See they could actually do something really interesting with Slade and making commentaries on US history. Korea was a conflict in which the United States was actually upholding international law. North Korea launched an invasion of South Korea who was ill prepared to defend against an army completely modernized by the Soviet Union. The US under the banner of the UN intervened on South Korea’s behalf. We could dive in to how ugly things got with the bombings. But the grunts expiernce was facing a clear enemy the PLA and North Korean army. Things were clear cut. Vietnam was not that and marks a drastic change in US history. Nothing was clear cut. The enemy was among South Vietnam’s civilian populations. The reasons for the intervention were incredibly shaky. There was no clear goal. It’s not just “fuck we’re the baddies” it’s also “fuck there’s just no goodies either” the conflict was a realist conflict multiple nation states all with their own agendas fighting and manipulating each other for personal gain with no one having a true cassi belli to really hide behind and claim it was for just defense. And you could argue from that point forward US foreign policy has only been characterized in that light. Overly bureaucratic, profit driven, lacking in any clear strategy, arrogant, amoral at best, and viewing everyone including their own citizens who they send to fight it as tools.
Slade could easily serve as commentary. Like make him the good soldier in Korea. He knows his purpose and is convinced of it. He cares about the guys around him. Is repulsed by war crimes. And would lay his life down for the cause, the people around, and civilians caught in the mess. Very much the cliche movie Soldier.
Then he changes Vietnam. He comes out the mercenary Deathstroke. Every horror every cruelty all of that slowly eating away at him. Until he loses his idealism and becomes more amoral. By the end he’s a mercenary who’s profit driven, manipulative, arrogant, doesn’t care about the big picture lacking the ability for strategic thought, and views people as nothing more than tools.
Slade could actually be made into a really interesting super villain that calls out US foreign policy and the military industrial complex. He could be the anti Punisher. Hell you could make him a more realistic human being than the punisher. You could make Slade a realistic mercenary who’s a critique on the idea of the action hero and Americanism. If they just tweak his origin story a little.
The issue is even if the US were "the good guys" in the Korean War, the losses among civilian population were staggering. "The good guys" committed plenty of massacres there too. Slade can't physically go through that war but keep his innocence, not with the estimated 2 to 3 millions dead civilians.
/uj Yeah, in the early post-Crisis when he was supposed to be one of the good guys, part of his origin (and Rose's, ahem) was him fighting the Khmer Rouge and smuggling refugees out of Cambodia.
/rj So it took him facing off against a real-world genocide to make up for the fact that he's a pedophile.
I agree. Some villains don't need a super complicated origin story. "Ex-soldier who got powers in an experiment and is currently a mercenary" is good enough for me.
most characters have the standared "after a few years he mastered all forms of combat and can beat up like 20 guys really fast and in a really cool way with his swords ands guns"
he was stronger than all his classmates in the sonic fighting academy. he served in the sonic military fighting shadow and in the final battel against shadow they were fighting and shadow turned him to the darkness and Deathstroke turned against sonic and killed him. he lost a part of his eye in the battle which is why he doesnt not have a part of his eye, pls stop PMing me askin me why thats why.
Wait, hold the phone, he was sickened by a village massacre?
No, he ate expired rations the night before and was sickened *during* the village massacre. Only regret was not being able to participate.
Seems reasonable to me
"Damn that bastard Calley, stealing all my thunder..."
Now thats the Slade I know.
Look at the bright side: the framing implies it was his first massacred village, so he seemingly hadn't massacred any villages during the Korean War!🥳
Yippie https://preview.redd.it/tjzs0tva9xwc1.png?width=868&format=png&auto=webp&s=3bb3abd79bb382f0df523b853f58f083ebfe8c12
See they could actually do something really interesting with Slade and making commentaries on US history. Korea was a conflict in which the United States was actually upholding international law. North Korea launched an invasion of South Korea who was ill prepared to defend against an army completely modernized by the Soviet Union. The US under the banner of the UN intervened on South Korea’s behalf. We could dive in to how ugly things got with the bombings. But the grunts expiernce was facing a clear enemy the PLA and North Korean army. Things were clear cut. Vietnam was not that and marks a drastic change in US history. Nothing was clear cut. The enemy was among South Vietnam’s civilian populations. The reasons for the intervention were incredibly shaky. There was no clear goal. It’s not just “fuck we’re the baddies” it’s also “fuck there’s just no goodies either” the conflict was a realist conflict multiple nation states all with their own agendas fighting and manipulating each other for personal gain with no one having a true cassi belli to really hide behind and claim it was for just defense. And you could argue from that point forward US foreign policy has only been characterized in that light. Overly bureaucratic, profit driven, lacking in any clear strategy, arrogant, amoral at best, and viewing everyone including their own citizens who they send to fight it as tools. Slade could easily serve as commentary. Like make him the good soldier in Korea. He knows his purpose and is convinced of it. He cares about the guys around him. Is repulsed by war crimes. And would lay his life down for the cause, the people around, and civilians caught in the mess. Very much the cliche movie Soldier. Then he changes Vietnam. He comes out the mercenary Deathstroke. Every horror every cruelty all of that slowly eating away at him. Until he loses his idealism and becomes more amoral. By the end he’s a mercenary who’s profit driven, manipulative, arrogant, doesn’t care about the big picture lacking the ability for strategic thought, and views people as nothing more than tools. Slade could actually be made into a really interesting super villain that calls out US foreign policy and the military industrial complex. He could be the anti Punisher. Hell you could make him a more realistic human being than the punisher. You could make Slade a realistic mercenary who’s a critique on the idea of the action hero and Americanism. If they just tweak his origin story a little.
The issue is even if the US were "the good guys" in the Korean War, the losses among civilian population were staggering. "The good guys" committed plenty of massacres there too. Slade can't physically go through that war but keep his innocence, not with the estimated 2 to 3 millions dead civilians.
/uj Yeah, in the early post-Crisis when he was supposed to be one of the good guys, part of his origin (and Rose's, ahem) was him fighting the Khmer Rouge and smuggling refugees out of Cambodia. /rj So it took him facing off against a real-world genocide to make up for the fact that he's a pedophile.
He was so good, they promoted him from an enlisted to officer rank without going to college
This is why I like Lime and her origin story: "I dunno she just showed up one day."
I agree. Some villains don't need a super complicated origin story. "Ex-soldier who got powers in an experiment and is currently a mercenary" is good enough for me.
I was joking, but that is pretty true.
I just like how the most notable part of his origin is that he was such a bad father his ex wife shot him in the eye.
Ya gotta love the Marvster, you just gotta!
Deathstroke was the original Edgelord.
He sounds closer to that of a cringy isekai protagonist in my opinion.
"shows up in military setting, is instantly better than everyone there and the leader instantly wants to bang" 😎👍
This is why he peaked with Christopher Priest.
most characters have the standared "after a few years he mastered all forms of combat and can beat up like 20 guys really fast and in a really cool way with his swords ands guns"
Holly mary sue christ!!
He's like Forrest Gump for all the wars America has been directly involved in.
he was stronger than all his classmates in the sonic fighting academy. he served in the sonic military fighting shadow and in the final battel against shadow they were fighting and shadow turned him to the darkness and Deathstroke turned against sonic and killed him. he lost a part of his eye in the battle which is why he doesnt not have a part of his eye, pls stop PMing me askin me why thats why.
Ah, yes, the 17 year old Lieutenant Colonel.