Deadshot (Floyd Lawton) is a fictional character, a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by David Vern Reed, Lew Schwartz, and Bob Kane, the character made his first appearance in Batman #59 (June-July 1950). He is an excellent sniper who regularly boasts of never missing a shot, and is often considered as one of the deadliest assassins in the DC Universe. Deadshot is an adversary of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of enemies that make up his rogues gallery. Though normally portrayed as a supervillain, he is sometimes depicted as an antihero.
IGN's ranked Deadshot as the 43rd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time in 2009. The character has appeared in various forms of media, like the television series Arrow played by Michael Rowe. He was most notably in the live-action 2016 film Suicide Squad, in which he is portrayed by actor Will Smith.
Video Deadshot
Fictional character biography
Deadshot is often a hired assassin, regularly boasting to "Never Miss". He is capable of using a large variety of weapons, but is most frequently portrayed as using a pair of suppressed, wrist-mounted guns. He initially appears in Gotham City as a new crime fighter, but is revealed to be an enemy of Batman when he attempts to replace the Dark Knight. He is sent to jail when Batman and Commissioner Gordon publicly expose his plot to become the king of Gotham's underworld. After serving his term, Deadshot begins hiring his services out as an assassin, changing his costume from the top hat and tails he previously wore to a red jumpsuit and distinctive metal face plate with a targeting device on the right side. Deadshot's past is revealed in subsequent appearances. His real name is Floyd Lawton and he grew up in a wealthy household with his mother, abusive father, and brother Eddie. Eddie was beloved by his parents and the other townspeople, while Floyd was a troubled child and was despised by his parents, but Floyd idolized his brother and always stood up for him during conflicts with the town's other children.
Floyd's parents were the most powerful people in his town, however, they were known to despise each other. Eventually Floyd's mother claimed his father had become "too abusive," prompting Floyd to kill him. When Floyd took the shot from his tree house, he missed and killed his brother, Eddie, instead. From that moment on, Floyd swore to never miss another shot again.
Suicide Squad
Deadshot has been a major figure in the Suicide Squad in its latest two incarnations, where his skills as a marksman and his disregard for human life serve to advance the group's objectives.
One of his most defining traits is a desire to die in a spectacular fashion, this being his primary motivation for joining the Suicide Squad. He feels he has no reason to continue living, and, while he does not want to commit suicide, he simply does not care if he dies. Various reasons have been cited for this, but the most common thread in them is his parents' peculiar hatred for one another.
Deadshot almost gets his wish to die when he confronts a Senator who is threatening to expose the Suicide Squad to the world. Having been ordered to stop his immediate superior, Rick Flag, from assassinating the senator, he kills the senator himself, citing his orders as "Stop Flag from killing the Senator. Exact words". After this Deadshot is gunned down by the police on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He survives his wounds, to continue on with the Squad.
Lawton's uniform is stolen by an airport employee, who uses it to commit crimes and murders. Lawton is forced to kill the man with a bullet to the head. The shooting of his own 'image' affects him greatly; for a while, he does not even fix the hole in his own uniform. While the suit has been lost, Lawton has threatened to kill the man he thought had been responsible, his teammate Captain Boomerang.
During a mission for the Suicide Squad, Count Vertigo asks Deadshot if he would kill him if asked. Deadshot agrees and the two go off to a secluded area for the decision. Vertigo declines, a decision Deadshot accepts with no argument.
After being affected by the supernatural entity Neron during the Underworld Unleashed storyline, Deadshot decides to kill a kindergarten class via a large explosion. An incarnation of the Justice League stops him. Around this time, Deadshot travels overseas to kill the Pope. Wonder Woman stops him at the last minute.
After dozens of villains are infected by the Joker venom, Deadshot, Merlyn and Deadline attack the Iron Heights metahuman prison. Deadline is killed and Deadshot rescues Captain Boomerang from medical confinement.
Children
Deadshot had a son named Edward "Eddie" Lawton who appeared in the first volume of the Deadshot series. The character was later sodomized and killed by Wes Anselm.
In a second mini-series released in 2005, Deadshot discovers he has a daughter, Zoe, who is being raised in a crime-filled area of Star City. Lawton decides to do right by his daughter, and embarks on a lethal war on the local gangs that plague the area. The series ends with Deadshot faking his death, having realized a normal life is not for him, but also having mostly cleared up the area and convincing Green Arrow to patrol it more regularly.
Secret Six
During the 2005-2006 "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Deadshot is featured in the series Villains United. The Secret Six are banded together by a mysterious, shrouded character named Mockingbird (who is actually Lex Luthor) who offers a major reward for committing to the team and a severe punishment for not accepting membership. Deadshot is offered the reward of ruling North America; his punishment is to be the destruction of the neighborhood in which his daughter and his daughter's mother live. At the end of the miniseries, the conflict ends in stalemate and Deadshot's status remains roughly unchanged from the end of his second miniseries. He remains a part of The Secret Six and is shown having reached a grudging friendship with another member, Catman. His share of the payment for the Six' mercenary work is stated to be sent in its entirety to his daughter and her mother. After the Six disband, Knockout comments in passing that he has returned to the Suicide Squad.
Countdown
Deadshot and the Suicide Squad are featured in Countdown, rounding up supervillains for removal. The group encounters Pied Piper and Trickster several times, and each time fail to capture them. In Countdown To Final Crisis #24 Deadshot makes a solo effort to capture them, but the pair again elude him. In issue 22, Deadshot (breaking orders from Amanda Waller and Suicide Squad protocol) attacks Piper and Trickster on a train outside of the Rocky Mountains. Given that the supervillains are aware of Project Salvation (Salvation Run), Deadshot apparently kills The Trickster, leaving Pied Piper on his own. In Salvation Run #2, Deadshot is tricked and sent off to the prison planet along with the last batch of criminals. Rick Flag, Jr. tells him as the Boom tube closes that he cannot have people like him on Earth. Deadshot vows that if he ever returns to Earth, he would take his revenge on Flag. After helping fight off the Parademon invasion, he escapes with the surviving villains in the teleportation machine.
Batman: Cacophony
In Batman: Cacophony, Deadshot is seen breaking into Arkham Asylum. He goes to the Joker's cell and explains that he has taken a contract on the Joker's life, due to his indirect responsibility for the death of a high school student. Just as he is about to kill the Joker, however, Onomatopoeia arrives and engages Deadshot in a shootout. Eventually, Onomatopoeia gains the upper hand and shoots Deadshot in the head.
It is later revealed that Deadshot's armor saves him, and masks his vital signs to make it appear that he had been killed. He explains what happened at Arkham to Batman, before being turned over to the Gotham Police. Batman uses the technology of Lawton's mask to later survive an encounter with the Joker and Onomatopoeia.
Secret Six volume 2
Deadshot, along with Scandal Savage, Bane, Rag Doll, and Cat-Man reunite the Secret Six, having been hired to retrieve Tarantula from Alcatraz Island, and find a card which she stole from Junior, a mysterious villain who supposedly runs the entire West Coast mob. Junior has practically the entire villain community at her beck and call, all afraid of her, even those in Arkham Asylum. The Six later learn that the card in question was made by Neron, and says "Get Out Of Hell Free."
Soon, the Six are attacked by a small army of super-villains, all wanting to recover the card and collect the reward of $20 million for each of the Six, under the orders of Junior, who captures and tortures Bane, whose strong principles and moral convictions, paired with his fatherly fondness of Scandal keep him from betraying his new team. It is later revealed that Junior is in fact Rag Doll's sister and daughter of the first Rag Doll. She has the ghastly appearance of an old clown, with sliced skin and eyes stitched wide open to give the appearance of a clown.
The Six escape, and head for Gotham City, with Deadshot seemingly betraying them and leaving with Tarantula. The Six manage to catch up to Deadshot, only to be attacked by Junior and the Super villains, and the Mad Hatter, who is revealed to be the one who hired them, simply so they would be killed. Tarantula sacrifices herself by pulling herself and Junior in front of the Super villains' combined attack, seemingly destroying the card along with them. However, it is later shown that Scandal is now in possession of the card.
The Suicide Squad re-enter Deadshot's life when the title returned in January 2010 as a tie-in to the "Blackest Night" storyline.
While on a mission to Gotham City to kill several of Batman's allies, Rag Doll insinuates that Deadshot and Cat-Man are friends despite their protestations, something they grudgingly acknowledge. Before this plot thread can be pursued further, the Six are ambushed by an army of superheroes who had come to assist Batman. Deadshot and the rest of the team choose to fight the heroes despite the overwhelming odds, and Deadshot manages to take down Doctor Light before being blasted and rendered unconscious by Green Lantern. The rest of the Six are similarly trounced and defeated soon after.
The New 52
In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), Deadshot is recruited to the Suicide Squad prior to the events of the first issue. He still has a daughter and wears a costume similar to the one he wore in the 2000s mini-series, but his son has been erased from continuity. In addition, Deadshot no longer has his trademark mustache (though he briefly regrows it to cover a scar in issue #13). He is portrayed as a Batman villain and a rival of Mad Dog, a bounty hunter. He also is bitter enemies with Captain Boomerang.
Deadshot is arrested for a failed assassination of a U.S. Senator by Batman and was sentenced to life in prison. Later, he is recruited to be part of the Suicide Squad in exchange for early release. Deadshot is made team leader due to his skill under pressure, but quickly grows disillusioned with the group after a planned visit with his daughter, his first since his arrest, is withheld from him and ultimately aborted within minutes of him reuniting with his daughter in order to send him on a mission.
Deadshot ultimately sacrifices his life to kill the evil cult member Regulas, who had brainwashed most of the members of Suicide Squad and had recruited Black Spider into his group Basilisk in order to assassinate Amanda Waller. Deadshot is later revealed to have been resurrected, possibly through use of an arm from Resurrection Man, obtained by the Squad for Waller during an earlier mission.
During the 2013-2014 "Forever Evil" story line, Amanda Waller contacts Deadshot to help her get the Suicide Squad back together after the three Justice League teams are "dead." After his money was wired, Deadshot heads out to get Harley Quinn back on the team.
DC Rebirth
During the War of Jokes and Riddles, a story taking place in the early days of Batman's career, Deadshot sided with the Joker. Deadshot engaged Deathstroke, who sided with the Riddler, in a battle that took over 5 days, killing multiple victims. Eventually Batman put a stop to it and gave both a swift defeat. Deadshot suffered severe head trauma and was hospitalized.
Maps Deadshot
Powers and abilities
Deadshot has no superhuman powers, but is the top marksman in the DC Universe, possessing superhuman-like abilities, and regularly boasting to "never miss" his target. The character once shot an apple off of Captain Boomerang's head with his eyes closed. He also intentionally grazed the skull of Enchantress while she was flying, since he was asked to take her down non-lethally.
Deadshot has access to a vast array of weaponry, most notably his sniper rifle, and twin machine guns mounted on each arm. Deadshot is allegedly bilingual, and learned to speak Russian as a youth. He also claims to have been a Card-carrying Communist.
Personality
Deadshot is portrayed as a consummate professional; as long as he has been paid to kill someone, he will always carry it out, without exceptions. Batman was unable to get him to stop threatening a witness by threatening Deadshot or his family; Deadshot rightly assumed that Batman was bluffing. However, Batman ultimately does get Deadshot to abort the hit by freezing his client's bank accounts. Unable to get paid, Deadshot publicly cancelled the assassination, letting the witness go free.
Perhaps his most defining trait is his acknowledged death wish, which often manifests as him deliberately engineering situations likely to kill him. This makes him unpredictable as an opponent, as his willingness to die allows him to deliberately injure himself to achieve a goal. For example, during Identity Crisis, he deliberately shoots himself in the neck while fighting Kyle Rayner, so that Rayner would attempt to save him and drop his guard, allowing Lawton to take aim and almost shoot him. He often expresses disappointment at surviving his missions, such as immediately lamenting "damn" when awakening in a hospital.
In his run on Suicide Squad, John Ostrander delved into Deadshot's past and family background. The revelation of Deadshot having a brother, whom he idolized, seemed to resonate with Deadshot's attachment to Rick Flag, team leader. Ostrander implied that this relationship also colored Deadshot's rivalry with Batman, whom Deadshot had always been unable--or subconsciously unwilling--to kill.
Collected editions
Other versions
Amalgam Comics
In the Amalgam Comics universe, Deadshot was combined with the Marvel villain Bullseye to create the assassin Deadeye. William Lawton appears as an enemy of Dare the Terminator and Catsai.
Arrow: Season 2.5
Deadshot appears in Arrow digital comic, working as part of the Suicide Squad, killing members of the extremist sect Onslaught in the Republic of Kasnia along with Bronze Tiger. The two were later training in the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters, taking out ten men in 7 seconds. Soon afterwards, he, Tiger, Diggle, and Ravan Nassar were deployed to Kahndaq to take down Onslaught. When they arrived at an Onslaught camp, Deadshot took up his trademark sniper position, killing an Onslaught member as he was about to execute hostages, providing a distraction for Bronze Tiger and Diggle to begin killing other members. After Nassar blew up an Onslaught truck, Deadshot and the rest of the group found a survivor to take them to Khem-Adam. Lawton and Turner tortured the survivor, but Diggle managed to convince the survivor to tell the Squad the location of Khem-Adam's lair. They arrived there and freed the kidnapped girls, killing several Onslaught agents along the way. Lawton picked up Turner's body after Khem-Adam killed him and carried him out to the waiting A.R.G.U.S. helicopter, insisting that he be buried in his home country.
Batman: Sins of the Father
Deadshot appears as the main antagonist of the tie-in digital comic taking place between the video games Batman: The Telltale Series and Batman: The Enemy Within. Hailing from a family of wealthy real-estate tycoons, Floyd witnessed his older brother killed by his abusive parents when he was a child and later murdered them when he was fourteen while setting it up to make it look like they killed themselves. Inheriting his family's wealth, he quits the real-estate business and becomes a military contractor, giving him access to a large arsenal of weapons.
Lawton later discovers that despite his parents being sent to Arkham Asylum on accounts of child abuse before his brother's death, they were not committed to the prison as their doctor, Thomas Wayne, agreed to keep them out of the asylum as long as they give him a large discount on a building that would eventually become Wayne Tower. After the revelations of Thomas Wayne's corrupt nature were brought to the public in the first game, Lawton becomes Deadshot and uses his expert marksmanship to hunt down the Arkham staff that were working at the asylum during the time period that Thomas operated.
The Flash: Season Zero
In The Flash digital comic, Lawton teamed up with Digger Harkness and Carrie Cutter as part of the Squad. They watched The Flash take on the meta-human King Shark. Waller told him and the rest of the Squad to suit up, as they were going in to stop the shark. They arrived outside of the man's former apartment and Deadshot helped to knock him down, before Cupid trapped him with a net. Joe West approached, asking who they were, before Lawton introduced them as the Suicide Squad. They each fired at him, but he was saved by The Flash, who rushed him to safety. They appeared to recognize him.
Futures End
Set in a near alternate future of the New 52, Lawton is imprisoned in an underground Belle Reeve missing his shooting arm. He, and the future Black Manta and Harley Quinn are broken out by Amanda Waller, who informs them that they were imprisoned and forgotten as the government found a way to clone super villains and Suicide Squad members in Texas. After Harley and Manta are killed by Joker clones, Deadshot allows Waller time by taking on a Deathstroke clone in a sword fight. Despite his disadvantages, Deadshot defeats the clone and sacrifices his life in the process. Deadshot's actions allowed Waller to break into the main hub and stop the cloning.
Injustice 2
Tiny Titans
Deadshot makes a cameo in the Tiny Titans series as a player on Lobo's soccer team called the Secret Six.
Young Justice
While Deadshot wasn't in the TV series Young Justice, he did appear in the tie-in comic. He is seemingly hired by Queen Bee to assassinate Quraci President Rumaan Harjavti, but is intercepted by Superman, Superboy, and Miss Martian. He does manage to shoot Ruuman's brother, Sumaan in the shoulder before he's nearly beaten to death by Superboy (who was aggressive due to Luthor's patch drug) and carried to the hospital by Superman. Queen Bee revealed that Deadshot did succeed as his mission was to actually injure Suuman (as Suuman would be viewed as a hero to the public and she has Suuman under her control).
In other media
Television
Animated
- Deadshot was briefly considered to be featured in The New Batman Adventures, with Michael Rosenbaum considered for the role via mannerisms of Kevin Spacey.
- Floyd Lawson / Deadshot appears in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, officially voiced by Michael Rosenbaum. In "The Enemy Below" (Part 1), he is hired by Ocean Master to kill Aquaman. However, Deadshot's assassination attempt is thwarted, and he is captured by the Justice League and interrogated by Batman. In "Hereafter", Deadshot later appeared with several other supervillains celebrating Superman's supposed death, where they wreak havoc on Metropolis. He specifically targets Batman, however, the Man of Steel stops Deadshot's bullet and then knocked out by the Dark Knight. In "Task Force X", Lawton's execution is cancelled when Colonel Rick Flag recruits him into a government unit of supervillains that go on missions in exchange for a reduced sentence. When the team travel to the Watchtower to steal the magical Annihilator automaton, Floyd provides cover for his teammates, coming into conflict with many superheroes in the process.
- Deadshot appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Tom Kenny. In the episode "Night of the Batmen", Deadshot goes on a crime spree with various other villains in Gotham City during Batman's absence, only to be defeated by Green Arrow impersonating Batman.
- Deadshot appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Christian Slater. This version is shown wielding futuristic laser guns instead of his usual firearms. In the episode "Double-Cross", Penguin tasks Deadshot with killing Two-Face who has already been apprehended by Batman. Deadshot confronts Batman and Plastic Man, the latter of whom was disguised as Two-Face to prevent Deadshot from fulfilling his task, in a Gotham warehouse. When Plastic Man accidentally blows his own cover, Deadshot flees the two superheroes in pursuit of the actual Two-Face who had escaped capture earlier. Deadshot and Two-Face are later defeated and apprehended by Batman, Plastic Man, and Firestorm. In this case, Deadshot was defeated when Plastic Man shapeshifted into one of Deadshot's guns.
Live action
- Deadshot appears in the tenth and final season of Smallville, played by Bradley Stryker. He is featured in the episodes "Shield" and "Collateral".
- Floyd Lawton / Deadshot appears on The CW's television series Arrow, portrayed by Michael Rowe. He is a former soldier who became estranged from his wife and daughter due to suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He makes his debut in "Lone Gunmen", at the end of which he is partially blinded by the Arrow. In "Dead to Rights", Deadshot is given a cybernetic eyepiece by China White to restore his vision. In "Suicide Squad", he is seen as a member of the titular group. In "Unthinkable", the Squad assists John Diggle and Lyla Michaels in stopping Waller from destroying Starling City. In "Suicidal Tendencies", Lawton is presumably killed during a mission when he is caught in a building explosion. He appears as a hallucination in "A Matter of Trust", where John Diggle mentions that his body was never recovered after the explosion.
- Michael Rowe reprises his role as Floyd Lawton's Earth-2 counterpart on The Flash. In the episode "Welcome to Earth-2", this version of Lawton is shown to work for the CCPD as Iris West Allen's partner, and given the nickname "Deadshot" for his poor use of firearms rather than being an expert like his Earth-1 counterpart.
Film
Animation
- Deadshot appears in Batman: Gotham Knight, voiced by Jim Meskimen. In his self-titled segment "Deadshot", he first appears on a ferris wheel, where he uses a long range sniper rifle to assassinate a local mayor, before leaving behind a cartridge case with the initials "D.S.". After being contracted to assassinate Batman by the Russian Mafia, Deadshot uses an assassination attempt on Commissioner James Gordon as bait. However, Deadshot is ultimately defeated and apprehended by Batman. Much like the early comic book version, this incarnation dresses in an elegant fashion.
- Deadshot makes a non-speaking appearance in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. He is among the villains hired to kill Superman and Batman.
- Deadshot appears in Batman: Assault on Arkham (which is set in the Batman: Arkham video game universe), voiced by Neal McDonough. He appears as the leader of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad, and is frequently flirted with by fellow member Harley Quinn, whom he has a one-night stand with. In the film, the group is sent to Arkham Asylum to retrieve the Riddler's cane, which contains information that Waller seeks. After encountering both Batman and the Joker, Riddler assists Deadshot in destroying the explosive chip Waller had implanted in his head as leverage. No longer a member of the Suicide Squad, Deadshot is last seen targeting Waller from a building's roof, with his daughter in the background.
- Deadshot appears in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, voiced again by Christian Slater. While he again in the leader of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad, he again plans to be a free man and reunite with his daughter Zoe, who previously dissociated from him (as shown in the beginning of the film on which she rejected most of his mail letters) due to his past crimes. But by the film's epilogue, they end up seemingly reconciled after they meet again. It is assumed that by the film's end, Deadshot is a free man.
Live action
- Will Smith portrays Floyd Lawton/Deadshot in the DC Extended Universe. Smith has signed a multi-picture deal for the franchise. This version is African-American as opposed to Caucasian in the comics.
- The character makes his debut in the 2016 film Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer. Described as the "most wanted hitman in the world", Lawton is apprehended by Batman whilst out shopping with his daughter, Zoe, in Gotham City. He is subsequently blackmailed into joining Amanda Waller's government task force composed of captured supervillains. After the "Suicide Squad" put an end to the crisis in Midway City by defeating the Enchantress, Lawton is allowed supervised visits with his daughter in addition to having ten years removed from his sentence. He is last seen reading Zoe's letters and exercising in his cell at Belle Reve Prison.
- Deadshot makes a cameo in Ready Player One.
Video games
Lego
- Deadshot appears in the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita versions of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes as an unlockable character. He can be found in the level 'Brawl at City Hall'.
- Deadshot appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.
- Deadshot will appear in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced by Crispin Freeman.
Injustice
- Deadshot is featured in Injustice: Gods Among Us. He appears in the background of Stryker's Island. His Suicide Squad film iteration is playable in the game's mobile version.
- Deadshot appears as a playable character in Injustice 2, voiced by Matthew Mercer. In the game story, he is forced to become a member of The Society after Gorilla Grodd comes into possession of the detonator to the explosive implanted inside Deadshot's head, and battles the Flash and Catwoman or Cyborg during Brainiac's invasion. In his single player ending, he hands Brainiac and Grodd into the authorities. As a reward, not only is his sentence at Belle Reeve annulled, but Bruce Wayne funds a surgery to get the nanoexplosives out of his head, allowing him a second chance at being a father to Zoey.
Batman: Arkham
Deadshot appears in the Batman: Arkham series, voiced by Chris Cox.
- In Batman: Arkham City, Deadshot is hired by Professor Hugo Strange to assassinate political prisoners with sensitive information regarding Arkham City. Batman manages to track Deadshot down and prevent him from killing Jack Ryder before apprehending him.
- In the prequel Batman: Arkham Origins, Deadshot appears as one of the eight assassins hired by the Joker (disguised as Black Mask) to kill Batman. He forces the vigilante to confront him in the Gotham Merchants Bank, where he and his men are ultimately subdued by Batman. Deadshot also appears in Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate.
- Deadshot's weapons appear in the GCPD's evidence room in Batman: Arkham Knight.
Other games
- Deadshot appears in stages 1 and 2 of the Batman Nintendo Entertainment System video game.
- Deadshot appears as a playable character in the mobile game Suicide Squad: Special Ops based on the film.
See also
- List of Batman Family adversaries
- Bullseye, a similar assassin from Marvel Comics.
References
External links
- Deadshot on the DCUniverse Guide
Source of article : Wikipedia
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