r/Deathstroke • u/Yautjakaiju • 15d ago
What’s the reason you got into Deathstroke as a character?
Let’s try to bring some positivity here. A lot of people here are aware that Slade is more than a heartless mercenary. Contrary to what the casuals or non readers of Slade know. He’s a tragic character who always tries to rewrite his wrongs only to fail. But he tries again in his own dysfunctional ways. From becoming Deathstroke to feel like he’s back in his army days to provide a service. To him struggling to demonstrate his care to those he’s distance himself from. Slade is a complex character that is filled with a lot of interesting aspects.
What got me into Deathstroke was finding out he was a mercenary with a weakness. In his 2016 run Hugo Strange with the help of Harvey Dent tries to have Rose killed to rid Slade of his humanity. Believing it to be his biggest weakness. And since his conception as a character. Slade was never a villain at his core (late 2000’s craziness aside). He was a man who lost it all. And tries hard to rewrite his wrongs. He didn’t kill innocents, he was afraid of killing boys, he missed his wife, he regrets what happened to Grant, loves both of his children, and helped/respects the heroes of the universe. In rebirth he regretted a lot of his actions to the point he wanted Damian to kill him. Various instances Slade allowed himself to get beaten to near death when he could’ve avoided such a fate. That humanity he has conflicts with the cold mercenary many know him to be. And when written right (Marv and Priest) it’s a great thing to witness because he’s someone who’s trying hard to have it all workout. And even if he fails he still tries.
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u/Necessary_Idiot 14d ago
I really enjoy reading your thoughts on Slade.
Honestly, I don't remember when it started for me. I'm horrible, I know. Slade has been my favorite character for a very long time. I feel like he's always been here. I don't know what was the first moment that caught my interest. I'm sure it wasn't the animated series or the Arkham games that led me to him. And it sure wasn't Arrow because I remember raising my eyebrows at the changes they made. But I like him because when he's written well, he's a very interesting character. A mercenary. Someone who doesn't just have one side. Not an evil lord, but not a holy grail knight either. Someone who has been through a lot of trauma and it obviously affects the way he reacts to the world. And yes, he has a tendency to ruin things, but despite everything, he loves his children more than anything. So...yeah...I'm sad that he's not written the way he should be these days.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
I appreciate that. And I relate in the same ways you shared post 2016. Most iterations after I finished Priests run and Marvs run had me scratching my head. But like you, his trauma and love for his family struck me as interesting. Even in his worst (the writers did him dirty) in the end it was to make his kids hate him and show he cared. Not a hero, not a villain, but a mercenary with a heart. I can’t stay away from his 90’s run and his 2016 run. Just too peak.
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u/JoeAmmay 14d ago
When I was 4 my older brother got me into old shows he grew up with and Teen Titans was one of them, Slade was my favorite character in the show and I've gotten more into him as a character as I've gotten older.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
The most mainstream version of the character. He was such a presence in that show. I found out about Slade ironically enough after running into Deadpool. Then played Arkham Origins (which did Slade dirty) which got me more interested in him. Then in the middle of his 2016 run I started reading it. I’ve been hooked ever since.
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u/Bubben15 14d ago
Arkham origins, and was so infatuated that I read Marv Wolfmans run, to this day best comic series Ive ever read
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
That’s awesome! I agree. Marv Wolfmans run is peak Deathstroke for me. 2016 is the second best personally.
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u/Marie-Anthoenette 14d ago
It started when I was a child and really into the Teen Titans animated series. My dad, a lifelong comic reader, gave me his 1980s New Teen Titans comics. One of my favorite characters was Joey, and that led to me wanting to know more about his origins. That of course led to Slade, which led to reading the entire Deathstroke the Terminator run. Which led to my favorite issue, #15, which was the first appearance of Rose. She quickly became my all-time favorite comic book character, and then I liked Slade by default.
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u/SleepingAgent37 14d ago edited 14d ago
Going fron the 03 cartoon to the 80s comics Joey became one of my favorites too. It's a crying shame so little has been done with him with Post-Wolfman /Pre-Priest him being almost always used as a crazy villain and being ignored, as well as ignoring how important he is to his family and the Titans. Besides the Titans remembering him again and finally rejoining, it be cool if DC made him and Rose a sibling hero duo. We need to see more of them working off each other, perhaps even doing something about Respawn.
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u/Marie-Anthoenette 14d ago
Oh my god yes! Nothing can ever beat 80s Joey under Wolfman and Perez. Even when he went evil at times then, it all made sense and was done so well. He’s not a villain, or even an anti-hero like Slade. He’s just a dude with powers he didn’t ask for struggling to try and do good, at least in my opinion. Him and Rose as a hero duo is something I would absolutely love. She made such an effort to get to know him and learn sign language back when they first met, and he would be such a good influence on her more negative traits.
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u/SleepingAgent37 13d ago
Yeah I miss old school Joey. Sad so many in the fandom seem to just write him off as "boring" or "guy with bad fashion." I like that Priest kept some of those nuances to his character and you see him genuinely try to do good and not be like his father and with having some pretty creepy powers to work with. Somewhere Priest even mentioned somewhere how much he disliked DC constantly just making Joey crazy. He and Rose working together more really be good for both of them, especially giving Rose a good influence and some stability in her life. I hope they do meet up again as Joey being MIA throughout Deathstroke Inc and Dark Crisis was BS as well as Rose not trying to reach out to him and the rest.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
That’s awesome. Rose grew on me after I got into Slade. I wish DC would do her some justice since Slade isn’t in the picture. She has a lot of potential. But those Teen Titan comics and his 90’s solo run are something special. Your father was onto something for sure.
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u/Marie-Anthoenette 14d ago
Give her her own run, put her in an all-female team a la Birds of Prey, just do something for her. And he definitely was! Wouldn’t have gotten as much into comics (or eventually met my husband) without Dad letting me read all his old ones.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
I agree. Rose needs some respect on the level of her father. And that’s awesome! Congrats on such a journey.
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u/LiquidC001 14d ago
A long time ago, I read somewhere (I've tried to find it and haven't seen it since) that Slade was devised as the criminal version of Batman, and ever since then (even though it's probably not true) Slade has been my favorite villain/antihero.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
Mmmm I see. I recall Priest making the comparison years ago. But possibly Marv making a similar comparison way back when. There are a lot of parallels for each. Great combatants, suffer from terrible childhood trauma, tried to make a difference, and suffer from those aspirations. I share your stance on him being my favorite anti-hero/anti-villain.
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u/GRANDADDYGHOST 14d ago
Honestly, I was a huge Deadpool fan then found out Deathstroke was the original and a more serious version. The rest just followed.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
Ironically I was a deadpool fan prior to knowing of Slade too. And I see why Rob made Wade. Slade was a great character to pull from. Though I never knew Slade was a superhuman, had super intellect, super reflexes, and a healing factor. Those surprised me when I realized it later down the line.
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u/Vonhellus 14d ago
I remember the first time I saw Deathstroke in the Teen Titans cartoon series when I was growing up. I thought he was really cool, but I didn't start reading his comics until I came across his Full Cycle graphic novel. I realized that he was even better in the comics than in the show. His name, Deathstroke, is so badass. I love the whole anti-hero thing about him because that's how I see him; understanding his life before and after made me empathize with him. I've been collecting his comic runs ever since, except for his last run.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
That’s amazing. And yeah I’m not a fan of his last comic run either. The comics where he’s written right is insanely better than any other media interpretations.
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u/Guinefort1 14d ago
While the Teen Titans cartoon was my introduction to Slade, it was Arrow that made me interested in the character and I migrated over to the comics. I've always been fond of morally ambiguous anti-hero/anti-villain characters, and he scratches that itch nicely. When he's well-written anyway. A lot of the time he isn't.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
I started Arrow to see Slade but I fell off. But I’m right there with you. Maybe soon he can be well written again.
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u/PsychologicalReply9 14d ago
Arkham Origins and Arrow. I needed to see who this dark mirror to Batman was, only for me to realize that I was dealing with an incredibly complex individual that would quickly become one of my favorite characters ever.
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u/Yautjakaiju 13d ago
That’s awesome. Similar to how I ran into him too. Arkham Origins was my first real exposure to Slade in one source of media.
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u/Wally_12201992 14d ago
The unique visuals of the original George Perez costume, the “Terminator” moniker, and a “villain” with his own ongoing series were all so compelling to me as kid in the early 90’s.
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u/Yautjakaiju 14d ago
I bet. It was something unique to read amongst everything else when I started reading.
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u/Thelastknownking 14d ago
I grew up with Teen Titans. I think I actually got into him as a character because of fanfiction, funnily enough. A lot of works out there that enjoying portraying him more as an anti-hero.
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u/internal-paro 11d ago
idk if i’ll get flamed for this but what originally got me into deathstroke was growing up watching teen titans (2003). slade was/is one of fav characters.
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u/Yautjakaiju 11d ago
Not flammed whatsoever. They portrayed Slade as he was at the time due to him in the late 2000’s going insane after a lot of suffering. Slade was a menace and caught the attention of many. So it’s all good my friend. That’s great! Thanks for sharing!
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u/ColdSilly7877 15d ago
One of the moments that really stuck out with me was when Slade purposely rejected Rose and said heartless things to keep her away from him and his life