Task Force What? Part 2 - A Timeline

Welcome to part two of my writeup and overview of various DC Comics government organizations! Recognizing that Part 1 was a lot of information dumped all at once, here's a timeline approach to what was happening. This time, I put important people's names in bold so you can track their movements. Especially key players have their names in a different color, too.

1940s-1980s

• During WWII, Squadron S earns the nickname “The Suicide Squad” due to its high morality rate. Rick Flag Sr. is brought in to turn the squadron around, eventually making it a highly decorated and effective unit.
• Senator McCarthy tries to force the Justice Society of America to unmask. They refuse, instead choosing to go into hiding.
• Without the Justice Society to protect the U.S. from “extraordinary” threats, the President authorizes the creation of Task Force X. This group consisted of two wings: Argent and The Suicide Squad.
• Rick Flag Sr. is killed in action during a Suicide Squad mission. This version of the Squad is disbanded.
• Control, the leader of Argent, kills someone involved in JFK’s assassination. He subsequently directs Argent to go underground.
• A new version of the Suicide Squad is formed, led by Rick Flag Jr. This version disbands after a mission in Cambodia. Flag’s supervisor reveals that the Squad was ultimately doomed anyway due to budget cuts.
• At some point during the Cold War, Spyral is formed by the U.N., led by Otto Netz.
• Project Cadmus is founded.
• Sarge Steel becomes a leader in, if not the director of, the Central Bureau of Intelligence.
• Katherine Webb Kane becomes Batwoman to try to uncover Batman’s identity for Spyral.
• The Agency is founded by Valentina Vostok. The Agency’s work includes Project: Peacemaker.
• Roy Harper joins the Central Bureau of Investigation. He meets Jade Nguyen through his work with the CBI.
• Katherine Webb Kane is apparently killed by Ben Turner, the Bronze Tiger, while he is under the control of the League of Assassins.
• Otto Netz is revealed to be a double agent and is imprisoned.
• Mr. Bones is a quasi-member of Infinity Inc., legacy heroes springing from the Justice Society. 

1980s-2000s

• Amanda Waller presents her plan to reactivate Task Force X. This new Suicide Squad will use supervillains for high risk, covert missions. The Agency will be brought into Task Force X and subsequently reorganized as Checkmate, though Project: Peacemaker remains independent.
• Rick Flag Jr. is made field leader of the Suicide Squad. Ben Turner, seeking atonement, becomes his second in command.
• Sarge Steel is officially the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
• Harry Stein is made King of Checkmate.
• Amanda Waller and her Suicide Squad discover the remnants of Argent. With the majority of its members gone, Argent is officially declared to be disbanded.
• The Janus Directive occurs. Massive reorganizations happen. Task Force X is dissolved as an umbrella organization. Amanda Waller is left in charge of the Suicide Squad.  Harry Stein remains as King of Checkmate, but they are forced to relocate. Project Peacemaker is incorporated into Checkmate. Sarge Steel is made the Director of Metahuman Affairs, and is the direct supervisor for all other metahuman related agencies. He continues to oversee the Central Bureau of Investigation.
• Amanda Waller disbands her Suicide Squad.
• After the death of Superman, Project Cadmus tries to clone him. This results in the creation of Superboy.
• Project Cadmus fires “mad scientist” Dabney Donovan.
• A “clone plague” begins to affect Project Cadmus creations. This is revealed to be the creation of Dabney Donovan, who kills Paul Westfield.
• Mickey Cannon becomes the new head of Project Cadmus. He keeps Dabney Donovan as an imprisoned scientific advisor and brings in geneticist Serling Roquette.
• Harry Stein resigns as King of Checkmate. Phil Kramer and Kalia Cambell are made King and Queen, respectively.
• Roy Harper leaves the CBI.
• Mr. Bones is made the Director of the Department of Extranormal Operations.
• Cameron Chase joins the Department of Extranormal Operations.
• The Department of Extranormal Operations subcontracts A.P.E.S members Donald Fite and Ishido Maad for a recovery mission.
• Lex Luthor becomes president. 
• Amanda Waller replaces Sarge Steel as Secretary of Metahuman Affairs in the Luthor Administration.
• Knightwatch, a more militaristic branch of the Department of Extranormal Operations, protects the U.S. President from metahuman threats.
• Director Bones manipulates the Justice Society into going against Kobra on the DEO’s behalf. This is not well received by the JSA.
• Lex Luthor starts the Human Defense Corps to try to build a non-metahuman response team to extraordinary threats.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation is absorbed into the Department of Extranormal Operations.
• Sarge Steel becomes the head of the Department of Metahuman Affairs, a subdivision of the DEO.
• Sasha Bordeaux is recruited into Checkmate by Jessica Midnight.
• David Said is promoted to King
• Helena Bertinelli is blackmailed by David Said into accepting a position as a Queen in Checkmate.
• Lex Luthor leaves the White House. Amanda Waller subsequently leaves her position as Secretary for Metahuman Affairs.
• Director Bones and Cameron Chase recruit Kate Spencer, the Manhunter, to work for the Department of Extranormal Operations.
• Maxwell Lord becomes Black King of Checkmate.
• Infinite Crisis happens. 
• Maxwell Lord kills Ted Kord once Kord uncovers Lord’s plot to use Checkmate against metahumans. 
• Sasha Bordeaux sends Batman evidence of Kord’s death, leading Lord to activate the OMACs to try to exterminate all Checkmate agents and metahumans on Earth.
• Maxwell Lord is killed by Wonder Woman.

One Year Later

• After Checkmate is rechartered as a U.N. organization, Amanda Waller is made White Queen. Due to her involvement in the Luthor White House, the U.N. only agrees to let Waller into Checkmate if she does not run operations. This means she cannot run any operations. The other initial leaders of this new Checkmate are Sasha Bordeaux, Alan Scott, and Taleb Beni Khalid.
• Wonder Woman joins the Department of Metahuman Affairs in her new identity as Diana Prince, where she reports to Sarge Steel.
• Alan Scott resigns from Checkmate, tapping his Bishop–Michael Holt–to be the new White King.
• Despite being prohibited from running operations, Amanda Waller reactivates a Suicide Squad and begins Operation: Salvation Run.
• Once other Checkmate officials find out what Amanda Waller is up to, she is forced to resign from Checkmate. However, by that point, most supervillains had been deported via Operation: Salvation Run.
• Squad K is developed out of the Human Defense Corps to specifically deal with Kryptonian threats.
• After the events of Brightest Day, Maxwell Lord returns to life. He erases most of the world’s memory of him and begins a discrediting campaign against Checkmate in an attempt to regain power.
• Talia al Ghul creates the Leviathan Organization. She frees Otto Netz from his imprisonment so that he can assist Leviathan.
• Batman Incorporated begins to move against Leviathan, clearing the organization out of St. Hadrian’s Finishing School for Girls.
• Damian Wayne kills Otto Netz to save Batman from a trap.

The New 52 Happens

• Spyral takes control of St. Hadrian’s
• Katherine Webb Kane reveals that she faked her death to lead Spyral in secret.
• A.R.G.U.S. is founded to support metahumans at the federal level.
• Dick Grayson is unmasked as Nightwing, and is recruited by Helena Bertinelli to be an agent of Spyral.
• Bertinelli and Grayson leave Spyral. Tiger becomes the new Patron of Spyral.