Disclaimer: None of the characters in this belongs to me… surprising? No? Well, not to me either, since this is a FAN-FICTION SITE… -rolls eyes-
Oh, and I barely read through this, so I can't offer any cookies for corrections… I can't afford it…
What I've learned from reading Deathstroke, the Terminator
Hi! I got some positive feedback on this idea, so I'm doing it! This isn't a normal fan-fiction drabble, per se, but I have Robin and Slade here to help me out, Say hi guys!
Robin: Hi! –waves-
Slade: …
Oh, Slade is just being his quiet, cool self, I'm sure he'll have more things to say later. Anyway, I've recently started reading the Deathstroke-comics which has been sitting on my hard-drive like forever… The issues I have read, and will talk about here, is number 1-8, which was published from August 1991 to March 1992. I have learned more about our dear Slade from fans and good old Wikipedia, but this will only be about these issues, since these are the only ones I've read so far…
First, some background… I was kinda scared about reading the "real" thing, because I didn't want to read about evil psychotic Slade, but so far he's not bad at all! As a matter a fact, as one of the characters says, Slade's "bizarrely ethical for a merc.". 'Merc' meaning mercenary. That took me several minutes to figure out. I'm slow. But I'll use it in the future.
Well, anyway, here's some interesting, strange, or just plain dumb things I've learned… and I'm reading this out of a slash-perspective, obviously… ;)
Slade really HAS a hunting-lodge in Africa.
Well… HAD, since Ravager pops by and destroys it in the first issue… So rude! Anyway, I pulled that one out of my ass for 2060, but it was nice to see it was there… quite a nice place too… before the explosion…
Slade: Yes, I was quite irritated at the time. Not as much as Wintergreen, though. If I remember correctly he said he had just mopped the floors…
That's right, he did. I thought that was a rather housewifely-thing to say…
Robin: Wintergreen? Should I be jealous?
Yes, Robin, you should, but more about this later…
Slade likes to take baths after a kill
Wintergreen told us this (nice of him), even though the kill was a bull elephant this time. It had apparently wrecked a village, and Slade got back at it. Take that, elephant! Strangely he mentions that the villagers should sell the ivory, and, I mean, this was the 90's… Again, Slade doesn't play by the rules, so…
Slade's healing-factor is not even close to Wolverines…
I'm speaking about Wolverine in the X-men movies, now… if Slade is shot in the head, he's dead… and healing a gun-shot takes not minutes but hours… it's still amazing, of course, but I was surprised it wasn't faster… actually Slade gets roughed up quite badly several times and his suit is no miracle-thing either… let's just say it needs to be patched up every now and then…
Slade has a lot of helpers…
Except Wintergreen, I actually expected the great Deathstroke to be pretty solitary, but in only a few issues I've met a great deal of people… remember, I only know them from these issues, so they might never appear again or be very important, I have no idea… One of them is Squirrel, an inventor-type who stutters a lot, then there's Scoops, a guy who apparently finds Slade work… and sleeps on his couch…Anyway, he finds this job for Slade, killing off a guy for the mob, but Slade turns the mob down, and –gasp- they don't take his word that he'll not tell the cops on them, so Slade get's all annoyed. He's STILL annoyed the next morning (that's when we see Scoops waking up on the couch… I can't help but wonder if he slept there because Slade was annoyed...? Anyway, Scoops says things like "don't let them get to you" and Slade is all "My word is my BOND. You're fired!". The poor Scoops is pretty crushed, and then he runs in to Batman too… he's not having a good week…
Another character is Franny, an old, sweet lady, who cleans out Slade's gun-
Slade: I want to point out that this is not a metaphor for something else.
Robin: it better not be!
Shut up. Anyway, she's quite funny, and reminds me of an older version of Sarah from the 'Terms'-universe. Again, I had no idea! She talks a lot about a guy named Max, maybe her husband or son, but I don't know who he is. He seems to have meant a lot to Slade, though… anyway, she manages to flirt a bit with Slade too, and Slade is all charming…
Robin: -snarls-
Oh, Robin… you've seen nothing yet… here you go:
Wintergreen and Slade, sitting in a tree…
Wintergreen… Don't know if I love him or hate him… He saved a young Slade from being beaten up by some army-buddies of his, and I can see the poor kid (Slade) looking up into that smiling face, listening to that adorable accent and… well… fall a little bit in love. But come on, Will, it's time to let him go! He has Robin's now! And who would top, anyway? Will's the oldest, but Slade would never bottom… and I think dear William would love to…
Anyway, Wintergreen is worried, for the first couple of issues, because Slade has returned from somewhere and won't talk to him! Will gets quite catty about this, and moans about how they used to be everything to each other, something Slade repeats later, to an unconscious William.
Robin: Typical! He can never speak about his feelings!
Slade: I've just returned from having to kill my son Joseph. Forgive me for not being in a chatty mood.
Yeah, yeah, anyway, when Slade rescues wounded Wintergreen from an assault at a hospital, he decides to leave the man behind to keep him safe. Wintergreen goes into a real hissy-fit about this and goes crying to Addie, claiming Slade will never survive on his own and that, frankly, he doesn't care. He does though. Very much so... Not sure what will come of that yet, because I've only read that far…
Slade has no problem taking it off… and wears unsexy underwear…
Slade has a great body, he should be proud of it… and he has no problem dropping his pants either… but couldn't he choose the situations a bit better…?
The first time is in the car with Wintergreen. Slade has managed to get shot in the leg and takes his pants off to tend to the wound… and he wears white Y-fronts! Slade! What the hell! Tighty-whities?
Slade: I… err… everything else was in the laundry and…
Robin: I'm so disappointed in you right now.
I'm sorry to say this, Robin, but you wear them too.
Robin: WHAT? NEVER? Unless they are the SAME…?
They might be… and it's not completely clear that's what you have on, it might be white Speedos…
Robin; that's worse!
I know.
Slade: worse in what way, exactly?
Let's get back to the story, shall we… Well, Slade is there, in his underwear, not wearing the black boxers us fans like to put him in, and Wintergreen is driving… and not paying that much attention to the road. He says "Ouch! It hurts to watch you do that!" and Slade, obviously over his crush, replies: "Then don't watch, Drive!"
At Frannie's place, Slade also has his pants off, as he is putting on a disguise (more about that later), and he's doing so with the bathroom door wide open. Shirt on, naked legs. No wonder the old girl get's frisky.
The worst, or best, depending, is at Squirrel's place though. If I got it right, the guy helps him patch up the suit, and Slade strips. Completely. A panel shows him pulling off his shirt/top, FACING Squirrel, and though we mainly see his silhouette, it's clear that he has NO pants on. BUCK naked. No wonder the guy stutters! In a later panel the inventor says "I want to prepare you. I have topped myself". He's talking about his new gadgets, but we all know what he's really saying, don't we? Well, dream on, little geek. Slade bottoms for no one, and especially not for self-taught tops… idiot…
Slade has beautiful blue eyes… err…eye…
Okay, so this one I was half aware of, I've just ignored it. I don't know why-
Robin: I do! There can be only one!
Slade: Pardon?
Robin: I have beautiful blue eyes! ME! That's my thing!
Actually, Robin might be on to something… I've always pictured Slade with gray or blue-gray eyes… I think a colder shade suits him bett-
Slade: Excuse me? I'd like my real color back!
Robin: You get to have a big cock.
Slade: Oh. Yes. Well… I guess eye color isn't that important.
Robin: Exactly. Size, on the other hand, matters.
I'd like to explore that… I could write a drabble with Slade being blue-eyed and moderately endowed, and-
Slade/Robin: NO!
Very well.
Slade likes disguises…
Remember when Slade and Robin disguise themselves as Dominic and Robinne in the Terms universe? I half panicked over that, because I wasn't sure Slade could wear a glass eye. Turns out he can. I've read about it in fan-fictions before writing it myself, I think, but it's actually canon… and there doesn't appear to be any scars or anything, so h just pops one in, and ta-da! TWO beautiful blue eyes.
Robin: hey!
In the comic, Robin, in the comic. Can't change that. Anyway, he also dyes his hair (and beard!) brown in the comic. I picked blond. Blond looks better on him.
The fake eye thing kinda makes me wonder why he bothers with the eye patch, but maybe the glass eye chafes or something…
Robin: Awwww! Poor Slady-poo!
Slade: Watch it.
Robin: Let me kiss it and make it better!
Slade: That's not my eye, Rob- oh. Oh, well. Go ahead.
Looks like he is going a-head.
Slade: Bad jokes get you punished.
Robin: -slurps in agreement-
Okay, back to the disguises… He also wears a full-face latex mask thingy at one point, but my favorite is when he breaks into Wayne Manor, steals a tux from Bruce and then crashes his party…
Slade has terrible tastes in glasses though. Yuck. On the other hand, this is the beginning of the 90's, the 80's not long gone and… it shows… -shivers-
This leads to:
Slade knows who Batman is… and the other way around…
This is never explained in the comic, they just know… But, of course, even though this is the first issues of Deathstroke, he has played a major part in the Teen Titan's comics and so on before this, so it just picks up from there…
…IN fact, EVERYONE seems to know who Slade is…
Slade is a clever guy, no doubt about that, but could someone talk to him about secret identities? Not only does he have his mask off all over the place, everyone seems to know his name! Okay, with no family left to protect, apart from Addie, who clearly doesn't want to be protected, maybe that's not important… his abilities seems to be a bit better kept secret, though, as he seems shocked that an enemy knows about them… although, of course, the police/government does… The only reason for his mask, that I can see, is that it hides his beard, which, at times, looks rather silly.
Slade: What the hell?
Blame the artists, not me! Sometimes they give you this Faust-like beard with little curly ends! You should shave.
Slade: -runs off to kill some artists-
Robin: -sigh- and I didn't even get to finish him off…
He'll be back in a moment. Look! Here he is!. Go wash the blood off, Slade, and let's continue… I think Robin wants to hear this…
Slade and Robin
, sitting in a tree…Robin: YAAAY!
Slade: Wynja, could you please write Robin a bit more canon? He's acting like a drugged up school-girl with the IQ of a kitten.
Well, Slade, have you considered what you could get a drugged up school-girl with the IQ of a kitten to do?
Slade: Ahhh… very well. Continue. Robin? Would you like to sit on my lap and listen to the rest of the story?
Robin: YAAAY!
Where was I? Yes, the epic Slade/Robin romance… I didn't expect to find anything to prove it, but of course I did… it's obvious, really…
It starts with Batman calling Dick (now Nightwing) asking about Slade, and this is where Dick is standing around in tighty-whities with strange wrist sweat-bands and a towel over his naked shoulders… I'm confused, but he still manages to look damn hot. Dick immediately gets defensive of his love and states that "Bruce, the man saved our lives, he might even have helped save the world… But, if you're asking me if his gun is for hire-"
Slade: Again, I want to point out that this was not a metaphor.
Robin: Yes, it was.
Anyway, he continues: "The answer is yes. He operates on his own agenda, and he has a very strong moral sense. Strong, but to my way, not definable or explainable. What's he done? Oh."This proves, of course, that Robin has speant a great deal of time thinking about Slade...
While Robin/Nightwing says this, he's looking down, towards a photo of a certain red-headed bitch. Seriously, poodle-perm galore! Fly with that hair and you'll snap your neck! It's obvious that he's feeling a bit guilty… poor boy… Anyway, he promises Batman he'll check up on Slade's whereabouts and immediately calls… Wintergreen! The old man goes; "Yes, Nightwing, of course I remember you." And then goes ahead whining about that he doesn't know where Slade is either…
Two things strike me as weird here: one; Bruce KNOWS Slade is in Gotham, so apart from an actual address, what use it is to call Wintergreen? Did he just want to compare notes? And second of all; it's not a cell-phone he calls, so how the hell does he know where the man is? He and Addie are recuperating in a house/castle somewhere in Germany… Well, maybe all heroes and villains have each other's hideouts on speed-dial…
Anyway, Slade thinks about his little bird as well… When Batman tells Slade that "Nightwing said that you saved his life, that you were a good man." Slade answers: "Your ex-partner's wide-eyed and idealistic." That might not sound like a declaration of love, but we all know it's sweet… and later, when a grumpy Bruce, who has just had his tux stolen and has to watch Slade help himself to a drink at his party (with girls swooning over him and not Bruce anymore) says: "Dick vouched for you. Why I'll never know." (but we do, don't we?) Slade tells him; "Your ex-ward's grown into a good man. Grayson's extracurricular abilities, shall we say, are among the best I've ever seen.". We all know he's not just talking fighting-skills.
Bruce leads him down to the bat-cave (we only see the grandfather clock opening, and, again, SECRETS? Don't they mean anything to anyone anymore?) Well, before that, Slade says, continuing his last sentence: "But then, he did have the greatest teacher…"
Hey, wait... Slade sweet-talks Bruce who then shows him the SECRET OPENING to the BAT CAVE?
That leads to:
Slade and Bruce
, sitting in a tree…Robin: THE HELL!
Slade: She's insane. Don't listen to her.
Do as you'd like… not only did Slade smooth-talk Bruce above, when they fought previously Slade first tells Batman: "You've trained yourself to fight. I've trained myself to kill." But then later, thinking about the fight (they really kick each other's ass) he declares: "I'd fought the best. Batman was better.". Yes, yes, that might be just admiration for another fighter, but I get a feeling Slade won't mind teaching Bruce a few things of his own… I'm very curious how this story-arc will end… ;)
Batman is cool… but Alfred is cooler… but has the worst comb over in history…
I haven't seen much of Batman, except the dreaded live action TV-series and the movies, so I've never warmed up to the guy… I'm starting to. Alfred though, is just as viciously witty as I imagined him to be… although his appearance… Alfred, to me, will always be the old guy from the live-show… The comic-Alfred needs to take a look in the mirror and then go to the hairdresser… but other than that, I love him… He serves Batman tea at one point, claiming that the calming effect will be good for him; "Instead of crippling your foes, you merely wound them severely."
Slade went to Bible class every Sunday morning
I… don't know how to respond to this fact, but this is what the man himself claims. I hope he's lying.
Slade: I used to be a good boy.
I actually have no idea how you grew up… Maybe there will be glimpses of that in the future…
Men do not have nipples… or they are hidden…
I know the lack of nipples is quite common in the comic/cartoon world, but I can't for the life of me figure out why…
Slade: well, I'm a bit insecure about mine… one is an innie and one is an outie… is that normal?
Robin: mine are just hard all the time… is that normal?
-sigh- Very well… don't show them! See if I care! –colors them in in Photoshop- Dick, who is bare-chested in once scene, as described above, has that damn towel covering his little pink buds… it's almost sweet, the amount of prudishness…
Addie has Slade by the balls
Sorry, Robin, but Slade really loves her.. More so than his own sons, it seems… Well. He might just we whipped. But will the woman listen to the man? No, she just threatens to shoot him every time he comes near… stupid bint. Yeah, yeah, I'm all for strong women and stuff, and she really fit the bill, but if she would just LISTEN-Robin: Actually… I hope she doesn't…
Oh, yeah… sorry… if she did there would be no hope for you, would there?
Slade: I think I could manage both, actually…
Sure you could, big guy! Anyway, Slade looks really heartbroken every time they meet… it's close to pathetic-
Slade: You are so dead now.
For telling the truth? That's not fair!
Robin: I feel a bit insecure and needs to be comforted.
See, Slade? You have better things to do. Put down the sword.
Slade: Really… need to… kill you…
Robin: In fact, I'm so insecure I'm no longer wearing clothes.
Slade: huh? That didn't make any sense!
Remember; IQ of a kitten.
Slade: I see. Oh, well… I… I'll go comfort Robin for a bit.
Robin: YAAAY!
Phew… telling the truth is dangerous… I think I'd better stop… There are millions of details left to explore, but I've only read a few issues yet… I'm gonna go ahead and plow through them…
Slade: And I'm going to go ahead and plow Robin.
Robin: YAAAY!
Sigh. I really should have written Robin more canon…
/W