Deathstroke: Please stop making him a jobber

*Contains Son of Batman spoilers and minor Batman: Arkham Knight spoilers*

Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator, is one of DC's most formidable mercenaries. He may not be able to melt his targets with a blast of heat vision or shatter mountains with his fists, but the combination of his extensive training, enhanced physicals, and gifted mind has turned him into one of the publisher's most lethal and imposing characters around. He's humiliated a wide range of heroes and villains - he was even able to temporarily elude Superman and he's given Batman all kinds of trouble - yet for some reason beyond me, a number of his appearances outside of comics have been downright embarrassing. Slade may just be a fictional character, but if a video game, TV show, or movie is going to use him, the guy deserves some respect.

Deathstroke #1 variant cover by the amazingly talented Andrea Sorrentino. (Read his Green Arrow run!)

I usually enjoy DC's animated movies a whole lot - they have way more hits than misses - but I was especially excited for 2014's Son of Batman. Not only did it have Damian Wayne, Batman's awesome son, as a main character, but it also had Deathstroke stepping in to serve as the big bad. Immediately my mind raced with all of the possibilities. Slade - a brilliant tactician and skilled fighter - could force these two to bond and work together to take him down. Something like that would have created a seriously badass fight and a natural way to have Bruce and Damian overcome their differences as they use teamwork to defeat the villain. Suddenly, they're forced to trust and rely on each other if they want to survive the encounter. But that isn't even close to what happened.

Not only was Deathstroke's role lacking any kind of solid inspiration - he felt more like Bane because he thought the League of Assassins was rightfully his to lead - but his fight against the Dark Knight was shockingly swift. So short, in fact, that it made me exclaim, "What?! That's it?" Batman just effortlessly drops the dude with a quick combo. As if that wasn't degrading enough, Damian then has a one-on-one fight with Slade and walks away as the victor. I'm not saying Damian should never be able to win that one, but if he's going to take the victory, it would rely on his wit, resources, and tactics - not hand-to-hand technique. His agenda wasn't an organic one and the most dangerous mercenary was reduced to someone Batman can beat without breaking a sweat and even Robin can eventually best him in a direct fight. The character design was pretty cool, but everything else about Deathstroke in Son of Batman was seriously lacking.

Likely would have been a better movie if Ra's was the big bad.

Most recently, Slade made a surprise appearance in Batman: Arkham Knight. Once you complete the main story, Slade takes control of the Arkham Knight's army. When it's first teased that a mercenary is now controlling the bad guys, I got all kinds of happy on the inside. I was confident it was Slade and once it was revealed that it is him, I was thrilled. How could I not be? The guy had an excellent appearance in Batman: Arkham Origins. Sure, he was one of the earlier boss battles, but he was easily the most difficult fight and the game seemed to have a pretty good handle on the character. Unfortunately, Arkham Knight seemed to lose sight of who Slade is and the character in this game doesn't seem like him at all. First and foremost, his personality and dialogue makes him come off as a bratty child who's puffing his chest and making idle threats instead of being someone who's calculating and legitimately threatening. He's constantly bragging about how good he is and how Batman needs to stop relying on using "toys." But guess what? You don't fight Slade in a crazy hand-to-hand boss battle this time around. Instead, he has a tank of his own.

It's a shame a potentially awesome boss fight is used as another excuse to get in the Batmobile, and what happens next adds insult to injury. The way he's taken out once the tank is destroyed is beyond degrading. How terrific would it be if the tank fight was followed by an encounter which relied on stealth, countering, and using a variety of gear? Pretty terrific, yeah?  Instead, Slade leaps at Batman, gets tackled, and then gets knocked out with one punch. Slade claims he was caught off-guard, but that's pretty tough to believe seeing as he's the one who lunged at Batman's vehicle. Well, at least Guy Gardner and Slade Wilson now have something in common: getting flooded by the Dark Knight after a single punch.

Occupation: part-time jobber.

Slade's appearances in Injustice: Gods Among Us - he's the first obstacle Batman takes down and the cinematic prior to it has Bruce taking an easy edge - and the third season of Arrow - a brief cameo which even the actor, Manu Bennett, wasn't happy about - left a lot to be desired as well. If Slade does appear in the DC Cinematic Universe - and rumors are claiming he will - let's hope he's a memorable and layered mercenary instead of someone who just offers a cool action sequence and then is cast aside. I'm not saying Deathstroke needs to be this seemingly unstoppable force whenever he appears, but if he is going to serve as an antagonist, he shouldn't be someone who's taken out through just basic melee combat. If used, he should challenge a hero's intellect and skill in a big way. He should push their physical limits while also forcing them to be more tactical and creative. A good villain has the chance to show us just how far a hero can push themselves to overcome evil - that's exactly what Deathstroke should bring about when he's the primary villain.

A lot of appearances have handled the character properly (countless comics, Young Justice, Arrow Season 2), but I hope him being a total jobber in recent appearances isn't a sign of what his future will be like whenever he pops up outside of comics. Deathstroke shouldn't be included in something just because he's a fan-favorite - he should be included because he has what it takes to truly test the hero's abilities and his personality can create interesting dynamics. If TV shows, movies, and video games really want to use an assassin who will get walked all over and offer a forgettable conflict, I hear Brutale is looking for work.




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