50 Greatest Super Villains In Comic Book History

27. Deathstroke

(Write-up by Nick Tylwalk, Bam Smack Pow Editor)

I think it was as a professional wrestling fan in the late 90s that I first encountered the idea of the “cool heel,” someone you cheered for even though you knew you were supposed to be backing the person fighting him.

For much of his existence, Slade Wilson was like that. Here was a guy who was an assassin and a mercenary, willing to do some pretty terrible things simply for his own profit and benefit. Despite that, fans kept eating up his appearances, to the point where he’s had his own comic book series on more than one occasion. It’s been established that Wilson has a code of ethics, off-kilter as it might be, and even a team like the Teen Titans — who he nearly destroyed with the help of a mole in the classic “The Judas Contract” arc — ended up fighting beside him when the circumstances dictated it.

What makes Deathstroke the Terminator so appealing? His name is part of it (he was the Terminator before Arnold), as is his easily identifiable costume. His powers are also intriguing, giving him access to 90 percent of his brain and greatly boosted strength and reflexes. Using both in concert, Slade can be a handful even for heroes who seem much stronger, like the time in Identity Crisis when he took out the Justice League singlehandedly.

Even on Arrow, where his early role as a bloodthirsty but honorable mentor to Oliver Queen gave way to a more standard super villain stance, it was explained as a byproduct of the loss of his true love and the influence of a powerful drug. That gives me some hope that he’ll continue to be DC’s cool heel, a role he fits to a tee.

Next: No. 26: Something to fear besides fear itself