"NO REST FOR THE WICKED"

Slade Wilson hated his home life. His father was an abusive gambler, who owed more money to the mob than he could ever hope to pay. All Slade knew was that he wanted to get away from his home life to find something else. He found his answer in the United States Armed Forces.

Slade lied about his age, passing for an able-bodied eighteen year old at the age of sixteen, and enlisted to serve his country. Quickly, Slade’s skills in combat would be recognized, and he’d be moved into special forces. He would also meet his wife here, Adeline Kane. The two married before long, and Slade fathered a son, Grant. A particular deployment in Cambodia would lead him to fathering an illegitimate daughter, Rose Wilson. Returning from Cambodia, Slade would have another son with Adeline: Joseph.

In recognition of his talents, Slade was suggested to be the subject of an experiment which should have, in theory, made U.S soldiers resistant to enemy truth serums. But it only worked in theory. In practice, it turned Slade into a super soldier, raising all of his physical characteristics above that of a normal human being. He was, however, denied a last tour of duty, and before he knew it, the war was over.

Dismayed, Slade turned to contract killing, keeping his work a secret from his family. He worked with William Randolph Wintergreen, a SAS soldier Slade met during the war. Deathstroke operated with a certain code of conduct; he would always complete his missions and he would never reveal the identity of his contractor. One of his foes, the Jackal, found out about Slade's identity, and held Joseph hostage, demanding that Slade break his code. He didn't, and while the Jackal died, Joseph's throat was slit, rendering him permanently mute. In a few short minutes, Slade's life fell apart, and Adeline found out that her husband was partially responsible for Joseph's current state. She responded by shooting him in the head and leaving him. While Slade would survive, he'd permanently lose his right eye.

Without any familial obligations, Deathstroke became a full time identity, as he would come to be known as the most notorious contract killer in the world. It wasn't until his son Grant would become the first Ravager, and subsequently end up killed by his augmentations while fighting the Teen Titans, that Slade would take up his son's contract, becoming one of the most persistent foes of the Teen Titans, and embroiling Slade in the superhero community as a foe.