Wait, When Did Deathstroke Become a Batman Villain?

With the news that DC Studios is making a film featuring Bane and Deathstroke, we wonder when Slade Wilson started being a Batman villain.

By Kofi Outlaw

DC Studios hit fans with a major curveball when it was announced that a DC Universe film featuring villains Deathstroke the Terminator and Bane was in the works. The pairing of Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and Bane is certainly not one we'd expect for a major DCU movie, but already there is speculation that Deathstroke/Bane will be a sort of pivotal interquel film, which sets up something larger in the Batman Unvierse's corner of the DCU. 

There's a certain amount of logic to that speculation: most casual fans know Deathstroke and Bane to be villains within Batman's circle of rogues. However, the funny thing is, it's only half true, because Deathstroke has never, technically, been a Batman villain. 

So when did that change? When did Deathstroke get repositioned as a Batman villain? 

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(Photo: Warner Bros.)

For most casual fans of Batman and/or DC, the answer to that question is most likely the popular Batman: Arkham game series of the 2010s. Deathstroke was a major featured character in the third, prequel, game in the series, Batman: Arkham Origins (2013), and was included in the culminating game in the series, Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). Deathstroke's role in Arkham Origins saw players going up against him as Batman in some intense one-on-one duels, which only served to highlight the fact that Slade is very much a physical match for Batman. By the time Arkham Origins had come and gone, the idea of a Batman vs. Deathstroke fight was thoroughly cemented in DC lore. 

Even more ironic is the fact that DC and Warner Bros. also created the idea of Deathstroke as a major Batman villain, without actually making it a thing. During the collapse of Zack Snyder's 'DC Extended Universe era in the 2010s, it leaked out that there were plans for Snyder's Justice League movie to be followed by a Batman solo film written and directed by Batman actor Ben Affleck, which would seen Deathstroke hunting down the Dark Knight across Gotham. The hype for that showdown went through the roof when test footage of Deathstroke leaked – long before actor Joe Manganiello officially appeared onscreen as Slade Wilson in Justice League (2017). When Snyder eventually released his cut of Justice League (2021), he added an homage in a post-credits scene, where Deathstroke learns Batman's secret identity from Lex Luthor, teeing up what Affleck's solo Batman movie would've been. 

Fans also got a taste of Deathstroke as a Batman-style villain thanks to DC's TV universe. Slade Wilson appeared as the main antagonist in Season 2 of the CW TV series Arrow (2013-2014), where he was played by Manu Bennett. Slade's battles with Oliver Queen/Green Arrow had fans pumped for what a big-screen Batman vs. Deathstroke movie could look like. A more traditional version of Slade/Deathstroke battled Nightwing and the Titans in Season 2 of DC's live-action Titans TV series (2018-2023) where he was played by Esai Morales. That show blurred the lines of the history between Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Slade Wilson, again making Deathstroke seem like a villain from the Batman world. 

Deathstroke's Actual DC Comics History Explained

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(Photo:

Nightwing vs. Deathstroke in DC's "Dark Crisis" (2022)

- DC)

Deathstroke was created by DC writer Marv Wolfman and late-great artist George Pérez back in 1980, and his original role in the DC Universe was serving as the archnemesis of Dick Grayson/Nightwing and his team, the Teen Titans, which was comprised mainly of sidekicks to the Justice League members (Robin, Superboy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Ms. Martian, Donna Troy). That Deathstroke/Titans rivalrly was woven through Slade's family (his mercenary kids) and backstory, to the point that Deathstroke and Nightwing's beef has grown into one of the biggest and bloodiest conflicts in DC lore. 

It wasn't until the mid-2000s and DC's Infinite Crisis event that Batman and Deathstroke started appearing on the battlefield against one another. By the 2010s, when Deathstroke and Batman were being connected in other media like games and movies, DC followed suit by having the two characters meet with increasing frequency in the pages of the comics. In the 2022 "Dark Crisis" event, Slade Wilson became a major antagonist of the entire Batman Family, culminating in an epic final duel with Nightwing, which reminded fans that Slade and Dick are the true rivals – not Slade and Bruce. 

What Will Deathstroke's DCU Role Be? 

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(Photo: DC)

The movie with Deathstroke and Bane is an interesting one to consider. The version of the DC Universe that James Gunn is building with Peter Safran seems to be set in media res, with the various superheroes and their history and lore already established when these films and TV shows begin. Batman is rumored to already have an entire Bat Family around him, which suggests that Dick Grayson could already be Nightwing, and the Titans may already be operating. 

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In that sense, Deathstroke and Bane could be working toward the larger goal of taking down Batman and his wards. Those two villains have a scary amount of intel about Batman and Nightwing between them – if they combine forces, Bruce Wayne and all his allies could end up in the crosshairs. 

The Deathstroke/Bane and Batman: The Brave and the Bold movies are both in development at DC Studios.

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