The Suicide Squad debuted in 1987. They were the first team of supervillains to ever headline their own comic. It was a novel idea- take a bunch of imprisoned supervillains and give them the chance to earn their freedom. The resulting comic would go on to put out some of the best stories of the late 80s and early 90s before going away for a while. During the build up to Infinite Crisis, a new teams of villains would debut- the Secret Six. While they were different than the Suicide Squad in that they were a private team of villains not run by the government, they still were a team of villains doing the "right" thing.

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Now a days, the Secret Six has waned and the Suicide Squad is waxing again. Both teams, though, are known for being among the deadliest teams out there. Which one is more deadly, though- the Suicide Squad or the Secret Six? This list is going to look into that question.

10 Secret Six: No Government Oversight

While the Suicide Squad's government mandate never stopped them from shedding as much blood as possible, they still had certain missions they had to accomplish and those missions had rules of engagement. Members of the team were punished, sometimes fatally, for overstepping their mission parameters.

The Secret Six had no mission parameters and no oversight. Their missions were their own business and they could do whatever they wanted on them.

9 Suicide Squad: A Bigger Pool Of Candidates

The Secret Six had a core of members- Catman, Ragdoll, Scandal, and Deadshot- with two other spots filled out by other members. It was also limited in number to just six, because of the name of the team.

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However, the Suicide Squad not only had no limit on members but had a much bigger pool of talent to chose from. While the team definitely has a core group- Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and Captain Boomerang among a few other nowadays- the rest of the team can be made up of just about any villain who is in prison.

8 Secret Six: Bane

Bane has beat Batman on more than one occasion and not small victories either- he was able to paralyze the Dark Knight for years and just recently took over Gotham City. There are few villains who have ever beaten Batman so soundly as Bane has.

Bane was a member of the Secret Six for a time and any team that has Bane as a member is pretty deadly. Not only is Bane a formidable hand to hand combatant, but he's also a keen strategist who has been able to outsmart Batman. No one on the Suicide Squad has that kind of pedigree.

7 Suicide Squad: Bronze Tiger

An image of Bronze Tiger from DC Comics

Bronze Tiger is one of the most formidable hand to hand combatants around. He's been able to beat Batman and Richard Dragon and fought Lady Shiva to a standstill. Amanda Waller brought him onto the team to keep the villains in line and there were few better that she could pick for that job.

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The Secret Six has some good fighters, but none of them are on Bronze Tiger's level. While he's not always a member of the team, his martial arts pedigree definitely made the Suicide Squad a force to be reckoned with.

6 Secret Six: Brought Together By Lex Luthor

When they were first brought together, the Secret Six found themselves at odds with the rest of the supervillain community and their leadership, the Society. Their missions were given to them by the mysterious Mockingbird, who would give them missions that would mess up the Society's plans.

It was revealed that Mockingbird was Lex Luthor and that he had handpicked the team to combat the Society and its members. When Lex Luthor puts a team together, you better believe they're some of the most deadly people around.

5 Suicide Squad: Brought Together By Amanda Waller

Task Force X, the government name for the Suicide Squad, was the brain child of Amanda Waller. Amanda Waller is... well, Amanda Waller is the type of person who will yell at Batman and do her best to outsmart... and succeed. Even the most powerful superheroes know better than to mess with Amanda Waller.

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So, sure, Lex Luthor bringing together the Secret Six to fight his enemies makes them pretty dangerous. However, even Lex Luthor knows better than to mess with Amanda Waller. Everyone is afraid of Amanda Waller and a team brought together by Amanda Waller? Yeah, be afraid of them.

4 Secret Six: Catman and Deadshot

While Deadshot is one both teams, he rarely had someone he worked with who complimented him as much as Catman. The two men's personalities clashed, but their skills worked together perfectly. Deadshot is one of the best long range threats around- he rarely if ever misses- and Catman was an expert in close in fighting and bladed weapons.

The two of them might have had some personal problems with each other, but they worked together perfectly in battle.

3 Suicide Squad: A Better Use Of Deadshot

deadshot-extending fist

Deadshot as a member of the Secret Six was great, but when it comes right down to it, the Secret Six's missions often put them up against supervillains and they didn't kill nearly as many people. Deadshot is good in a fight, but he's way better when he can cut loose and gun down everyone around him.

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On the Suicide Squad, he was allowed to do just that, partly because their missions involved them going up against enemy governments and not supervillains. Supervillains have to be reused and for the ones that can be killed with bullets, it's kind of hard to explain how they got better from taking one in the head.

2 Secret Six: They Had Less To Work With And Still Got The Job Done

Replacement-Secret-Six

The Secret Six, in comparison to the Squad, had a lot less to work with. None of their members had a bunch of superpowers and they were limited to just six members. They didn't have the kind of equipment and intel that the Squad had- even when Lex Luthor was the one bankrolling the team, they didn't have near the resources that the Squad did.

Yet, they were still able to get the job done and go down as one of the deadliest teams around. That say a lot about them and their pedigree.

1 Suicide Squad: The Deadliest Supervillains Around

Amanda Waller has the pick of the litter when it comes to the Suicide Squad. Heroes put villains away all the time and any one of them can be brought into the Suicide Squad. That gives the team a huge pool of the most dangerous villains around. Just because they got caught doesn't make them any less deadly.

This has also given the team a reputation- everyone knows that when the Suicide Squad shows up, things are going to get deadly both for whoever they are facing and for themselves.

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