History YMMV / Deathstroke

** ''The Unkillables'': [[Characters/{{Deathstroke}} Slade "Deathstroke" Wilson]] is a callous ProfessionalKiller with an incredibly cunning mind. After recovering from the Anti-Life infection, having contracted it during an assassination, Slade sets off and saves his daughter. Surviving everything the apocalypse throws at him, he allies with a group of other supervillains before joining Jason Todd's team in Gotham, personally convincing James Gordon to ally with him and to let him train the children into ChildSoldiers to defend themselves. When forced to move to a new sanctuary, Slade uses a ploy to switch buses and take on the enemy horde. When cornered, Slade proceeds to give his daughter a hug, depart, and [[HeroicSacrifice battle the Anti-Living to the death in order to buy time for his companions and the children]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Billy Wintergreen, for being the OnlySaneMan.
** Red Lion, for being an evil {{Expy}} of ComicBook/BlackPanther.
** Rose Wilson, for being a DarkActionGirl who's trying to turn her life around.
** Tara "Terra" Markov, for [[NotQuiteDead being alive at all after the events of "The Judas Contract"]], being an even darker DarkActionGirl than Rose, having a DarkAndTroubledPast and an arc that fixes a lot of issues with her previous characterization and the depiction of her relationship with Slade. To say nothing of her snarky attitude making for some amusing dynamics with her teammates, [[VitriolicBestBuds Rose in particular.]]

* CantUnHearIt: If you've seen ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', you'll most likely be reading every line in Creator/RonPerlman's very serious voice. Alternatively, fans of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' probably hear Creator/ManuBennett's voice, which has became equally iconic for the character, albeit for the mercenary versions more than the Chessmaster ones. To a lesser extent, fans of his video game appearances may hear Creator/MarkRolston or J.G. Hertzler from the ''Arkham'' and ''Injustice'' series that prominently featured him. The late Creator/MiguelFerrer's performance in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract'' may very well reach this status as well. Creator/EsaiMorales' CreepyMonotone performance in ''Series/Titans2018'' is also a fan favorite.

** The AuthorsSavingThrow above actually made this worse for some fans who argued the retcon about Slade's relationship with Terra was a cheap cop out so DC could avoid admitting one of their most prolific villains was practically a child molester. It also doesn't help Slade's position that the retcon still puts Terra in the role of the relationship's instigator, thereby ''still'' subtly blaming her for the mess.

** Slade's handling by some writers has divided him into three categories. There are fans who still love him, fans who are unhappy with how he and his family have been handled since ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'', and those who wish he was dead. What has further broken this base was the infamous Titans: Villains for Hire special where he and his team of mercenaries butchered Ryan Choi.

** Jobber Aura, used whenever Slade beats superhumans that should be way above his level. Named after the ridiculous CurbStompBattle he gave an entire team of veteran superheroes in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis''.

** From a [[CharacterShilling clumsily-handled writing perspective]], that time he [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis defeated most of the Justice League with contemptuous ease]] gets brought up a lot to drag him as a beneficiary of PopularityPower. Worse, since, rather than employing his famous CombatParkour and intelligence, he mostly calmly and easily walks through the fight while the heroes around him are undone by their sudden impotence and death-grip on the IdiotBall, it cements the impression that rather than a fiendishly intelligent and capable super-soldier adversary, he's just a boring villain version of Batman whose place as ''the'' top gun-for-hire in the DC universe comes entirely from [[ArmedWithCanon fanboys getting to hand easy victories to their favorite character]].

** From a [[CharacterShilling clumsily-handled writing perspective]], that time he [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis defeated most of the Justice League with contemptuous ease]] gets brought up a lot to drag him as a beneficiary of PopularityPower. Worse, since, rather than employing his famous CombatParkour and intelligence to the fight, he mostly calmly and easily walks through the encounter while the heroes around him are undone by their sudden impotence and death-grip on the IdiotBall, it cements the impression that rather than a fiendishly intelligent and capable super-soldier adversary, he's just a boring villain version of Batman whose place as ''the'' top gun-for-hire in the DC universe comes entirely from [[ArmedWithCanon fanboys getting to hand easy victories to their favorite character]].

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The 2016 series is considered by many to be the book that had the biggest turnaround going from Comicbook/TheNew52, where it was considered one of the worst titles from DC to Comicbook/DCRebirth, where it's considered one of the best. Further punctuated with an Eisner nomination.
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The 2016 series, moreso than any other ComicBook/DCRebirth book. The complex plots can be roughly boiled down to "Slade manipulates and betrays everyone he comes across, while showing what a terrible father he is". And you can't resort to RootingForTheEmpire because a lot of the time, the people Slade is clashing with are just as bad as he is, if not actively worse, excluding the superheroes. It's been called the ''Series/TheSopranos'' or the ''Series/BreakingBad'' of comic book titles for a reason.

* DorkAge: The ''Titans: Villains For Hire'' era was one not just for the Titans, but Deathstroke. It was by far the most critically lambasted run of any Titans-related comic and fans hated for how horrible the characters acted (especially Slade orchestrating the gang murder of Ryan Choi) yet were still expected to be sympathetic, plus the stilted writing and horrible artwork.

* CantUnHearIt: If you've seen ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', you'll most likely be reading every line in Creator/RonPerlman's very serious voice. Alternatively, fans of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' probably hear Creator/ManuBennett's voice, which has became equally iconic for the character, albeit for the mercenary versions more than the Chessmaster ones. To a lesser extent, fans of his video game appearances may hear Creator/MarkRolston or J.G. Hertzler from the ''Arkham'' and ''Injustice'' series that prominently featured him. The late Creator/MiguelFerrer's performance in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract'' may very well reach this status as well. Creator/EsaiMorales' CreepyMonotone performance in ''Series/Titans2018'' is also a fan favorite.

** Red Lion, for being an evil {{Expy}} of Comicbook/BlackPanther.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The 2016 series, moreso than any other Comicbook/DCRebirth book. The complex plots can be roughly boiled down to "Slade manipulates and betrays everyone he comes across, while showing what a terrible father he is". And you can't resort to RootingForTheEmpire because a lot of the time, the people Slade is clashing with are just as bad as he is, if not actively worse, excluding the superheroes. It's been called the ''Series/TheSopranos'' or the ''Series/BreakingBad'' of comic book titles for a reason.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Rose Wilson's Hmong heritage has been restored after she was previously [[RaceLift whitewashed]] during the New 52. Plus, the fact she doesn't gleefully embrace how evil she is has gone down well.
** In fact, the series seems to retcon ''all'' of the Wilsons' New 52 history away. To say people won't miss it is an understatement, considering some writers couldn't even get certain characters' ''names'' right, let alone their backstories and motivations. And of course none of the New 52 stuff was ''ever'' consistent between the different writers.
** Part of ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'' that has not aged well with most readers is Deathstroke and Terra's sexual relationship, in which Terra, the ''under-age girl'', [[DoubleStandard was scapegoated, slut-shamed and portrayed as pure evil, whereas Slade, the grown man who was seducing a mentally unstable teenager, got off scot-free and even became a friend and ally to the Titans afterward.]] The 2016 series not only gives Terra more depth and sympathy as a character (showing that she UsedToBeASweetKid among other things), but puts the blame for her relationship with Slade where it belongs: on Slade, who even ends up apologizing for it to her and admitting that it was wrong of him, though he doesn't regret having used her in other ways and even claims that being used and "owned" by him is all she's good for to him -- however, he's clearly meant to be in the wrong, helped by Priest's consistent portrayal of him as a VillainProtagonist.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''DC Rebirth'' retcons his infamous relationship with Terra, showing that while he was fine manipulating her by kissing her, he ''did not'' sleep with an underage girl or have any desire to sleep with her, regardless of how much she wanted it.

* MemeticMutation: Jobber Aura, used whenever Slade beats superhumans that should be way above his level. Named after the ridiculous CurbStompBattle he gave an entire team of veteran superheroes in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis''.
** Most specifically, Slade [[QuickDraw outdrew]] the Wally West version of the Flash, a character who can move faster than light and has encountered Slade on several occasions previous, making it clear Wally was holding an IdiotBall for the fight. While the rest of the fight is also contentious, almost everyone agrees that Wally shouldn't have fallen for this move.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

** The AuthorsSavingThrow above actually made this worse for some fans who argued the retcon about Slade's relationship with Terra was a cheap cop out so DC could avoid admitting one of their most prolific villains was practically a child molester.

** He's popular and all, and it's not ''that'' extreme an example... but you will find a lot of people who won't let the character live down sleeping with Terra, a teenager. Although this is usually brought up due to frustrations from the double standards of the situation, and that the other characters will gloss over it while bringing up all the other horrible things Slade's done. The writer's attempts to retcon Terra's behavior as a result of Slade drugging her made the situation look even sketchier than it already was, because if he was drugging her to control her and ''then'' slept with her, it makes him a flat out rapist. Even DC's attempt to retcon this further by saying Slade never slept with Terra made it worse, since it felt like a cheap way for the company to avoid admitting how for decades they've continually hyped up a villain who got away with committing statutory rape on multiple occasions.

* OneMarioLimit: Ran afoul of this when [[Film/TheTerminator that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie]] came out. Early issues often didn't even bother putting the "Deathstroke" part in his name, while these days the opposite is true.

* MoralEventHorizon: Several examples come to mind.
** ComicBook/TheJudasContract revealed he was having an ongoing sexual relationship with Terra while she was infiltrating the Titans on his orders. Not only was he manipulating Terra into joining the Teen Titans, Slade was committing statutory rape on her and almost no one ever showed disgust towards him for doing so.

** After Roy Harper's mental breakdown following his dismemberment and the death of his daughter Lian, Slade secretly got Roy addicted to Bliss (a drug literally made from ''human children'') to Roy under his thumb.

* MoralEventHorizon:
** While Slade has done numerous criminal and downright evil deeds, the fact that he orchestrated the deaths of Rose's foster parents just to make sure she had no choice but to start living with him followed by pumping her full of mind altering drugs and turning her into a psychopath should put him over the line.
** Old school fans can point to him seducing a child into joining and betraying the Teen Titans during ComicBook/TheJudasContract.
** He keeps crossing it with Cassandra Cain and Roy Harper. In Cassandra's case, he pumped her full of the same drugs he used on Rose and turned her into a sadistic villain responsible for framing Tim Drake for murder and trying to kill Supergirl, all because Nightwing broke Slade's hold on Rose. In Roy's case, he exploited Roy's mental breakdown after his daughter died and secretly made him addicted to Bliss, a drug made from ''human children'', as a twisted method to keep Roy under his control.

** He's popular and all, and it's not ''that'' extreme an example... but you will find a lot of people who won't let the character live down sleeping with Terra, a teenager. Although this is usually brought up due to frustrations from the double standards of the situation, and that the other characters will gloss over it while bringing up all the other horrible things Slade's done. The writer's attempts to retcon Terra's behavior as a result of Slade drugging her made the situation look even sketchier than it already was, because if he was drugging her to control her and ''then'' slept with her, it makes him a flat out rapist. Even DC's attempt to retcon this further by saying Slade never slept with Terra made it worse, since it felt like a cheap way for the company not to admit they've been hyping up a villain who slept with a teenage girl for decades.

** ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': [[Characters/ArrowverseSladeWilson Slade Wilson/Deathstroke]] introduced himself as TheManBehindTheMan to Brother Blood, who was conducting illegal experiments to raise an army of super-soldiers to take over Starling City. He then kidnaps Oliver's sister and reveals her true parentage to her, all in order to cause confusion among the Queen family while he frees all the inmates imprisoned by the Arrow for his super soldier army. He even had Isabel Rochev usurp Oliver's company so that he could use it for his plans, all of it just to make Oliver suffer. By the time Oliver/the Arrow realised the full nature of his plans, he had already set his army upon Starling City. His biggest mistake was that he underestimated Oliver's allies since he was mainly focused on making him suffer more than anything else.

** In the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' fanfics ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11152702/1/A-Life-in-Shadow A Life in Shadow]]'' & ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11603808/1/Into-the-Darkness Into the Darkness]]'', he is a member of the Light and the [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] of Shadow. He puts his children through [[TrainingFromHell brutal training sessions]] to turn them into assassins, torturing them if they show weakness and drugging them to make them more submissive. When Drea challenges his authority, Deathstroke [[OffingTheOffspring kills her]]. When Shadow escapes, Deathstroke puts dozens of other children through his brutal training, resulting in their deaths. He plans to kidnap Nightwing, until Shadow convinces him to take her instead, where he puts her through the same training. He sends her on missions to aid the Light, beating her [[YouHaveFailedMe if she fails]] or shows any empathy. When Shadow meets with the Young Justice team in private, Deathstroke "rescues" her by threatening to bomb Blüdhaven and kill hundreds of people if Shadow isn't released. When Shadow rebels against Deathstroke, he gives her a stronger dosage of drugs to make her kidnap various superheroes, planning to have her [[ForcedToWatch kill Nightwing in front of his friends]] and attempting to kill her when she escapes his control. In the sequel, Deathstroke uses drugs to influence Matt into becoming his apprentice as the Watcher and plans to turn Matt's children into his own apprentices as well, while later kidnapping Shadow and torturing her into becoming his assassin again.
** In the fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12686549/1/Breaking-You Breaking You]]'', he is an [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]] who has felt humiliated by his previous defeats by Batman and makes a deal with the Court of Owls to make Nightwing their apprentice, in which he plans to betray them by stealing Nightwing as his sole heir. He begins by physically assaulting Nightwing and later kidnapping Damien Wayne, [[ColdBloodedTorture putting the latter through torture in the process]]. Deathstroke later captures Nightwing and forces him [[SadisticChoice whether to kill Damien or Tarantula]], in which Deathstroke takes pleasure when Nightwing accidentally kills the latter through immolation. When the Bat-Family comes to rescue both of them, Deathstroke threatens to kill Batman and every Robin to punish Nightwing for his "disobedience".

** Slade butchering [[ComicBook/TheAtom Ryan Choi]] and delivering the body in a matchbox to Ryan's arch enemy Dwarfstar. The most infuriating thing about it is Slade was never punished for what he did until ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}'' where he was quickly beaten and humiliated by both Atoms.

* CompleteMonster: His ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' incarnation and his incarnation from ''WesternAnimation/SonOfBatman'' & ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract''. See those pages or see [[Monster/DCAnimation here]].