Blackguard

> **Oh my God! Is it a werewolf?**Yo, they sat me next to a WEREWOLF!?! **Yo, lemme out!!!** I do not fuck with werewolves!**Harley Quinn and Blackguard**The Suicide Squad

**Richard Hertz**, also known as **Blackguard**, was a criminal who used a special combat suit and equipment for jobs. He was a member of the first Task Force X strike team sent to Corto Maltese. When Hertz and the team arrived on the island, he betrayed his allies by contacting the Corto Maltese Armed Forces and giving the team's location away in a vain attempt to gain his freedom. He was quickly killed by the army while trying to reconvene with them on arrival.

## Biography

### Criminal life

At some point in his life, Richard became a criminal. He was later apprehended and taken to Belle Reve, where he became a member of Task Force X. Three days before his fateful mission to Corto Maltese, he came outside of a bathroom and saw Bloodsport cleaning the floor in the mess area. He then pulled off a piece of toilet paper stuck on his shoe and tossed it to Bloodsport before squeezing by Waller and her gathered men.

### Mission in Corto Maltese

 File:TSS American flag.png
He joined the team on a mission to Corto Maltese to destroy the Nazi-era prison and laboratory known as Jotunheim and all traces of the disastrous Project Starfish.

### Betraying his team

 File:Blackguard turns on the Force.png

> Hey, guys! Hey. You can come out now, it's just me. I'm the one who contacted you. Look, look. I brought everybody, look. They're right behind me. Whoa. Hey. Hey, guys. Whoa. We got a deal, right? Uh... Uh... I'm the one who called you -
>
> Blackguard, compromising Task Force X to the Corto Maltese Armed Forces before being killed, The Suicide Squad

On the way to Corto Maltese, Blackguard is mocked by the other members and is scared of Weasel. When they land, he almost immediately gives the team's position away, having apparently made a deal with the Corto Maltese military beforehand. A group of soldiers quickly light up the entire beach with spotlights as Blackguard attempts to defect to them, whilst Captain Boomerang attempts to retrieve him. However, Blackguard's face is suddenly blown off by a single shot, killing him instantly.

Blackguard's actions ultimately assisted in the deaths of most of his teammates, as the military now had a perfect lock on their position due to his intel. Ironically however, they also had the effect of ensuring that the Corto Maltese forces would be too distracted with the decoy team to prevent the entrance of Team 2, the preferred Task Force X group that Waller sent in.

## Personality

Hertz is cocky and overconfident is his abilities, seeming relaxed enough to play chicken with the guards of Belle Reve by pretending to make a move for his gun. He's also rather dimwitted, attempting to surrender himself and his team to the Corto Maltese Armed Forces, earnestly asking if Weasel was some kind of dog, and being terrified when he's told it might be a werewolf. He is also very treacherous, having betrayed Task Force X to Corto Maltese to save himself, who kill him regardless of their deal.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Energy construct creation**: With his suit, Blackguard was capable of creating an energy construct.
* **Superhuman strength**: Blackguard had strength exceeding that of regular humans.

### Abilities

* **Skilled combatant**: Blackguard was skilled at hand-to-hand combat.
* **Skilled marksman**: Blackguard was skilled in using firearms, particularly his twin pistols.

### Weakness

* **Dimwittedness:** Blackguard is gullible and naïve and easily fooled. He also isn't very knowledgeable, even regarding some more basic things.

## Equipment

* **Blackguard suit**: Hertz uses this suit to shield himself and hold his equipment when on missions or pulling off crimes.
* **Smith & Wesson M&P**: Blackguard uses two of these guns to help him pull off crimes and missions.

## Relationships

### Enemies

* Task Force X - former teammates turned enemies
	+ Rick Flag † - former team leader
	+ Cory Pitzner/T.D.K.
	+ Digger Harkness/Captain Boomerang †
	+ Weasel
	+ Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn
	+ Brian Durlin/Savant †
	+ Gunter Braun/Javelin †
	+ Mongal †
	+ Robert DuBois/Bloodsport
* ARGUS
	+ Amanda Waller - former manipulator
	+ John Economos - former mission coordinator
	+ Emilia Harcourt former mission coordinator
	+ Flo Crawley - former mission coordinator
	+ Fitzgibbon - former physician
	+ Emilia Harcourt
	+ Briscoe - former mission transport
* Starro † - former target
* Corto Maltese Armed Forces - allies turned killers

## Trivia

* This is the first onscreen adaptation of Blackguard.
* According to his file in *The Suicide Squad*, Hertz was 28 years old, that alludes he was born in 1993.

## Behind the scenes

* In the original comics, Richard Hertz was a common criminal recruited by a Metropolis-based villain organization known as the 1,000. They granted him the ability to create energy constructs of a shield and a mace, and he took up the codename **Blackguard**. He fought Booster Gold, and was later recruited into the Suicide Squad. During one seek-and-destroy mission, a teammate known as the General turned on Hertz and beheaded him.
* The Blackguard Mystery Mini figure for *The Suicide Squad* depicts Blackguard with a whip. Additionally, there is a whip icon on the top right corner of the Blackguard character card included with Splat hair products. The reason for the inclusion of the whip is unknown, however with a seemingly random mention of Blackguard's suit allowing him to create energy constructs on the Splat card, it is possible a scene of him using the whip was cut from the film, or the character will return in the future.
* Lance Herota was a stunt double for Pete Davidson in the role of Blackguard.

## References

1. ↑ Richard Hertz's file.
2. ↑ ‘Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi Joining James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’; Is ‘SNL’s Pete Davidson Next?
3. ↑ The Suicide Squad - Roll Call
Gunn, James (writer and director) (August 6, 2021). *The Suicide Squad*.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Splat Blackguard card

## External links

The ***DC Extended Universe Wiki** has a collection of images and media related to* **Blackguard***.*
* File:Favicon.png Blackguard on DC Database

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