alleged appearance as the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and neither should you) has helped the character transcend these shady origins, it can be even more effectively argued that Wade simply wouldn't exist without Slade. First appearing in The New Teen Titans #2 in 1980, Slade Wilson was a career miltary man who came by his abilities by way of a secret U.S. Army experiment. His beef with the Titans began when his son Grant, AKA Ravager, was tasked by the villainous organization known as H.I.V.E. with taking out the superhero team after undergoing his own series of superpower-inducing experiments. Unfortunately, said experiments proved fatal, and Deathstroke agreed to complete the mission. Their first encounter ended with Beast Boy grievously injured, and the rest of the team vowingto bring the mercenary to justice.

In the intervening years, Deathstroke has continually proved to be a massive thorn in the side of Dick Grayson, AKA Robin/Nightwing, and has also frequently crossed paths with such DC universe heavies as Batman and Green Arrow. The character has popped up in various media over the years; he's figured in the storylines of a multitude of DC animated films, was featured as a playable character in the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, and has even gotten the live-action treatment more than once previously. Joe Manganiello portrayed Wilson in a post-credits scene in the 2017 flick Justice League, an appearance which was meant to set him up as the primary antagonist of the since-aborted Ben Affleck-starring Batman solo film. (Affleck has since