DC's Deathstroke has enjoyed a resurgence the past few years thanks in large part to
the CW's Arrow.
As we settle in for Joe Manganiello's version of the character in the DC Extended Universe,
we're taking a deep dive into the character and offering a few tidbits you might not know
about one of DC Comics' greatest tacticians and most dangerous villains.
Here's the untold truth of Deathstroke.
Original Terminator
Though he's likely best known for his more recent work, especially his roles on Arrow
and the upcoming Batman film, Deathstroke has been causing trouble in the comics for
almost 40 years.
Slade Wilson was first introduced in New Teen Titans #2, which was released in December
1980.
At the time, he was known as Deathstroke: the Terminator.
His first appearance came four years before James Cameron's Terminator, but by the mid-'80s,
most people associated the name with a time-traveling Arnold Schwarzenegger, regardless of who came
first.
DC opted to quietly retire the "Terminator" subtitle and just stick with Deathstroke.
In the years since, he's taken shots at just about every DC hero in the books.
For example...
He beat up the Justice League
The Justice League may be DC's Mightiest Heroes, but they still need to watch out for Deathstroke.
As part of DC's Identity Crisis storyline in 2004, Slade was employed as the bodyguard
for Doctor Light.
Since that involved protecting him from a large contingent of the Justice League, Deathstroke
strategized how to take down each separate member, and systematically started neutralizing
them.
He faced off against a team comprised of the Green Lantern, the Flash, Green Arrow, Atom,
Hawkman, Zatanna, Elongated Man, and Black Canary.
It was working pretty well...until Green Arrow jammed an arrow through his eye and sent him
into a blind rage.
At that point, he just started pounding on Green Arrow, which gave the rest of the team
an opening to tackle him to the ground and stop the fight.
So close, Slade.
So close.
He defeated the X-Men
In times past, DC and Marvel weren't afraid to crossover for some truly insane—and fun—comics
events.
Deathstroke got his chance to prowl around the Marvel Comics universe as part of Marvel
and DC's The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans one-off, which found the Titans and
X-Men teaming up to stop Darkseid.
But the Titans brought along their most famous nemesis for the ride, who took out both the
Titans and the X-Men along the way.
Not even Wolverine and Colossus could defeat him when the battle started.
It just proved again that he's a force to be reckoned with—no matter what comics universe
he's in.
He inspired Deadpool
You don't have to look much further than their names, skill sets, and outfits to realize
that Deathstroke and Deadpool have maybe a few things in common.
Well, there's a good reason for that: Deadpool is basically an homage to Deathstroke, just
with more of an attitude.
"I know, right?"
Deadpool co-creators Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld were reportedly big fans of Deathstroke,
so they borrowed from their fan favorite when putting together the pitch for Wade Wilson.
In fairness, the characters diverged quite a lot once Deadpool's story developed.
Liefeld said:
"While ruthless, there is certain nobility to Slade.
He tried to have a normal family at one point, and believed in honor amongst thieves.
Wade, while canny, is an insane person.
The similarities are they both shoot guns and wield swords."
Family ties
Unlike a lot of comic book villains, Slade Wilson is also a family man—and his family
has also crossed paths with the Teen Titans several times.
In almost every case, it didn't go well.
His son Grant cut a deal with the evil H.I.V.E.
for enhanced abilities to take out the young heroes, but the enhancements taxed Grant's
body too much, and he died in his father's arms.
Slade's second son, Joseph, was kidnapped and had his throat slit while Deathstroke
was trying to rescue him.
Joseph survived, but the injury severed his vocal cords, leaving him unable to speak.
Slade's wife, upset over the whole ordeal, shot him in the face and damaged his eye.
And that's not all: his daughter Rose became a villain under the adopted mantle Ravager.
Guess villainy just runs in the Wilson family.
Hail to the chief
An alternate version of Deathstroke is introduced in DC's animated film Justice League: Crisis
on Two Earths.
In this world, Slade has gone into politics and climbed the ladder to become the President
of the United States.
Unsurprisingly, the guy's a pretty badass POTUS, leading U.S. forces alongside the Justice
League to battle the Syndicate.
Interestingly, this Slade has an eyepatch on his left eye instead of the right, since
he's sort of a mirror version in this world.
Not that it matters.
Eyepatches are always cool.
"You can't see it.
I just winked."
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