Batman: 9 Things You Need To Know About Deathstroke
8. Deadpool Was Created As A Riff On Deathstroke
In an industry awash with malicious copyright lawsuits, the only thing more surprising than Rob Liefeld getting away with blatantly ripping off Deathstroke for a Marvel Comics project is DC’s apparent good sportsmanship about the whole thing.
Collaborating with writer Fabian Nicieza on New Mutants in 1990, Liefeld proposed creating a masked assassin with super agility who’s a dab hand with guns and swords - and the duo didn’t allow a minor technicality like an identical character existing on DC’s books stop them from pressing ahead.
In all fairness to the creative team, they acknowledged their source of inspiration with tongues planted firmly in cheeks, handing Deadpool the alias of Wade Wilson as a nod to Deathstroke’s alter ego of Slade.
They may look like cross-company clones but Deathstroke and Deadpool’s personalities are radically different - Slade has an underlying code of honour beneath his ruthless exterior, while Wade is almost as crazy as the Joker.
The similarities between the characters have been subtly referenced in both comic camps, making Liefeld’s borderline plagiarism a long-running gag in the industry. DC didn’t seem to mind too much - they even allowed Liefeld to work on Deathstroke many years later.