Deathstroke (Slade Wilson)

**Slade Wilson**, also known as **Deathstroke** and **Slade**, is a character from the *DC* Comics.

Genetically engineered to surpass all human limits, Slade Wilson was once a soldier but now works as one of the most feared assassins in the DC Universe. He has frequently clashed with the Teen Titans, Batman, the Justice League, Green Arrow, and even gods!

In the AWA fics, Slade is set to appear in a future AWA storyline.

## **Appearance**

Deathstroke is a tall and muscular man. He wears a black & orange metallic helmet with a single white eye and a black & orange tail cloth dangling from behind. He wears a black bodysuit with exposed gray scaled parts and a large metal collar snd an orange belt strapped across his chest, an orange utility belt wrapped around his waist, black & orange shoulder armor pads, black & orange gauntlet, orange pouches strapped on both his thighs, orange metal knee pads and black metallic boots.

## **Personality**

Slade Wilson is a consummate professional, jaded by the work he does and attracted towards a contract basis, especially jobs that regard Batman - whom after beating him once, is dedicated to a rematch and finally defeating his rival. He feels a personal obligation to complete a job, but is too pragmatic and professional to let a job become a personal matter. He fully admits that he only does his work if he is positive he will receive compensation and because of this did not attack Batman while imprisoned in Blackgate as the Joker had no means of paying him. Despite his assassin lifestyle, Slade does have a sense of honor and follows a warriors code, no matter how warped it is, specifically he will grant his opponents a quick death in battle.

A heavy flaw he did possess was that Slade could be too arrogant and overconfident regarding his own abilities. Having killed all of the men he fought, he believed Batman would simply be an easy target. It was likely this hubris that was a factor of his defeat and he seemed to have learnt his lesson in *Arkham Knight* as he appears less arrogant but still rather boastful about his war stories which he told Batman repeatedly. It was likely that these many past victories which caused his arrogance. As a result of being defeated a second time by Batman, Slade appears to have hypocritically forgotten his own code of not becoming personally involved in a job and becomes obsessive of finally killing Batman, claiming he would not need payment and would "do it for free".

## **Abilities**

#### **Super Strength / Speed / Endurance / Intellect**

As a result of an experimental hormone therapy conducted by the US government, Slade became a super soldier. Unbeknownst to Slade's superiors, the procedure boosted his brain capacity, increasing his coordination and stamina further than a human could process, becoming an enhanced human. His mind is like a computer built for strategy. Deathstroke's mental faculties are accelerated by a factor of 9, allowing him to think and perceive nine times faster, affording him a greatly superior reaction time.

It is stated in Identity Crisis that, unlike a regular man, Slade uses 90% of his brain capability making him a strategical genius, while normal humans only use 10% of it. Because of that, he alone momentarily beat Wally West, Hawkman, Kyle Rayner, Zatanna, The Elongated Man, Green Arrow and Black Canary. Lately, he has also been shown to be able to resist telepathy, namely from his son Jericho. He is said to have "the strength of ten men," and he also possesses enhanced speed, agility and endurance.

Deathstroke's muscular system was hardened and strengthened making him way stronger than an average human being. He is strong enough (without his armor enhancement) to snap a sword in half, cut through a car with his sword, and even trade hits with Donna Troy.

He is fast and agile enough to engage entire teams of metahumans such as the Teen Titans alone and even tag characters such as Kid Flash in combat, which he has done on multiple occasions. He has been shown to even side-step Starfire's blast. Other characters (such as Hawkman) have often commented on how impressive Slade's speed, reflexes and agility are.

His endurance and pain tolerance are also above human levels, since Deathstroke has on many occasions continued fighting even when losing massive amounts of blood or taking punishment that would kill a normal human.

In DCnU, Slade appears to have a great degree of enhanced strength. In Deathstroke #1, he was shown ripping the door off an airplane at 40,000 feet above sea level with one arm. Indicating physical strength in the multi-ton range. In Deathstroke #14, Hawkman stated that Deathstroke's Nth Metal armor increases his strength and natural abilities even further. In reality Slade, over the years has shown strength, speed, endurance and reflexes above even peak human levels, that could be classified as low level metahuman.

In DC: Rebirth, It is stated that Slade's powers are a result of the super soldier serum triggering his metagene, officially making him a metahuman.

#### **Healing Factor**

Slade has also been granted a modestly accelerated healing factor which enables him to recover from physical injuries much faster than most humans, which supplies him with great longevity. This ability has limitations, as he can not regenerate lost eyes or limbs, although he can heal from fatal injuries such as being shot multiple times, stabbed with a sword through his vital organs or great impacts such as falls from great heights and hits from super-strong metahumans (such as direct hits from Donna Troy). He has recovered from otherwise fatal injuries, but the experience is traumatic.

He has suffered from short-term periods of insanity and animalistic behavior after these "resurrections" (much like Ra's Al Ghul after using a Lazarus Pit). These episodic feral states are temporary, however, and he eventually regains control of himself.

While Slade's healing factor is formidable, it still has limits. It's been shown that if he receives too many injuries in too short a period of time, or becomes too exhausted from fighting too much, his healing rates will slow down until he rests himself.

#### **High Body Temperature**

Slades' constant body temperature is about 110° degrees to withstand severe cold weather. This high body heat also allows him to survive in very hot weather, making it hard for his body to overheat. This temperature also prevents frequent illness, by killing any potential pathogens he comes into contact with before he can become ill.

#### **Enhanced Senses / Reflexes / Agility**

As he is able to think nine times faster than most humans, Deathstroke possesses heightened senses, reflexes, and physical acumen, making him a one man army and a great tactician. His senses allow him to identify small changes in the air that enables him to react to attacks from behind, and even allows him to cut a fly in half with a paperclip. His reflexes and agility is at such a degree that they allow him to casually dodge point blank gunfire from multiple assailants, fight an entire ninja clan alone, jump multiple feet (from one building to another while tackling a Warhawk) and perform other seemingly impossible tasks with ease.

#### **Expert Combatant / Soldier / Marksman**

Slade, even before he had his physical attributes enhanced, was considered one of the world's top (and most decorated) soldiers (considered the best even among the members of the elite Team 7 that included characters like Grifter and Black Canary).

He is an expert of unarmed combat as well as an expert in the use of both melee (bladed) and ranged (rifles, guns) weapons. His arsenal is extensive and, with his augmented physique, he can turn any object into a deadly weapon. Nevertheless, he prefers his broadsword, bo staff/bazooka, and automatic pistols. In short, Deathstroke is the DCU's premier mercenary and assassin.

### **Weapons & Equipment**

**Ikon Suit:**After his rebirth, Slade came across a prototype of one of his older suits of armor during a rescue mission. Created by Dr. Ikon, in addition to being bulletproof, this armor is able to absorb kinetic energy to power itself. Once activated, the kinetic energy generated by Slade's superhuman movement speed and reflexes can maintain the suit's energy levels. Because it requires enhanced reflexes to run, only Slade can generate the kinetic energy needed to keep the suit charged. It can be powered by alternative energy sources, such as a lithium fuel cell, but should such a source run out stop working for any reason, the suit's functions will shut down.

The durability of the suit combined with its energy-absorbing properties enable Slade to withstand incredible force, so much so that that Slade can take repeated punches from Superman without going down. Also, if the suit absorbs too much kinetic energy, it will release a shockwave proportionate to the amount of excess energy in the suit. The suit is also equipped with a sophisticated AI system with the voice of Wintergreen, but Slade swore never to use it, breaking that oath only under exigent circumstances.

The suit has four flaws revealed to date. First, It can be shut down by anyone wearing an Ikon suit with the master program in it. Second, the suit's defense shield does not work against abilities or materials that disrupt gravity fields. Against such forces, the suit becomes nearly useless. Third, while the Ikon Shield is durable, there are limits to how much kinetic energy the suit cans absorb. If hit with enough force, the shield can collapse, as shown in another battle with Superman. Lastly, if communications with the suit's AI are jammed while it is online, the defense shield cannot be activated.

**Broad Sword:** Slade carries a promethium broad sword that is more durable than Titanium. The durability of the sword mixed with his metahuman abilities are extremely formidable. He has been known to cut through a jet wing in a single strike with his sword. Also, the promethium in the blade allows it to absorb large amounts of energy.

**Grappling hooks:** Slade also carries grappling guns that shoot hooklines and allow him to reach great heights or restrain his targets (similar to Batman's).

**Energy Staff:** One of Deathstroke's signature weapons, a near indestructible bo staff (sometimes made out of promethium) that can also discharge an energy blast (strong enough to destroy aircraft and even injure or stun powerful SPB's like Superman). Lately, he has been shown to be able to separate his staff into two nightsticks, similar to Nightwing.

**Other Weapons:**Deathstroke's normal equipment also consists of various handguns, rifles, explosives and bladed weapons. Lately he has been known to use sniper rifles with promethium bullets, though this is more situational.

Deathstroke has also amassed a fairly large fortune due to the contracts he undertakes, which pays for his equipment. He also employs some outside aid (like Wintergreen) that helps him get new contracts, provide equipment and when needed medical help.

## **Trivia**

* DC Rebirth retcons his infamous relationship with Terra, showing that while he was fine manipulating her by kissing her, he *did not* sleep with an underage girl or have any desire to sleep with her, regardless of how much she wanted it.
* Apparently, Rob Liefeld once mis-drew Slade "Deathstroke" Wilson by letting him have both of his eyes, and when Fabian Nicieza saw it, he jokingly referred to the "new" character as Wade "Deadpool" Wilson.
* He was intended to be a minor, practically one-shot villain. He then got his role expanded to the Big Bad of a major story arc. Soon winded up getting his own comic book series and has become a fan favorite villain of the DC Universe.
* Deathstroke bears some resemblance to the Marvel character Taskmaster, who debuted several months beforehand. Both have some similar design elements (such as the buccaneer-style boots and color scheme), their powersets are roughly similar (Deathstroke's brain enhancements compared to Taskmaster's "photographic reflexes"), and have similar roles; however given the short period of time between their respective debuts it's likely coincidence (the visual similarity may be because they both were first drawn by the same artist, George Perez). But Deathstroke also inspired a rather memorable Expy. A lot of people forget that Deadpool was originally a blatant copy-cat of Deathstroke.
* Another Marvel character who has some simularities with him is the D-list anti-hero Solo. Both met their wife while serving in the military, both gained their powers as part of a military experiment, and both use a sword in tandem with firearms.