The following story and photos are from Giant Panda King's book,
Gotham 1919-1939 by Russall S. Beattie, available from www.giantpandaking.com.
Viewer discretion is advised.
As a child, Slade Wilson’s intensity intimidated the other children around him. His physical
stature made him taller than most children his age, and his sharp mind made him even more
intimidating. His father had been in the military, and his mother had died soon after his birth.
This made Slade somber, melancholy, and angry quite often. He would constantly get into fights
with the other children at his school, and would receive beatings from his drunken father
for getting into so much trouble. This made Slade have a deep resentment for the world.
He felt cheated by life for taking his mother, and resentful towards the others around him.
He wanted a way out of his sorry lot in life, and he took it at the age of sixteen.
Lying about his age, he enlisted in the military just like his father had. In the years
leading up to the Great War, he proved himself tremendously. He stood out above the rest of his
comrades-in-arms, making him an ideal candidate to work as a spy and assassin for the US military.
In this station, he became one of the most decorated assets in the US military's history.
He was effective at hunting his prey, earning him the code name Deathstroke.
For many years, even during and after the Great War, Slade continued this work. Eventually,
he noticed that he had lost something within him. He no longer felt sympathy for his targets,
and he no longer felt remorse when killing people. He felt nothing, only the thrill of
the hunt and the empty feeling afterwards. After this realization, he quickly became disillusioned
with the government he was working for. He no longer wanted to answer to a government that
only saw him as a weapon; a means to an end. He left the military, striking out on his own.
He soon found that his specific skill set was quite sought-after by many groups.
Hesitantly at first, he offered his service to the highest bidder as a mercenary.
This soon proved to be the outlet he had been looking for, as he got to choose and pick
his jobs. If he was to be a living weapon, he wanted to be in control of who got to wield it.
The years passed, and Deathstroke became a name that was feared in many countries. He may
have been responsible for numerous deaths: Bella Wright, Clement De La Haye, Venustiano Carranza,
and many more. All of these people were murdered without any evidence as to who had
been responsible. His reputation was one of blood and death, and eventually it caught the attention
of the highest bidder. Slade Wilson met Ra’s al Ghul and learned of his League of Assassins.
Slade was hesitant to join a cause; the last time he had done so, he had ended up becoming a weapon
wielded mindlessly. He did not want to become someone’s puppet again. Ra’s assured him that
the League valued its members autonomously, and he had the freedom to leave at any point. After much
convincing, and promise of generous payment, Slade agreed, and Deathstroke joined the League’s ranks.
Deathstroke quickly established himself as the elite of the elite within the League.
He was a killer among killers, and was soon given the highest priority solo missions. Deathstroke
earned a title as one of the Seven Men of Death, an elite task force led by Malcolm Merlyn. When
Interpol was founded in 1923, Deathstroke was at the top of their list of international fugitives.
Some of Deathstroke’s fellow League members were envious, such as David Cain, who was later exiled
from the League. Cain had been acting out due to his envy, and Ra’s al Ghul was not one to
tolerate such weakness in his forces. Deathstroke, still devoid of remorse and sympathy, continued to
fight for the League. Years later, he would be imprisoned and pressed into an experimental US
government task force. This task force would prove to suit his skills, but at a cost. Before then,
as the days of the Shadow War loomed closer, he found himself anticipating it, and the challenge
of it, greatly. In his years as a mercenary, he had found himself woefully unopposed.
There were few who could match his skill in battle, and he was becoming bored.
He had heard the stories of the Bat-Man of Gotham, and hoped that he would, at last,
find a worthy opponent in the masked vigilante. Ra’s al Ghul knew this about Deathstroke,
and continued to groom him for such a task. Deathstroke would be responsible for much
death and carnage in Gotham City, but, no matter how much he tried, his humanity was gone. Slade
Wilson was no more, there was only Deathstroke. And Deathstroke would have his moment of glory.