Deathstroke is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, the character first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2 (1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator.
Deathstroke is the alias of Slade Joseph Wilson, a mercenary and former U.S. Army soldier who gains enhanced physical and mental abilities from an experimental super-soldier serum. Regarded as the greatest and deadliest assassin in the DC Universe, he serves as the archenemy of Dick Grayson and the Teen Titans, although he has also fought other superheroes, including Grayson’s mentor Batman, Green Arrow, and the Justice League. Deathstroke's vendetta against the Titans began when he swore revenge for the death of his eldest son Grant; his other two children, Joseph and Rose, would go on to join the Titans to oppose him. A bicolored black-and-orange mask that covers his missing right eye serves as Deathstroke's visual motif.
The character has been adapted in various media incarnations, having been portrayed in television by Michael Hogan in Smallville, Manu Bennett in Arrow, and Esai Morales in Titans; and in film by Joe Manganiello in Justice League and its director's cut. Ron Perlman and others have provided Deathstroke's voice in animation and video games.
Publication history Deathstroke the Terminator was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, and made his first appearance in The New Teen Titans #2 in December 1980.
Due to his popularity, Deathstroke received his own series, Deathstroke the Terminator, in 1991. It was retitled Deathstroke the Hunted for issues #0 and #41–45; and then simply Deathstroke for issues #46–60. The series was cancelled with issue #60. In total, Deathstroke ran for 65 issues (#1–60, plus four Annuals and a special #0 issue).
Deathstroke will receive a new ongoing series in March 2026 as part of the "DC Next Level" publishing initiative.
The character’s popularity with readers also led Rob Liefeld to create the popular Marvel Comics character Deadpool (Wade Wilson), whose name, powers, and costume were originally patterned on Deathstroke.
Following his injury in DC Universe: Last Will and Testament, Deathstroke appears in one of the four Faces of Evil one-shots, written by David Hine.
Despite predating James Cameron's film The Terminator by four years, the character is now simply called Deathstroke, though the full title has not completely fallen out of use, having been referenced in Justice League Elite.
Fictional character biography
Slade Wilson was 16 years old when he illegally enlisted in the United States Army, having lied about his age. After participation in the Korean War, he was 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 impressed by his talent and offered to privately train him 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, Slade and Adeline were married and she became pregnant with their first child. Slade was sent to serve in the Vietnam War, where he met SAS member William Wintergreen. While serving in Vietnam, Slade was given a drug that allowed him to utilize and use up to 90% of his brain's capacity, granting him enhanced physical powers, an accelerated healing factor, and heightened senses. Soon after the experiment, Slade becomes a mercenary without the knowledge of his family.
The criminal Jackal takes Slade's younger son Joseph hostage to force Slade to divulge the name of a client who had hired him as an assassin. Slade refuses, claiming that doing so would violate his personal code of honor. Despite Slade's efforts, Joseph's throat is slit by his kidnappers, leaving him mute. After taking Joseph to the hospital, Adeline is enraged at Slade's endangerment of Joseph and tries to kill Slade by shooting him, but only manages to destroy his right eye.Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (July 1984)
The Teen Titans Slade has a long history as an enemy of the Teen Titans, beginning when his older son Grant receives superhuman enhancements from H.I.V.E., becomes Ravager, and accepts a contract to kill or capture the Teen Titans. However, Grant's enhancements prove fatal and kill him, with Slade agreeing to complete the contract. His first mission involves stealing the element Promethium from S.T.A.R. Labs and selling it as a weapon. He then kidnaps the Titans and places them in the path of a Promethium bomb to test his device. The Titans escape and pursue Deathstroke, but he severely wounds Changeling in his escape.
Deathstroke next appears in New York, holding officials hostage to lure the Titans into confronting him. Terra, a new ally of the Titans, and Changeling are the only ones available to answer the call. Terra knocks Changeling out and battles Deathstroke single-handedly in an effort to prove herself worthy of being a Titan. Deathstroke escapes as the other Titans arrive, but by then Terra had proven herself and the team offers her membership. Terra and Deathstroke had secretly conspired to fake the fight in a plot to infiltrate the team.
The Judas Contract During The Judas Contract storyline, the Titans entrust Terra with all of their secret identities. Once Slade has this information, he uses it to systematically subdue each of the Titans, exploiting them at their weakest moments. Dick Grayson avoids being captured and meets with Adeline and Joseph Wilson. Grayson takes the new identity of Nightwing and confronts Deathstroke and H.I.V.E. alongside Joseph Wilson, who has assumed the name Jericho. During the confrontation, Jericho frees the Titans by possessing Slade's body. While trying to kill the Titans, Terra causes the H.I.V.E. building to collapse, killing herself. In the aftermath, Changeling attempts to kill Slade, but relents after realizing that Slade was not fully responsible for Terra's actions.
Titans Hunt Slade comes to the Titans' assistance during the Titans Hunt storyline, when many Titans members disappear in a manner very similar to how they were abducted during the Judas Contract. Slade and Nightwing discover that the abductions were the work of the Wildebeest Society, and that their leader was Jericho. Jericho had been possessed by the corrupted souls of Azarath, who intended to capture the Titans and use them as host bodies. Slade is forced to kill Jericho to save the other Titans.New Titans #83 (February 1992) Afterward, Slade continued his life as a mercenary, but also acted as an occasional ally to the Titans, aiding them when mutual threats outweighed their animosity.
Family business Meanwhile, Slade's relationship with his estranged wife Adeline took a tragic turn, as Slade underwent a process to gain the ability of physical regeneration, allowing him to survive any wound so long as his brain is intact. After gaining this power, Slade is forced to give his wife a blood transfusion to save her life, resulting in her gaining a similar healing factor. This alteration of her DNA drives Adeline insane, leading her to form a new version of H.I.V.E. During the ensuing battle, Adeline's throat is slit, but her healing factor will not fully heal her body or allow her to die. Starfire is forced to kill Adeline, causing Slade to renounce all ties with the Titans.Titans #12 (February 2000)
It is revealed that Jericho managed to transfer his consciousness into Deathstroke in the instant before his death. Taking control of his father, Jericho forces Deathstroke to murder Wintergreen. He then launches a series of attacks against the current Teen Titans before leaving his father's body.Teen Titans (vol. 3) #2 (October 2003) Deathstroke manipulates his daughter Rose Wilson into the mercenary business as the new Ravager, to find and kill Jericho, using a specially designed serum to heighten her hostility and push her over the edge. Unfortunately, the process also resulted in Rose being driven at least partially insane, to the extent that she cuts out her own left eye in an attempt to prove to her father that she was just like him.
Infinite Crisis Deathstroke is a founding member of Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super Villains in the Infinite Crisis storyline. He was seen in Infinite Crisis #1, hiding in a warehouse south of Metropolis waiting to ambush the Freedom Fighters with several other members. The battle did not last long, and by the end, Deathstroke had killed the Phantom Lady. Slade also shoots Uncle Sam in the back, leading to his apparent death.
He was the employer of Nightwing, whom he hired to train his daughter Rose. However, after the two have a confrontation with Superman, Deathstroke discovers that Nightwing had been teaching Rose the values of heroism. He could not kill Grayson in front of his daughter, because doing so would undo all of Slade's teachings. Nightwing offered a deal: he would stay away from Rose if Slade would keep metahuman villains out of Blüdhaven. The deal held for 34 hours until Infinite Crisis #4, when Slade, under the orders of Alexander Luthor Jr., drops Chemo on Blüdhaven, killing over 100,000 people.
One Year Later
In the publishing line One Year Later, Deathstroke assembles a counter-team of teen superhumans known as Titans East. The current Titans team includes Ravager, who now wanted nothing to do with her father. Deathstroke blackmails former Teen Titans member Risk while at the same time offering him an outlet for his rage, drugs Batgirl with the same serum he had used on Rose, and supplies Inertia with a formula that granted superhuman speed to compensate for the loss of his connection to the Speed Force. His team, however, slowly fell apart over the course of the attack, as Robin managed to free Batgirl of his mind control serum and Raven convinced Duela Dent to switch sides. Slade and his remaining Titans subsequently faced off against both the current Titans and a group of old Titans led by Nightwing. Although he was defeated, he still managed to escape with the aid of Inertia. In the end, however, it was revealed to the readers that Slade's real mission was to provide his children with something he could never offer them: a real family, in the form of the Teen Titans. By attacking the Titans, he insured that Rose and Jericho would become more trusted by their associates, and thus grow closer to the team.
Blackest Night In the Teen Titans (vol. 3) tie-in to the Blackest Night crossover event, Deathstroke is living in the deceased Wintergreen's house and reading his journal, when he is attacked by Rose again. During the fight, the two are attacked by their deceased relatives Grant, Wade, and Adeline, who, along with Wintergreen, have all been reanimated as Black Lanterns. Deathstroke and Rose are forced to work together and fight for their lives against the Black Lanterns.Teen Titans (vol. 3) #77 (November 2009)