Both these characters debuted as super-villains. Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, is a powerful, mentally unstable mercenary who eventually becomes a hero. Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, is a powerful, arguably mentally unstable mercenary who eventually becomes an anti-hero. Both are bad news, but Slade Wilson started his rampage of death and destruction in 1980, in DC's New Teen Titans. Wade Wilson didn't get to start his killing spree until 1991, in Marvel's New Mutants #98. Exactly how does anyone get away with such blatant copying? Well, first of all, as similar as the two characters appear, there are major differences in creative style and approach. Deadpool has a wicked sense of humor, for instance, and he frequently breaks the fourth wall to address his readers. And by the way, a new Deadpool movie starring Ryan Reynolds is currently in production. Secondly, Deadpool's creators, Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, openly admit drawing their inspiration from DC's Deathstroke. Which is why the name of their character is only a slight variation of Slade Wilson's. You see, these guys were paying homage to Deathstroke, which is a nice way of saying, "Yeah, we cribbed on this one - and we don't mind telling you so!"