deathstroke
in the world of comicbooks and celluloid (pop-fiction), mercenaries, bounty hunters and assassins, are nearly always well-received and some even idolized by rabid readers and fans - one prime example would be Boba Fett from the Star Wars-lore.i suspect tis the wish-fulfillment of the a myriad of mortal desires, a false (and negative) sense of "justice" for some (via vigilante-fueled means), and/or the embodiment of "anti-hero" for others ... regardless of "intent" or influences, one of my earlier fav comicbook super-powered merc was Deathstroke The Terminator (who have since dropped the "Terminator"-part) /// READ MORE
i was introduced to Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke) during the Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans-era, specifically of his introduction during "The Judas Contract" and of his connection to near-underaged Terra (man, my unforgettable taste of high-drama in comicbook-form) - with his enhanced abilities and of using 90% of his brain capacity for combat, and a penchant for speeded-up regeneration - dude was a Batman-familiar (with a slight-dose of Wolverine), IMHO ... which quasi-coincidentally triggered this post, what with the introduction of the Deathstroke action figure in the Dark Knight series, as seen in New York Toy Fair 2008. (screengrabs of video shown)
as for the character & movie connect: tis either just a purely commercial happenstance (sell toys, duh), or i suspect to be either Deathstroke is one of the villains hired by the mob to take down the Bat (in a cameo), or Wilson actually trains Bruce in some form or another ... and becoz Deathstroke hasn't really been connected much to Batman-lore, most times indirectly becoz of Robin (both Dick and Tim) of Teen Titans, so tis tricky a premise to speculate on ... but of coz speculation is part of the fun, innit? heh. but i'd hope (personally speaking of coz) that Deathstroke somehow gets his due of the day, lack of signature chain-mail-suit or broadsword, notwithstanding :)
"Deathstroke (and originally simply the Terminator) is a fictional character, a supervillain and sometime anti-hero in the DC Comics Universe. He is a mercenary and assassin who first appeared in The New Teen Titans (1st series) #2 (1980). Wizard Magazine rated him the 84th greatest villain of all time.[1]Imbued with enhanced physical prowess by secret army experiments attempting to create metahuman soldiers for the U.S. military, Deathstroke the Terminator (called "Terminator" for most of his published existence) became a mercenary soon after the experiment when he defied orders to rescue his friend and mentor Wintergreen, who had been sent on a suicide mission by a commanding officer with a grudge.
Deathstroke possesses various enhanced abilities. These include the strength of ten men, heightened speed, agility, stamina and reflexes. He has the capacity to use up to 90% of his brain making him a combat skills and tactical genius (written at a time when it was conjectured that humans only used 10% of their capacity), making him adept at turning opponents' own abilities against them, stemming from his years in the military and combat with various heroes. Deathstroke also possesses a regenerative factor in his blood that enables him to heal from physical injury much faster than a normal person. This has also made him effectively immortal, enabling him to recover from what would otherwise be fatal injuries, though recovering from what would be a fatal injury renders him insane and animalistic for a short period." [wiki]
of him done in (late?)-80's, for which i was pretty proud of too LOL
accurate Deathstroke from their DC Universe lines, with images courtesy of
DCUC.info, including a variant-edition with Slade Wilson's face revealed:
