances in a certain number of series. Most of them are not collected (and really only for completists): Superboy (vol. 3) #13–15, Hawk & Dove (vol. 4) #3–5, Chase (vol. 1) #2–3, Superman: Our Worlds at War Secret Files & Origins #1, and Adventures of Superman (vol. 1) #593–594.

Suicide Squad Vol. 2 (2001–2002)

Written by Keith Giffen with art by Paco Medina, this 12-issue series featured Sgt. Frank Rock leading a new iteration of the Squad, backed by Bulldozer, Havana, and Modem. The roster included expendable villains such as Big Sir, Clock King (William Tockman), Cluemaster, Deadshot, Killer Frost (Louise Lincoln), Major Disaster, and Multi-Man, emphasizing the team’s high mortality rate and black-ops focus.

After that, the Suicide Squad went back to its guest-starring status in the DC Universe, but it was even more anecdotical than before. Completists can still track down Superman (vol. 2) #182, Superman Secret Files & Origins 2004, 52 #24, 33-34, 45, and World War III, Book Three: Hell Is for Heroes, Checkmate (vol. 2) #6–7.

Suicide Squad Vol. 3 (2007–2008)

Written by John Ostrander with art by Javier Piña, this 8-issue miniseries focused on the return of Rick Flag Jr. and the assembly of a new Squad. The story reestablished classic elements of Task Force X while setting up the team’s future appearances in Countdown to Final Crisis and other DC events.

In the pages of Countdown to Final Crisis, the Suicide Squad makes brief appearances (#43-42, 39, 28, 25, 22) during which they are seen rounding up the world’s villains for an unknown purpose. The truth is revealed in the Salvation Run miniseries:

Suicide Squad Vol. 4 – The New 52 (2011–2014)

Written by Adam Glass with art by Federico Dallocchio and Ransom Getty, this series relaunched the Suicide Squad as part of DC’s New 52 reboot. Deadshot served as field leader, while Amanda Waller oversaw a roster including Harley Quinn and King Shark. Team members were outfitted with micro-bomb implants to enforce obedience and sent on high-risk black-ops missions, maintaining the franchise’s signature “suicide” premise.

Suicide Squad New 52 in Omnibus

This fourth volume of the Squad comics has now been collected in one 856-page hardcover omnibus

  • Suicide Squad: The New 52 Omnibus new
    Collects Resurrection Man #9; Suicide Squad #0-30; Detective Comics feat Harley Quinn #23.2; Justice League of America feat Deadshot #7.1; Suicide Squad: Amanda Waller #1.

Suicide Squad New 52 in classic trades

You can still find those classic stories in trade paperbacks in the following order:

The New Suicide Squad (2014–2015)

Written by Sean Ryan with art by Jeremy Roberts, this relaunch featured Deadshot and Harley Quinn alongside a roster including Black Manta, Joker’s Daughter, Reverse‑Flash, Deathstroke, El Diablo, Captain Boomerang, and Cheetah. The series maintained the Squad’s black‑ops missions under Amanda Waller’s oversight, emphasizing high-risk assignments and the use of micro-bomb implants to enforce compliance.

Suicide Squad Vol. 5 – DC Rebirth (2016–2018)

As part of DC’s Rebirth initiative, the Suicide Squad was relaunched in 2016 under writer Rob Williams, with art rotating between Jim Lee, John Romita Jr., and Tony S. Daniel. Amanda Waller assembled a roster including Deadshot, Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Katana, and Enchantress, intentionally reflecting the lineup of the 2016 Suicide Squad film. The series continued the team’s high-risk black-ops missions, maintaining the franchise’s core themes of expendable operatives and moral ambiguity.

This is when the Dark Nights: Metal event took place (reading order here). That event is led by Barbatos, the dark god who plans to unleash darkness across every Earths. Stopping him will change the DC Universe forever.

Suicide Squad Vol. 6 (2019–2020)

Relaunched at the start of 2020, this Suicide Squad series was written by Tom Taylor with art by Bruno Redondo. The team included Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Magpie, Cavalier, King Shark, and Zebra-Man.

Suicide Squad – Infinite Frontiere (Volume 7)

Before going into the Infinite Frontier era of the Suicide Squad, let’s make the usual detour through the Future State, that short out-of-continuity event that let us see a very dark future for the DC Universe. The Suicide Squad had a two-issue miniseries not featuring the last roster of members, but slightly different ones. It’s very optional.

  • Future State: Suicide Squad
    Collects Future State: Suicide Squad #1-2, Future State: Teen Titans: Dead of the Class #1-2, Future State: Shazam!: The Death of William Batson #1-2, and Future State: Swamp Thing: Obsidian Sun #1-2.

During that era, DC Comics also put out more out-of-continuity Suicide Squad books. There is a prequel to the video game Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League! and two DC Black Label miniseries, one by Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell, and one by Jason Aaron and Alex Maleev.

Suicide Squad Vol. 7 (2021–2022)

As part of a new DC Era, this series was written by Robbie Thompson with art by Eduardo Pansica. Amanda Waller assembled a diverse roster including Peacemaker, Nocturna, Match, Talon, Culebra, Bloodsport, Ambush Bug, Black Siren, and Major Force.

Spinning out of the pages of Action Comics #1060 and Titans: Beast World World Tour Metropolis #1, Amanda Waller is recruiting for Task Force X, starting with Nia Nal, a.k.a Dreamer.

The Infinite Frontiere/Dawn of DC era ended with Amanda Waller’s last power grab: Absolute Power. It’s not a Suicide Squad-centered story, it’s an all-encompassing DC Comics event about the Trinity of Evil (the Brainiac Queen, Failsafe, and Amanda Waller) eliminating the super-powered people of the universe. This led to the All-In era.

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