#9 Total Motivation

One of the elements I appreciated the most in New 52 was the conservation of Deathstroke’s amoral “code” from the 90s comics, as well as a willingness to make him a little more sympathetic. On the other hand, New 52 writers were also a bit sloppy with his motivations. In one issue, he’d diatribe about how “money is everything,” later changing his mind to the idea that legacy is everything without really exploring why this changes so arbitrarily again to reputation being everything.

Deathstroke is a heartless guy, sure, but he’s rooted in both tragedy and morally gray areas. His most interesting dialogue so far in Rebirth is between him and his daughter, Rose, still trained by Nightwing in this continuity. It’s clear that he’s harsh with her, claiming she’s learned nothing and that her fondness for him is a “weakness.” But readers can see that he himself appears to embrace this weakness as well, and he’s clearly aware of it.

The solo Batman movie will probably spend more time developing Deathstroke as a dangerous foe, while still touching on the character’s psychology. If they spend too much time dwelling on the character’s empathy, they’ll essentially rush his development and distract from real groundwork on making him a complex foil for Batman. Starting him off a bit more cold and aloof, however, seems like the smarter option, especially if there’s room to explore why exactly he is the way he is in a future DCEU film.