Deathstroke

Slade Wilson in Deathstroke v4 #1.

Deathstroke is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Origin

Slade Wilson

He enlisted in the United States army where he was noted for being a legend among the ranks. Wilson was later sent on a special training exercise at Camp Washington with the project being overseen by Captain Adeline Kane. Kane served as a trainer with Slade having to go through rigorous training which saw half the candidates wash out within the first three weeks. Those that remained became highly skilled with Wilson being the best among them but even then he proved to be outfought by Adeline Kane. Their time together led to the two falling in love and after he graduated from the training the pair got married before the end of the year. Adeline became pregnant with their first child Grant Wilson when Slade himself was deployed to fight in a war. He then volunteered when the army was looking for recruits for a new serum based on an A.C.T.H. derivative which resulted in him gaining superhuman enhancements over existing physical traits. Wilson had to be restrained as a result of the reaction to the serum with the event being classified by the military as he fell into a near-death state. It took Wintergreen and Adeline months of fighting through red tape before they finally see him and he remained in this condition for weeks before recovering. He was then released where he returned home and recuperated with Adeline becoming pregnant again with their second son Joseph. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #1)

At some point, he was noted to had met and trained under the highly skilled master assassin Natas. (Green Arrow v3 #66)

Teen Titans

Deathstroke as later hired by the H.I.V.E. where he was tasked with the elimination of the Teen Titans. He had demanded payment in advance for the mission with his prospective employers refusing. This led to Deathstroke walking away from them with H.I.V.E. attempting to kill him but failing in the attempt. Despite this incident, Wilson to an interest in the Titans and began to remotely observe them. Unknown to him, his son Grant Wilson was recruited by the H.I.V.E. who gave him powers similar to Deathstroke where he took the name Ravager and sent on the mission to kill the Teen Titans. Ravager was unaware of the fact that his own father was the legendary mercenary Deathstroke and instead looked to prove himself. This led to Deathstroke getting involved in the hit where he and Ravager fought the Titans. However, the process that empowered Grant was flawed and overtaxed his body causing him to die during the fight. This led to Deathstroke taking Ravager's body away with Slade being forced to bury his son with him swearing revenge against the Teen Titans for their role in the incident. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)

He later struck at the Dayton Industries Long Island Laboratory where in the chaos he came to steal the plans for Project: Promethium. (New Teen Titans v1 #9)

Modern

He later came to be a founding member of Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super-Villains where he was tasked with recruiting supervillains into their ranks. (Batman v1 #646) Looking to recruit Black Mask into the Society, he offered the services of Captain Nazi, Hyena, and Count Vertigo to fight Red Hood. (Batman v1 #647)

Penguin started a new crime empire in Bludhaven and arranged for an arms deal with The Society. Batgirl was on to Penguin, so he sent the Brotherhood of Evil after her. Penguin assured Luthor, Deathstroke and Calculator that Batgirl was no longer a concern to them, but Deathstroke was skeptical, knowing how dangerous and tough Batgirl was. Batgirl did survive, putting a kibosh on the arms deal. (Batgirl v1 #62) When Batgirl foiled Penguin’s arms deal with the Brotherhood of Evil she damaged his standing in The Society. Penguin met with Luthor, Dr. Psycho and Calculator demanding they help him take down Batgirl once and for all. He said Deathstroke was clearly the man for the job, and Deathstroke considered his proposal. Batgirl was the protector of Bludhaven, so Deathstroke started a fire at a business owned by neighborhood couple the Braunsteins. Batgirl investigated and Deathstroke snapped Mrs. Braunstein’s neck in front of her. Deathstroke and Batgirl fought across Bludhaven, and Batgirl could sense he was toying with her. Deathstroke admitted as much, and introduced his daughter Ravager to Batgirl, saying he was saving-the killing blow for her. Ravager was incredibly skilled, but during their fight Batgirl realized how inexperienced she was and temporarily knocked her out. Batgirl saw a lot of herself in Ravager, since both their fathers raised them to be killers. Deathstroke had not interfered in the fight and did not retaliate when Batgirl called him pathetic for what he had done to his daughter. Ravager recovered, promised her father she wouldn’t fail him, and pursued Batgirl, who truly felt for her because it was obvious everything she did was to win her father’s approval. Batgirl fled to an underground tunnel system, not wanting any onlookers to get hurt when Ravager caught up to her. Ravager soon found her, with Deathstroke still observing. During the fight Batgirl staid on the defensive and waited for Ravager to look to her father for approval and took the opportunity to disarm her. Batgirl used Ravager’s own sword to stab her in the throat, forcing Deathstroke to save his daughter and get her emergency medical treatment. Batgirl knew their fight was far from over, and that Deathstroke would force Ravager to complete her test and go after Batgirl again one day. (Batgirl v1 #64)

When gangster Brick found his empire being chipped away by Green Arrow he contracted Deathstroke to blow up Green Arrow’s house. Deathstroke did the job, not so much for Brick, but because their goals were similar, they both wanted Arrow out of the way. (Green Arrow v3 #50)

Nyssa al Ghul had a video conference with Society members Talia al Ghul, Penguin, Deathstroke, Merlyn and Calculator, telling them all was going well with Mr. Freeze’s research to create a machine that could freeze half the world’s oil supplies. She surprised them by revealing she had Batgirl as her captive and told Penguin he should pay her the bounty on Batgirl’s head. She also mocked Deathstroke, who still hoped his daughter Ravager would be the one to take Batgirl out, saying his daughter should set her sights lower and go after third-stringer Flamebird. After the conference Nyssa confided in Batgirl that she hoped to initiate a hostile takeover of the Society alongside Talia. (Batgirl v1 #69)

Deathstroke coordinated an attack on Green Arrow’s family by Dr. Light and Merlyn of the Society. (Green Arrow v3 #57)

Deathstroke was among the supervillains waiting in ambush in the south of Metropolis as they ambushed the Freedom Fighters. During the fighting, he was to be responsible for gutting Phantom Lady with a sword and apologised with him simply stating that the matter was simple business. (Infinite Crisis v1 #1)

He came to be among the ranks of the reformed Secret Society of Super-Villains that was now under the leadership of Libra. (Final Crisis v1 #2)

During this time, he attempted to use Geo-Force as a weapon against the world's heroes the same way he had used Terra to infiltrate the Titans. However, he instead came to be gravely wounded by his own sword that was used by Brion when he attacked Slade. (DCU: Last Will and Testament v1 #1)

During the Blackest Night, Slade was living in the deceased Wintergreen's house and reading his journal when he was attacked by Rose. During their fight, the two were interrupted by their deceased relatives who had been reanimated by black Power Rings and made into members of the Black Lantern Corps. Among the Black Lanterns included Grant, Wade, and Adeline along with Wintergreen who targeted both Slade as well as Rose. This forced the pair to work together and fight for their lives against the Black Lanterns. (Teen Titans v3 #77)

Afterwards, he recruited a team of supervillains consisting of Tattooed Man, Cheshire, Osiris, and the new character Cinder following the launch of Brightest Day. The team ambushes Ryan Choi in his home, and then battles him. This ends with Deathstroke driving his sword through Ryan's chest, killing him. He then gives the deceased hero's body to Dwarfstar. (Titans: Villains for Hire Special v1 #1)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Slade Wilson

Slade chose his family, but during an outing with Grant, he was approached by William Walsh, a member of the team that had been working on the ACTH trials. Walsh revealed that he had been keeping an eye on Slade, and that out of the hundreds of men who underwent the ACTH trials, Slade was the only survivor. He explained that all records of the program had been purged, but one of the scientists, Francis Campbell, intended to testify about the experiments to Congress, an action which would put Slade and his family in the firing line. Though he would not reveal his employer, Walsh implied that he was representing the US Military, and offered Slade a million dollars to 'stop' Campbell from testifying with Wilson accepting the job. (Deathstroke Inc. v1 #10) He left his family, telling Adeline that he was going on a hunting trip; she reluctantly accepted, hoping that the trip would help get Slade back to was before the experiments. Slade and his erstwhile cohort Wintergreen travelled to the home of long-time associate David Isherwood, where they obtained an experimental Promethium suit, developed by Isherwood as part of a joint US/Canadian military venture using materials developed by S.T.A.R. Labs. Though unhappy of the suit's orange mask and gloves, Slade accepted the suit and proceeded with his mission. With Wintergreen planting explosives outside, Slade besieged the building, taking advantage of the distraction and power outage created by the explosion. Slade made his way inside, tearing through the agents defending Campbell before being unexpectedly interrupted by the arrival of Green Arrow, who fired an arrow into Deathstroke's gun, jamming it. The vigilante told Campbell to head to the roof, and that he would hold the fledgling mercenary at bay. (Deathstroke Inc. v1 #11)

At some point during his son's childhoods, Slade went camping with both Grant and Joseph. While Joseph enjoyed himself, Grant refused to camp and slept in the car during the night, exhausting the car battery and stranding the three in the wilderness in the middle of winter. When Slade reprimanded Grant, he snapped at Slade. Before he could abuse him, Grant stormed off while Slade and Joseph began walking in a different direction to find a town. Grant eventually ran into a mother bear. Before the bear can reach him, Slade, having followed Grant, killed it, then scolded his son; partly for not knowing he was toward it in the first place, and partly for not being able to flee. Wintergreen then arrived to pick up Slade for a contract in Qurac. He admonished Slade's parenting methods, but he still believed Grant should have been able to take care of himself. Before leaving, He went to kill the bear cubs nearby, thinking it better than not having a mother. (Deathstroke: Rebirth v1 #1)

Still fresh as an assassin for hire. Slade would do some freelance work as a Leviathan work study, becoming a contract killer of such renown that even Talia Al Ghul proprietor and creator of the organization had acknowledged his accomplishments as one of the best killers in the Underlife. (The Silencer v1 #4)

During Gotham's War of Jokes and Riddles, it was noted that he had joined the Riddler's faction that were engaged in a battle for the city against the villains who sided with Joker. This was to determine between them who had the privilege of killing Batman. In the conflict, he squared off against Deadshot who had sided with Joker where the two mercenaries fought for a total of five days killing 62 civilians that were caught in their crossfire before they were stopped by Batman. (Batman v3 #28)

At some point during their childhoods, Slade went camping with his sons, Grant and Joseph. While Joseph enjoyed himself, Grant refused to camp and slept in the car during the night, exhausting the car battery and stranding the three in the wilderness in the middle of winter. When Slade reprimanded Grant, he snapped at Slade. Before he could abuse him, Grant stormed off while Slade and Joseph began walking in a different direction to find a town. Grant eventually ran into a mother bear. Before the bear can reach him, Slade, having followed Grant, killed it, then scolded his son; partly for not knowing he was toward it in the first place, and partly for not being able to flee. Wintergreen then arrived to pick up Slade for a contract in Qurac. He admonished Slade's parenting methods, but he still believed Grant should have been able to take care of himself. Before leaving, He went to kill the bear cubs nearby, thinking it better than not having a mother. (Deathstroke: Rebirth v1 #1)

Slade went to Russia to fulfill a contract against a man named "Possum", which turned out to be a set-up. Slade became badly injured from Possum's backup. Bleeding heavily, Slade tried to remember the name of the man he's to see; an older man called I-Ching. He found his way to the place, and collapsed. Slade woke, healed by the man, and sensed something had changed in him. He soon realized that, somehow, I-Ching had made him young again. Slade began searching around, and found the hologram of a masked swordsman. A voice from behind him explained that this man was just a hologram of Deathstroke's next target, Odysseus. The man introduced himself as Red Fury. (Deathstroke v3 #1)

With the Speed Force, he made numerous attempts to stop his son Grant from ever becoming Ravager but each of these failed. This led to Wilson going earlier and earlier in the timestream to prevent his son's death. To stop him, the Titans through Wally West's speedster powers encountered the earlier version of the Teen Titans. In that time, Damian Wayne acted on his own where he caused a young Kid Flash a heart attack in an effort to cut off Deathstroke's Speed Force powers from the source. The forced Slade into the present where his anger at being denied the chance to save his son led to him deciding to destroy the Titans and he rushed into the Speed Force again to wipe them from existence. Whilst there, he became aware of a higher plane of existence of all reality but was pulled back by the actions of the Titans. The experience had a notable impact on Slade who decided to retire from being Deathstroke. (Teen Titans: The Lazarus Contract Special v1 #1)

Slade later came to question his direction in life and whether someone like him could be redeemed. This saw him looking to decide what path to take whether to be a hero or a villain. In that time, he came to be hired as an operative for T.R.U.S.T. where he was partnered with Black Canary to neutralise dangerous individuals in the world. One of their first missions together was the capture of the new H.I.V.E. Queen who was mutating humans into bee people. (Deathstroke Inc. v1 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

He came to be known by the name of Deathstroke the Terminator. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)

He said that he stopped counting the number of people he had killed a long time ago. (Teen Titans v6 #8)

It was said that he did not answer to anyone. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)

As a mercenary, he was paid in advance and decided on his own way to eliminate the target. It was said that once Deathstroke took an assignment that he never failed on a mission. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)

Deathstroke came to be regarded as the top mercenary in the world. (Deathstroke v2 #1)

He had told his son Grant Wilson stories about the exploits of the legendary Deathstroke with his child unaware that Slade was actually the famed mercenary. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)

Aiding him was his close confidante Wintergreen who often provided support from headquarters. (New Teen Titans v1 #2)

He came to blame the Teen Titans for the death of his son Grant Wilson and swore revenge against them. (New Teen Titans v1 #2) Slade had said that he had never wanted the life of a hired mercenary and assassin for any of his children. (Teen Titans: The Lazarus Contract Special v1 #1)

Powers and abilities

The Terminator in Deathstroke v2 #15.

Originally, Slade Wilson had been an ordinary human being with no special inherent traits. By adulthood, he came to be trained extensively to be a soldier in the U.S. military. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #1)

Among the people to had trained him was the highly skilled master assassin known as Natas. (Green Arrow v3 #66)

He came to volunteer to be the test subject of a new serum based on an A.C.T.H. derivative which resulted in him gaining superhuman enhancements over existing physical traits. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #1)

This resulted in his brain power being increased to 90% which had the added effect of making him stronger and faster than an ordinary human as well as increased his senses a thousandfold. (New Teen Titans v1 #10)

He possessed enhanced vision that allowed him to 'sees things faster' than normal humans. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #2)

His reflexes were said to be phenomenal where he was able to dodge a hail of bullets. (New Teen Titans v1 #2) It was noted that his reaction speed was ten times faster than normal humans. (Deathstroke the Terminator v1 #10)

At one point, he was noted to had been given the God Killer sword that was forged by the Olympian god Hephaestus and was capable of killing gods. (Deathstroke v3 #7)

Among his equipment included the Ikon Suit developed by Dr. David Isherwood that was a prototype version of his technology. Kinetic energy impacting the suit was able to power up its systems. (Deathstroke v4 #1) It operated by producing a gravitic sheath creating a point defense system creating gravitational tidal effect to protect the wearer though it was not a force field. (Deathstroke v4 #2)

Notes

• Deathstroke was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez where he made his first appearance in New Teen Titans v1 #2 (December, 1980).
• In an interview with Christopher J. Priest, he commented that, "[N]ot only was Marv's Deathstroke a villain, he was also kind of an asshole, which I thought was unique. He wasn't some misunderstood anarchist; he deliberately did skeevy things – most notably sleeping with Terra, a presumably underage girl – in his quest to exact revenge against his enemies. I read that and went, "Whoa". This was beyond The Joker, well beyond Lex Luthor. Marv created the first modern supervillain. He broke every rule by making Deathstroke three-dimensional and giving him internal conflicts while maintaining a level of skeeve we weren't used to seeing from a typical 2-dimensional bad guy."

Alternate Versions

• In Flashpoint: Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager v1 #1 (2011), an alternate version of Deathstroke appeared in the Flashpoint reality in the reborn Multiverse.
• In Teen Titans: Earth One #1 (2015), an alternate version of Deathstroke appeared in the new Earth-1 reality in the reborn Multiverse.

In other media

Television

• In Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, an original incarnation of Deathstroke appeared in the setting of the live-action television series in the episode "Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark" where he was portrayed by actor Antonio Sabàto Jr. This version went by the name of Earl Gregg but was also known as Bob Stanford who was an assassin with unstable magnetic powers.
• In Teen Titans, Slade appeared in the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Ron Perlman.
• In Smallville, Slade Wilson appeared in the live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Michael Hogan. This version is a corrupt U.S. Army general responsible for the Vigilante Registration Act. He loses his right eye and acquires a healing factor that puts him "beyond death's stroke" after being saved by Darkseid, but is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone by Clark Kent.
• In Young Justice: Invasion, Deathstroke appeared in the animated television series where he was first voiced by actor Wentworth Miller and later voiced by actor Fred Tatasciore. The Light sent Deathstroke and Sportsmaster after Blue Beetle to retrieve his scarab. Ted Kord did not survive the meeting, but the two assassins could not secure the scarab. When Sportsmaster attempted to assassinate Black Manta, Deathstroke counteracted the attack by shooting the disc Sportsmaster threw. This prompted Sportsmaster to blow his way out of the cave, and make his escape by helicopter. Deathstroke fired several shots at the helicopter, but it escaped unharmed. Black Manta had Deathstroke accompany Tigress to kidnap Miss Martian in order to force her to restore Kaldur'ahm's mind. As Miss Martian and Lagoon Boy exited a Zeta-Tube in a junkyard, they were confronted by Deathstroke and Tigress. Deathstroke battled Lagoon Boy, eventually taking him down and injuring his leg. Tigress was then able to weaken Miss Martian long enough for Deathstroke to slap an inhibitor collar on her. The two then took Miss Martian aboard the Manta-Flyer. Later, as Black Manta ordered Miss Martian to restore Kaldur's mind, Deathstroke observed in a ship a distance away from the Manta-Flyer to ensure that Miss Martian did not use her telepathic powers for any other reason.
• In Arrow, Slade Wilson appeared in the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse where he was portrayed by actor Manu Bennett.
• In Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons, Deathstroke appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Michael Chiklis.
• In Titans, Deathstroke appeared in the setting of the DCU live-action television series where he was portrayed by actor Esai Morales.

Films

• In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, President Slade Wilson appeared in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Bruce Davison.
• In Justice League, Deathstroke appeared in the live-action film set in the DC Extended Universe where he was portrayed by actor Joe Manganiello.
• In Son of Batman, Deathstroke appeared in the setting of the 2014 animated film where he was voiced by actor Thomas Gibson. Slade Wilson was Ra's al Ghul's right-hand man and future successor but his actions deemed him unworthy and he was banished once Ra's learned of Batman's identity as billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne. The title of successor was passed onto Ra's Al Ghul's grandson, Damian Wayne. Feeling denied of his right, he named himself "Deathstroke" and went onto proceeding in staging a coup d'état on the league. He fought with his former master and defeated him. As he was about to finish him off, Damian protected his grandfather and stabbed Deathstroke's right eye. He was rescued by another of Ra's Al Ghul's former henchmen, Ubu. After escaping from Ubu, Deathstroke went to Dr. Kirk Langstrom to work on a project initiated by Ra's to use Langstrom's Man-Bat gene splicing formulas on members of the League. He kidnaps Langstrom's family and Talia al Ghul as insurance. After Langstrom's daughter gave Damian a message that showed Deathstroke kidnapping Talia and tells Damian to come to his fortress or he will kill her. After Damian came, he confronted Deathstroke. He was about to kill Damian but Talia interfered by shielding her son and taking the shot herself. Deathstroke chased Damian but Batman arrived and the two fought briefly. Batman defeated him and he fled. Damian going by the name "Robin" fought Deathstroke again and Deathstroke was defeated. His fortress sank to the bottom of the ocean with Deathstroke in it.
• In Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Deathstroke appeared in the setting of the 2017 animated film where he was voiced by actor Miguel Ferrer. It is revealed that he survived his encounter with Robin and used the Lazarus Pit to heal himself. He has gained greater physical strength from his exposure and upgrades his armor and takes on the contract with the H.I.V.E. to capture the Teen Titans, but to also get revenge on Damian for their last encounter. He discovered a young girl named Terra who was accused of being a witch and before the town could kill her, Deathstroke interfered and saved her. He got her to join him and uses her as a double agent for the Titans and himself. When Robin becomes suspicious, but wishing to be sympathetic as requested by Raven, follows Terra but ends up finding Deathstroke watching them. Deathstroke revealed the details of his survival to Robin and they fight, with him getting revenge for his last defeat. The brawl ended with Robin being ambushed by the treacherous Terra, allowing Deathstroke to capture him. Deathstroke later captures Blue Beetle, Beast Boy and Starfire, but he failed to capture Nightwing who fakes his death. Deathstroke and Terra bring the other Titans to Brother Blood. He taunts them on their defeat, as well on Terra's callous disregard of them. However, Blood reveals that the machine he had created cannot function without one more Titan. Deathstroke then betrays Terra and lets her get captured by him, before he is paid in full but the Titans are soon rescued by Nightwing. While the other Titans fight Brother Blood, Deathstroke attempts to escape but Nightwing and Robin battle Deathstroke to get revenge for his attack on them. He put up a good fight before he was attacked by Terra where she became so angry for his betrayal with Deathstroke trying to talk his way out of it but failed to do so. This led to her causing an avalanche where he was buried underneath whilst she bid her farewell as she left him to die.

Video games

• In DC Universe Online, Deathstroke appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game where he was voiced by actor Tracy W. Bush.
• In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Deathstroke appeared as a playable character in the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor J. G. Hertzler.

Appearances

• New Teen Titans v1: (1980)
• Deathstroke the Terminator v1:
• Deathstroke v2:
• Batgirl v1:
• Infinite Crisis v1:
• Deathstroke v3:
• Deathstroke v4:
• Teen Titans: The Lazarus Contract Special v1 #1:
• Deathstroke Inc. v1: (2021)

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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