Deathstroke

> You said you had something I'd want? You better not be wasting my time.
>
> Deathstroke and Lex Luthor, Zack Snyder's Justice League

**Slade Joseph Wilson** is one of the world's deadliest assassins and a mercenary-for-hire, operating under the moniker **Deathstroke**. He is one of the adversaries of the Batman and a mutual acquaintance of Lex Luthor.

## Biography

### Conflict with Batman

> Now, you volunteered to destroy the Bat, free of charge. Why the pro bono work?"
> "It's personal."
> "Ah, let me guess... an eye for an eye.
>
> Lex Luthor and Slade Wilson, Zack Snyder's Justice League

At some point, Slade became an enemy of Batman, willing to do anything to take him down, even offer his services for free.

### Meeting with Lex Luthor

 File:Deathstroke grabs a glass of wine to celebrate.png
Deathstroke was invited to Lex Luthor's private yacht after the latter had broken out of Arkham Asylum. Luthor hired Deathstroke for a dangerous job, likely having to do with the Batman. When Deathstroke got annoyed with Luthor, Luthor offered Deathstroke information on how to destroy Batman, by telling him his secret identity. Finally acting placated, Deathstroke picked up a glass of champagne and remarked that the two of them did have something to celebrate.

### Knightmare

 File:Deathstroke Knightmare.jpg

> Where are we holding up?"
> "Somewhere he'll never suspect."
> "You still think it was a good idea, bringing him along?"
> "What do you think?
>
> Deathstroke and Batman, Zack Snyder's Justice League

At some point in a potential future where Earth had been ravaged by the forces of Darkseid and Superman, Slade, now sporting a mohawk, reluctantly teamed up with his former Insurgency enemies for the greater good of all humanity.

## Personality

As an assassin, Slade Wilson is cold, blunt, and irascible, being more than willing to leave Lex Luthor's yacht when he warned the latter not to waste his time, but seemed quite interested after hearing his proposition to start "a league of their own" in response to the Justice League's formation and resurrection of Superman. Deathstroke immensely dislikes insanity and inefficiency, as he was vocally irritated by having to work with Joker in the Knightmare timeline.

Much like Joker, however, Deathstroke is was willing to temporarily team up with his former enemies for the greater good of humanity (or more likely their own personal agenda or reasons at least).

Though he is a mercenary, he is show to be willing to do jobs without pay if he has a personal stake in it. As he showed by volunteering to work for Luthor in exchange for the chance to kill Batman.

## Abilities

* **Master Martial Artist**: Slade is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist, being likely comparable to his enemy Batman.
* **Sword Mastery**: Slade is a highly skilled swordsman.[citation needed]
* **Expert Marksman**: Slade is quite proficient in the use of firearms.

## Equipment

* **Deathstroke armor**: When in the field, Deathstroke dons an armored orange-and-black bodysuit and helmet. The suit carries his arsenal in various holsters.
* **Eyepatch**: Wilson wears a black leather eyepatch over his right eye, indicating it has been damaged to the point it can no longer see.
* **Swords**: Wilson actively employs the use of two swords as part of his arsenal. One is a ninjato sword and the other is a tactical single-edged sword.
* **Handgun**: Slade has a handgun holstered on his right thigh which he uses as his sidearm.
* **Grenades**: Slade carries what appears to be three grenades on his left shoulder pauldron.

## Relationships

* Insurgency (Knightmare future)
	+ Bruce Wayne/Batman † - leader
	+ Flash
	+ Cyborg
	+ Joker
	+ Mera
	+ Bruce Wayne/Batman
* Darkseid (Knightmare future)
* Regime (Knightmare future)
	+ Superman
	+ Parademons

## Behind the scenes

* In DC Comics, Deathstroke is a recurring enemy of the Teen Titans, and one of the most formidable foes of Batman and Green Arrow.
* The costume he wears in *Justice League* is identical to the one he sports in the video game, *Batman: Arkham Origins*. The similarities include the orange areas around his chest, a pop-out collar-like neck armor, and heavy shoulder plates with similar design patterns. The only noticeable difference being a black chevron on the top of the movie version's helmet.
* Joe Manganiello was uncredited for his appearance in *Justice League*.
* Joe Manganiello was originally considered for the role of Superman.
* Before Joe Manganiello was cast as Deathstroke, Stephen Lang, Ron Perlman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were considered for the role of Deathstroke.
* Deathstroke was originally supposed to be heavily featured in the Ben Affleck-directed *The Batman*, but after Affleck left the director's chair to focus on his portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman and Matt Reeves took over the film, his role ceased to exist.
* It was initially planned for Deathstroke to have his own solo film, but a change in executives at the studio put the film on indefinite hold.
* According to Joe Manganiello, the character of Deathstroke was originally planned to star in *Suicide Squad 2* before James Gunn was hired to direct the film.
	+ James Gunn later revealed that Deathstroke was one of several villains he considered for inclusion in the film.
* Deathstroke in the DC Extended Universe is the fifth live-action incarnation of the character, following incarnations portrayed by Antonio Sabàto, Jr, Michael Hogan, Jeffery C. Robinson and Manu Bennett.
* There is a nod to popular Batman rogue, Ra's al Ghul, on the hilt of one of Slade's swords: an emblem of the League of Shadows.
	+ The emblem was actually made for *Halo*, which is unrelated to DC Comics, but was used on a fan page to represent Ra's. Apparently Manganiello and/or his costume designer didn't realize the difference when pushing to make the connection, but the intention remains.
* In *Justice League*, Deathstroke was invited to Lex Luthor's yacht, but instead of being there to take down the Batman, Luthor instead invited him to join a team of supervillains with himself as the head.

## References

Terrio, Chris, Beall, Will (writers) & Snyder, Zack (writer and director) (March 18, 2021). *Zack Snyder's Justice League*.
2. ↑ How Joe Manganiello's 'Deathstroke' Ideas Seeped Into 'Zack Snyder's Justice League'
3. ↑ How Joe Manganiello's 'Deathstroke' Ideas Seeped Into 'Zack Snyder's Justice League'
4. ↑ James Gunn's Tweet
5. ↑ Joe Manganiello Easter Egg - Twitter

## External links

The ***DC Extended Universe Wiki** has a collection of images and media related to* **Deathstroke***.*
* File:Favicon.png Deathstroke on DC Database
* File:WP favicon.png Deathstroke on Wikipedia

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