This is a casting and info on one of my favorite current comic teams, the Secret Six. They are a team of supervillains turned mercenaries. Secret Six consists mainly of villainous characters who undertake missions of dubious moral quality and often resulting in a high body count. The team was first formed during the Villains United story arc of the Infinite Crisis, by the secretive Mockingbird. Mockingbird was later revealed to be the real Lex Luthor who formed the Six to battle the Secret Society that was led by the fake Luthor, who was in reality Alexander Luthor form Earth 3. Since its inception the team has battled numerous foes, and themselves. Below is a casting of the members of the team followed by a brief summary of their history.
Bane- Javier Baradem
Was recruited in the first issue of the new ongoing series. He has developed a deep fatherlike love for Scandal Savage, even nearly killing an employer when he inferred that Bane was sleeping with Scandal. He even endured torture at the hands of the crimelord Junior, and did not give up his teammates location. A subplot has been him struggling with his addiction to Venom, which he took in order to save Scandal’s life during an epic battle with dozens of supervillains on the Gotham bridge. This series showcases his deep set sense of honor, such as when he and Catman return to Gotham during the Battle of the Cowl story arc after Batman’s death, he wants to replace his former foe as protector of the city but ultimately gives Dick Grayson his blessing. After the incident with the prison island Bane would forcibly assume command.
Catman- Charlie Hunnam
Original Member.
Catman had become something of a joke among the criminal underworld, he was a useless waste, then he disappeared for a while. He resurfaced when Talia Al Ghul tried to recruit him to the Secret Society. He made a mortal enemy when he turned them down and insulted Doctor Psycho, but he actually impressed Talia, whom he reminded her of Batman. His lion pride was killed by Deathstroke so he was recruited by Mockingbird to the Secret Six. He would later have a child with Cheshire, without his knowledge. He is a member in the latest incarnation of the team. He would later fight Batman to a standstill shortly before the RIP story arc.
Deadshot- Jeffery Dean Morgan
Original member.
The gun toting mercenary with a death wish has had his role in the DC Universe expanded greatly in this series. He is often the voice of reason, and is often ignored. He has developed a brotherly attitude towards Scandal Savage. He is a dubious character, seemingly willing to betray the team at any moment it suits him, he even does at one point when he teals the “Get Out of Hell Free” card forged by Neuron. This was just a ruse as the Six were being pursued by nearly every villain in the country for the card, and he knew they wouldn’t survive with it, so he was going to sacrifice himself. He later gets in a relationship with team member Jeannette.
Rag Doll- Sean William Scott
Original Member.
He is the son of the original Ragdoll and is addicted to surgery. He was not naturally triple jointed as his father and brother were so he had his done surgically. He was recruited to the original team by Mockingbird, who could keep the joint surgery from destroying his body. He often acts as the comic relief of the story.
Scandal Savage- Rosario Dawson
Original member.
Daughter of the immortal Vandal Savage, and may be immortal herself. She was the one who recruited the rest of the team at Mockingbird’s request. She is one of the few lesbian characters in comics, her lover was eventual teammate Knockout. She has shown concern for Bane, helping him cope with his Venom addiction.
Jeannette- Tricia Helfer
A seemingly immortal banshee, Jeannette was recruited to the team by Scandal Savage. She is eccentric and has developed a relationship with Deadshot, whom she can “taste the death on”. She is attracted to battlefields and death, which is probably why she likes Deadshot. She has an apparent dislike for Amazons, and according to Artemis the felling is mutual.
Former Members
Cheshire- Grace Park
Original member.
Betrayed the team to the Secret Society of Supervillians, was shot by Deathstroke the Terminator. She lived and returned to harras the team working with Doctor Psycho under Vandal Savage.
Fiddler- Matt Frewer
Previous member.
Shot by Deadshot after he botched his part of a mission and was ordered to be executed by Mockingbird. He was on the team before what is considered the “Original” team was formed.
Harley Quinn- Brittany Murphey
Served for a brief stint with the team around the time the team fought the Birds of Prey for a Rocket Red suit that secretly contained the heroine Ice.
Knockout- Christina Hendricks
Nearly indestructible Apokoliptian warrior, she was a spy for Scandal in the Secret Society, btu in reality she was Scandal’s secret lover. She would eventually join the Six. She was killed by Infinity-Man during the Death of the New Gods story arc.
Mad Hatter- Robin Williams
He was recruited by Catman to counter Doctor Psycho’s abilities. He saved the Six and they became his first real friends, until Ragdoll pushed him over a cliff say “There is room on this team for only one dandy fop.” He would swear revenge and set the Six up to where they come into conflict with the crimelord Junior.
Parademon- Terry Crews
Original Member.
He was recruited with the promise that his location wouldn’t be revealed to Granny Goodness. He became close friends with Ragdoll and after his death, Ragdoll had Parademon’s corpse stuffed and would occasionally talk to it. He acts as a comic relief alongside Ragdoll.
Tarantula- Michele Rodriguez
Not technically a member.
She was imprisoned on Alcatraz after working with and eventually raping Nightwing, yes the current Batman has been raped. She had come into possession of Neuron’s card and had hidden it somewhere before her incident with Nightwing. The Six was ordered to break her out of prison, retrieve the card, and get her back to Gotham to collect their reward. This outs them in the sights of Junior and nearly every villain in the country. She fights side by side with the Six and eventually kills herself and Junior to save the Six, leading everyone to think that the card had been destroyed as well.
A History of the team: Courtesy of Wikipedia
The next version of the team was introduced in Villains United #1 (July 2005). Unlike previous versions of the team, the new Secret Six consists mainly of villainous characters who undertake missions of dubious moral quality and often resulting in a high body count. The team consists of the pre-existing DC characters Catman, Deadshot, and Cheshire, and the newly created Ragdoll, Scandal Savage, and Parademon. Another member, Fiddler, is killed by Deadshot on order of Mockingbird. Later Parademon is killed and Cheshire betrays the group to the Society, only to be shot by the Society's Deathstroke, who doesn't trust her for being a traitor (Cheshire eventually turns up alive and plotting revenge). The Mockingbird for this version of the team is eventually revealed to be Lex Luthor.
In the 2006 Secret Six limited series, (written by Gail Simone with art by Brad Walker and Jimmy Palmiotti), Knockout, who was revealed as a mole infiltrating the Secret Society of Villains in Villains United, has officially joined the group to be with her lover, Scandal. At the end of issue #1, Catman asks the Mad Hatter be the sixth member of the group. While Catman meets with the Mad Hatter, Doctor Psycho orchestrates a series of attacks designed to wipe out the Six. Hatter is literally kicked off the team by Ragdoll, who says that one eccentric fop in the group is enough. His replacement is Harley Quinn[1], who later quits.[2]
In Birds of Prey issues #104-106, the Secret Six face off against Oracle's Birds of Prey in Russia for the soul of Tora (Ice). They have since disbanded after Harley Quinn quit the team. Subsequently, in Birds of Prey #109, Knockout was attacked and killed by the same assassin who had been stalking the New Gods and killing them off, one by one. Earlier in the issue, Knockout comments in passing that Catman was going soft and Deadshot returned to the Suicide Squad. Harley Quinn is reformed in Countdown #43. Scandal Savage, Rag Doll and Catman were later seen in Salvation Run.
Relaunch
DC launched a new Secret Six series in September 2008, reuniting Catman, Deadshot, Scandal, and Ragdoll, and adding Bane (hinted at by Simone months earlier as "an A-list Batman villain" and an original character named Jeannette, who appeared in the third issue. The Six have been hired to retrieve Tarantula from Alcatraz Island, and find a card which she stole from Junior, a mysterious villain who supposedly runs the entire West Coast mob. This Junior has practically the entire villain community at her beck and call, all afraid of her, even those in Arkham Asylum. The six later learn that the card in question was made by Neron, and says "Get Out Of Hell Free.” Soon, the Six are attacked by a small army of super-villains, all wanting to recover the card and collect the reward of $20 million for each of the six, under the orders of Junior, who captures and tortures Bane, whose strong principles and moral convictions, paired with his fatherly fondness of Scandal keep him from betraying his new team. It is later revealed that Junior is in fact Ragdoll's sister and daughter of the first Ragdoll. She has the ghastly appearance of an old clown, with sliced skin and eyes stitched wide open to give the appearance of a clown. The Six escape, and head for Gotham, with Deadshot seemingly betraying them and leaving with Tarantula. The Six manage to catch up to Deadshot, only to be attacked by Junior and the Supervillains, and the Mad Hatter, who is revealed to be the one who hired them, simply so they would be killed. Tarantula sacrifices herself by pulling herself and Junior in front of the Supervillains' combined attack, seemingly destroying the card along with them. However, it is later shown that Scandal is now in possession of it.
Although the current incarnation of the Secret Six are technically villains, several members of the team are treated sympathetically and come across as heroic, if only on the virtue of the team encountering individuals who are even more bloodthirsty and villainous.
In a new storyline starting with issue #10 titled Depths, the six have been hired by a new villain named Mr. Smyth, a slave trader. He is building what he hopes will be the world's biggest and only prison. He is also holding the Amazon Artemis prisoner. Jeannette breaks her out only to be met with opposition from the rest of the team, who in the middle of battling with each other is interrupted by Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is defeated by Jeannette, who made Wonder Woman live through her. Jeannette’s, own execution. Wonder Woman is turned over to Smyth who plans to feed her to a monster called Grendel. The team eventually reconciled and fought together to free the Amazons, during this Scandal used Bane’s Venom to gain an edge in the fight. Wonder Woman arrived and killed Grendel, which was revealed to be a demonic offspring of Vandal Savage. After they escaped the island Bane forcibly assumes command and kicks Scandal off the team.