Deathstroke

## Production Details

"*No more work for hire. From today, I'll decide who needs to die.*"
―Deathstroke**Deathstroke** is a high profile and expensive mercenary and assassin. Originally a soldier and later agent in the U.S. Army, he was part of an experimental super-soldier project where he gained enhanced strength, agility and intelligence. His vendetta against the Teen Titans began when he swore revenge for the death of his oldest son Grant; his two other children would go on to become Titans members as Jericho and Ravager. Traditionally his actions have been limited by a strong personal code of honor, although his motives became more villainous following the death of his wife Adeline Kane.

## Biography

### Early Life

Slade Joseph Wilson was born in December 2, 1959 to Charles Wilson and an unnamed woman in Australia. Slade and his father moved to America due to his father being unhappy in Australia and felt his son deserved to be well educated in the US.

Slade Wilson was sixteen years old when he first enlisted in the United States Army, having lied about his age. After serving a stint in Korea, he was later assigned to Camp Washington where he had been promoted to the rank of Major. In the early 1960s, he met Captain Adeline Kane who was tasked with training young soldiers in new fighting techniques in anticipation of brewing troubles taking place in Vietnam. Kane was amazed at how skilled Slade was and how quickly he adapted to modern conventions of warfare. She immediately fell in love with him, and realized that he was without a doubt the most able-bodied combatant she had ever encountered. She offered to privately train Slade in guerrilla warfare. In less than a year, Slade mastered every fighting form presented to him and was soon promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Six months later, Adeline and he were married and she became pregnant with their first child. It was at this time that the war in Vietnam began to escalate and Slade was shipped overseas. At home, Adeline gave birth to their son Grant.

Slade went camping with his son in Milford Sound, New Zealand. But in reality, Slade was assigned to interrogate a secret agent named Sen Ming to discover the exiled and disgraced Chinese General Yao Fei Gulong's location. They found some flat ground and started to pitch their tent. When Joe made a remark that they wouldn't stay long because of Slade's job, he assured his son that while he worked for the Australian airlines, the weekend was about them. After Joe left to prepare the tent, Slade took out his gear and prepared for his mission.

That night, he cooked some fish, despite Joe claiming to not like fish. Joe then questioned his father's status as a pilot, talking about how his friend Nick gets free trips because his father is a pilot for Ferris Air while they don't. Before Slade could respond, he spotted his target and made eye contact with him. He then returned to his conversation with Joe and told him that he worked for a cheaper airline that didn't allow free trips. Not buying it, Joe decided he wasn't hungry and went for a walk. Once Joe was gone, Slade made contact with the US army that he had eyes on his target.

The following day, the two of them threw a football around. When Ming, under the allies "Darryl", walked past with his family. Slade had Darryl take a photo of him with his son, before he and his family left. For lunch, Joe tried some fish, which he decidedly liked. While he continued eating it Slade spotted Ming walking by Slade claimed he had to use the bathroom, while he was really going to find Ming.

Slade armed himself with his gear and mask and put a knife to Ming's throat, questioning him over the location of Yao Fei. After Ming told him he informed that he was in "hell" and "purgatory", Slade herd a noise in the distance. This allowed Ming to then pull a knife out, so Slade killed him before he could use it. Not long after, Slade and Joe left Milford Sound to return home.

Some time later, Wilson volunteered for a medical experiment designed to stimulate his adrenal gland in the hopes of increasing a soldier's ability to resist truth serums. The experiment did not go as expected, and Slade fell into a coma. When he awakened however, he discovered that he was now capable of using 90% of his brain capacity, and his strength, durability and agility were increased to near-superhuman levels. He applied for re-assignment with the Army, but they refused him. Although his condition was now stabilized, depression took hold of him and he was desperate to serve his country. At this time, Adeline became pregnant with their second child, Joseph. He made his best friend and partner Billy Wintergreen the godfather to Joe. Unable to further his career in the military, Slade turned towards hunting. He became a world famous safari hunter and great wealth followed soon after. Adeline always suspected however that Slade felt unfulfilled.