A.R.G.U.S.

A.R.G.U.S., fully known as the Armed Revolutionaries Governing Under Secrecy, is a fictional government organization featured in comic books published by DC Comics. They are part of the "New 52" continuity, which existed following the 2011 "Flashpoint" crossover event. They first appeared in Justice League, Volume 2 #7 in May, 2012. A.R.G.U.S. served as an American government watchdog group and military response unit. They sometimes coordinated their efforts with the Justice League of America. They were led by a woman named Amanda Waller.

A.R.G.U.S. also appeared in the DC Television Universe and featured prominently in the CW Network television series Arrow. Based out of the United States, they had major international interests including making efforts to destabilize the League of Assassins in Nanda Parbat, and later the H.I.V.E., which was led by Damien Darhk. They were the parent group of Task Force X - a veritible "Suicide Squad" that were sent on the most dangerous missions, with little expectation of survival.

For more than a decade, A.R.G.U.S. was led by Amanda Waller with its primary headquarters located in Starling City (later Star City). A former United States Army Special Forces group called Shadowspire began dealing in black market drug trafficking, which earned them the attention of A.R.G.U.S., who considered them something of an embarassment for the U.S. government. They sent agents out to take down Shadowspire, but failed at every turn. In response, Shadowpire struck at the the heart of A.R.G.U.S., first by capturing, torturing, and ultimately murdering an agent named Alan Chang. They removed his eye and used it to bypass the retinal scan at A.R.G.U.S. headquarters. They stormed the command center and took Amanda Waller and Lyla Michaels hostage. Lieutenant Joyner wanted access to Rubicon, which was a ballistic launch override protocol that only Waller had the access codes to. Waller refused to give him the codes, so Joyner began executing one A.R.G.U.S. operative every twenty minutes. Realizing that Waller would never surrender the codes, Joyner shot her in the head. He then forced Lyla Michaels to download the codes, but her efforts were curtailed by Felicity Smoak, who was using her computer hacking mastery to block Lyla's attempts.

In the wake of Amanda Waller's death, Lyla Michaels became the new head of A.R.G.U.S., and continued in this capacity in spite of the time-altering actions of Barry Allen, who changed history after going backwards in time.

DC Universe

 * Amanda Waller
 * Etta Candy
 * Steve Trevor

DC Television Universe

 * Alan Chang - Agent; deceased.
 * Amanda Waller - Former administrator; deceased.
 * Lyla Michaels - Administrator; former field agent.