If you’re like me you took three things away from Suicide Squad: Margot Robbie is a revelation as Harley Quinn, it’s a decent movie that has issues, and Will Smith is back to being the same “Summer Blockbuster” Will Smith we all know and love as the Squad’s defacto leader, Deadshot.
While Smith’s take on the character was entertaining, it’s only a fraction of what Deadshot brings to the table on an issue-by-issue basis in DC Comics like the aforementioned Suicide Squad or the oft-forgotten and possibly better (in my humble opinion), Secret Six. A much maligned group that runs adjacent to the Suicide Squad that was created in 1969 by E. Nelson Bridwell and crafted to perfection by scribe, Gail Simone in the aughts.
Deadshot (a.k.a. Floyd Lawton) started as a mild doofus with a top-hat and coattails, who used chicanery and the ability to never miss a shot to usurp Batman’s position in Gotham City and rule the underworld. This, like most schemes of Batman’s rouges gallery, went up in flames.
After mulling around in comic book limbo, the Deadshot that’s grown on us, with his sweet facial hair, quaffed hair and awesome arm guns, made a comeback in the ‘80s with John Ostrander’s revival of the Suicide Squad. Ostrander also did a four-part mini-series origin for Deadshot called, “Beginnings.” Featuring a twisted tale of family betrayal and a Taken-esque murder spree from Deadshot as he attempts to find the people who took his son.
Will Smith’s Deadshot is based around his third revival in 2005. During DC’s “Infinte Crisis,” Deadshot was basically kept the same, save for being a part of a Lex Luthor funded team of anti-heroes called The Secret Six and instead of a son he had a daughter. He was still Floyd Lawton, though, still the best shot in all of DC Comics and still the leader of an awesome group of villains you can root for. Unless you consider Harley Quinn the leader. Which is fine.
Are you a fan of Deadshot? Let us know in the comments!
