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Quintessential Teen Titans foe Deathstroke the Terminator takes on sidekick-turned-brainwashed-assassin Winter Soldier in our latest match-up! These two deadly triggermen have both fought on either side of the law, but today they will pit their fatal skills against each other?
Slade Wilson joined the American Army at just sixteen, and after fighting in the Korean War became a Major with great talent for training new recruits. When he was redeployed during the Vietnam War, Slade underwent an experimental procedure that granted him enhanced strength, speed, senses, and mental ability to supplement his combat expertise. After being rejected for re-enlistment with the Army, he became and infamous international assassin under the alias Deathstroke. When his youngest son was kidnapped by a rival gun-for-hire and ransomed for information, Deathstroke gambled that he could save his son without ceding the intelligence. He was wrong, and his son’s throat was cut, permanently damaging his vocal cords. Deathstroke’s distraught wife later shot him in anger, destroying his right eye and leading to his distinctive half-blackened mask.
In the seminal Teen Titans storyline “The Judas Contract,” Deathstroke employed the geokinetic Terra to infiltrate the Teen Titans and provide him with inside information. After Terra supplied Deathstroke with the Titans’ secret identities, addresses, and weaknesses, Deathstroke systematically incapacitated and captured Wonder Girl, Starfire, Cyborg, and Changeling (aka Beast Boy). Former Robin Dick Grayson managed to get away, however, and with the aid of Deathstroke’s mute son Jericho, assaulted the H.I.V.E. base where the Titans were being held prisoner. While initially unsuccessful, Jericho was later able to possess his father, and used Deathstroke to free their comrades. Terra’s already fragile psyche was pushed over the edge after seeing her partner’s “betrayal” and brought down the entire headquarters in an effort to kill all those within. While Slade and the Teen Titans survived, she died in the building’s collapse.
James “Bucky” Barnes served as Captain America’s partner during World War II after receiving extensive military training. Bucky fought the Nazi regime alongside Captain America and other Greatest Generation heroes as part of the Invaders all across Europe during the war. As WWII drew closer to its conclusion, Cap and Bucky found themselves prisoners of Baron Zemo. In an attempt to stop one of the Baron’s explosive planes from reaching its destination, Bucky’s sleeve was caught in a groove in the cockpit. While Captain America fell into the ocean to later be found by the Avengers, Bucky (who lost his left arm due to the plane’s explosion) was recovered earlier by Russian forces. The Soviet Union indoctrinated the amnesiac Bucky to despise the Western world, and used him to conduct various assassinations over the years as the Winter Soldier, cryogenically freezing him in between assignments. In the modern day, Winter Soldier was reactivated and tasked with recovering Red Skull’s Cosmic Cube. However, Captain America was able to obtain it first, and used its power to restore Winter Soldier’s memories.
In the wake of the “Death of Captain America” following the “Civil War” event, Winter Soldier took up the mantle of his former partner and became the new Captain America. During his time wearing the red, white, and blue, he faced off against a slew of foes, including Red Skull, A.I.M., and a brainwashed Grand Director (who once served as Captain America himself). In his new guise, he also managed to thwart the assassinations of political leaders by the Red Skull’s daughter, Sin, helped repel a Skrull invasion, and joined the New Avengers.
Which expert killer will win out in the end? YOU can vote now below to decide!
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