Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke, was a former member of the U.S. Armed Forces turned mercenary and assassin. He was said to have encountered Batman on several occasions.
Biography[]
Justice League[]
Deathstroke's history is unknown, though he is believed to have been at one point involved with the League of Assassins. One account suggests that he had previously encountered Batman prior to his meeting with Lex Luthor, even building up a rivalry to the point where he'd offer his services for free to defeat the vigilante. Lex Luthor speculated he may have lost his eye in a fight with Batman, though the validity of this assessment is unknown and suggested not to be the case.[1]
One account suggests that Deathstroke was approached by Luthor after learning that his enemies had teamed up with other heroes to defeat Steppenwolf and his army. He invited Deathstroke to meet with him and create "a League of their own". It's never specified if Deathstroke had actually encountered Batman before these events.[2]
Another account suggests that Deathstroke learned that Lex Luthor had put a contract on Batman's head and met with him personally to discuss it. He was noticably reluctant to work with Luthor, since he'd been rumored to have lost his sanity prior to Superman's demise, and appeared more interested in learning Batman's identity. As he became inpatient, Luthor revealed to Deathstroke that Batman's identity as Bruce Wayne, putting Slade at ease and leading him to celebrate.[1]
Knightmare Timeline[]
In a timeline presumably averted by the Flash, Deathstroke was one of the members of a resistance movement led by Batman. He showed resistance to them recruiting the Joker to build a device capable of sending the Flash back in time. Deathstroke was involved in a skirmish with a corrupted version of Superman, though his fate after the battle is unknown.
Equipment[]
- Katanas
- Mech suit
- Guns
Appearances[]
- Justice League
- Zack Snyder's Justice League - director's cut
Abandoned/unfinished projects[]
Behind the scenes[]
Deathstroke officially debuted during the post-credits scene in Justice League. However, in August 2016, Ben Affleck shared test footage of the character on his Twitter account. This teased that Deathstroke would in the then-upcoming The Batman film, which Affleck had signed on to write and direct.
According to Manganiello, Deathstroke was intended to be the main antagonist of Ben Affleck's The Batman script and would target Batman's personal and vigilante life, driving him to the point of insanity. The main reason behind his attacks was for Batman's apparent involvement in the death of his son. The director's cut of Justice League showed Deathstroke learning Batman's identity from Lex Luthor, which was intended to set up the film.
However, Affleck left the project in January 2017 and Matt Reeves was hired in his place. After coming onboard, the director rewrote the script to both reboot the Batman franchise and transition away Snyder era of DC films. As such, Deathstroke and other elements previously established for the film were removed. The theatrical cut of Justice League also removed set-up for Affleck's version of the film, with reshoots instead indicating that Deathstroke was being recruited by Luthor into the Injustice League.
Deathstroke's scenes in the Knightmare timeline were originally not filmed for the Justice League film, with it instead being based on planned sequels to the film. These were made as part of new material for the film, though it is unknown if Deathstroke would have featured in any of the planned sequels. The character's appearance was changed to reduce the number of armored elements and remove the mask, indicating a toll taken from the timeline.
At one point, Deathstroke was planned to feature in a solo film, but was eventually postponed in either late-2017 or early-2018. Manganiello also claimed that Deathstroke was at one point considered to feature in The Suicide Squad.
Notes[]

Deathstroke's "League of Assassins" symbol (actually this Emblem from the Halo series)
- One of Deathstroke's blades had a symbol engraved on it, which was intended to serve as the League of Assassins' symbol and indicate his involvement in the group. However, the symbol actually originates from the Halo video game series and was used as Ra's al Ghul's emblem on a fan-made website.[3] The symbol also appears in the comic series Batman: The Knight.