"My daddy's an assassin!"

[greenygal]

My interest in Deathstroke having been rekindled (and semi-seriously contemplating fic), I've been going back and reading some of his issues. And I find I can't quite get over this bit where his son Grant declares that Grant's father used to say that the Terminator was the best hitman in the country. (Not knowing, of course, that his father was the Terminator. Ah, irony. Also a fairly healthy self-image on Slade's part, assuming for the moment that being the best assassin in the country is what one aspires to.) I mean, can you imagine how those conversations must have gone? Particularly given how young (probably preadolescent) Grant was at the time? And it clearly made one hell of an impression on him, too, as he goes on to say that he used to worship the Terminator (good lord, what was Slade telling him?!), and wanted to be just like him. Yes, all little Grant wanted to be when he grew up was a hitman. I know, I know, he was clearly a disturbed and violent personality, and that bit may not be so far off, but I'm just picturing him trying to explain this to guidance counselors...

Comments

[cereta.livejournal.com]

Deathstroke remains a tough character for me to wrap my head around. I do think that "healthy self image" is a good phrase - IIRC, part of the reason Joey's was hurt as a child was that Slade was convinced he was fast enough to prevent it. But yeah, the stuff about Grant was fairly creepy.

[greenygal.livejournal.com]

Oh, Slade's as arrogant as they come; he's never had a problem declaring himself the best of anything. Of course, he's plenty good enough to back it up, although as he proved to Joey's cost, sometimes not as good as he thinks he is. (Mind you, that was something like fifteen years ago, his time, and conceivably he may have acquired more humility with experience...or not. But I've sometimes wondered what he'd do if he were faced with the same choice today.)

I understand what Wolfman was trying to get across with the Grant sequence, and the idea that he was, unknowingly, trying both to imitate and to best his father is a strong one, the first movement in the Greek tragedy that is Slade Wilson. But when you think about it too closely, it sounds really weird.