“Worst part of it is they are going to blame us for the whole thing. And, they can’t have people knowing the truth. We are the patsies. The cover-up. Don’t forget, we are the bad guys,” said a man who was previously paid a large sum to carry out a difficult assassination.
He had to slice out the heart of his victim and send it to the customer as part of the job. We are talking about Deadshot, also known as ‘The Exterminator,’ ‘Assassin-for-Hire,’ ‘Human Arsenal,’ ‘The Man Who Never Misses,’ ‘Serial Killer Who Takes Credit Cards,’ and ‘The World’s Top Marksman,’ among other titles. The man beneath the laser-eye mask, born Floyd Lawton, may not be a meta-human, but that does not stop him from being the world’s deadliest marksman.
When we say Deadshot tags his targets, we mean he nails them, and he does so with extreme precision. His exceptional levels of athleticism and conditioning enable him to accomplish the seemingly impossible — we are talking about evading an approaching headshot while simultaneously pulling one off himself. Today, we will take a closer look at Deadshot, the anti-hero who has cemented his status as the world’s best shot.
Deadshot And His Mean Personality
Born on April 12, 1987, Floyd Lawton was the product of an unhappy marriage and by the time he was in his twenties, he was not only a hardened criminal but was also quite popular for going in and out of prisons all the time because of his felonious activities. While it is no secret that Floyd started his career as a vigilante in Gotham City, he eventually became the most wanted hitman in the world.
Also, thanks to his incredible skills that made he evolve into an overpriced assassin, bragging about a long list of elite clients just in case you did not know. In fact, there’s a very famous dialogue of Deadshot which says, “You know the rules. No money, no honey.”
This clearly shows as long as he is paid to kill, he will execute it and he will do it without mercy. But then again, of course, there are exceptions to his operating principles – no women and, definitely no children. By now, it’s a given that he will carry things out only after the money is first credited to him. Plus, there is no guarantee that he would not threaten his clients for more money, at times even asking them to double his initial payment.
Speaking of his personality, there’s sarcasm followed by an extremely difficult attitude to deal with, and let’s not forget Deadshot being effortlessly able to work even if he is placed under the peak of pressure. Post getting captured by Batman, Deadshot was put behind the bars of Belle Reve only to be recruited later by Amanda Waller and made to be a part of the government-sanctioned expendable black-ops unit, Task Force X, colloquially known as the Suicide Squad.
But in spite of that tough attitude, Deadshot easily manages to start a friendship with Harley Quinn as well as sympathize with El Diablo post getting to know of his past, dark secret. The fact that he is highly respected by his teammates also shows the amount of influence that he has over them.
Next, comes his daughter, Zoe; there’s no denying that he is exceedingly fond of her and cares for her very deeply. So much so that he is seen keeping a photo of Zoe all throughout his time as a hitman and an inmate. As mentioned before, he is also seen having a rather conscientious work code of not having any women or children as his targets.
This is particularly seen when Waller tries to manipulate Deadshot into shooting Quinn, and in return, promises him his freedom. Of course, Deadshot is tempted by her offer, and it shows too when he aims at her but for a man who never misses a shot, he is more than happy to say that ‘he missed’. This not only shows his character maintaining an uncompromisingly strict moral code but also throws light on his equation with Quinn.
One of his most distinguishing characteristic traits is his known death wish, which often shows when he intentionally brings about situations that are most likely to kill him. This makes him quite volatile or let’s say unpredictable as an enemy because his readiness to die permits him to knowingly hurt himself in order to reach a goal.
Deadshot In The Animated Universe
Officially voiced by Michael Rosenbaum, Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot has appeared on Cartoon Network’s Justice League as well as Justice League Unlimited. In The Enemy Below Part 1, the sixth episode of the first season of Justice League, Deadshot is employed by Ocean Master to kill Aquaman. But with the assassin’s assassination attempt getting foiled, Deadshot eventually gets caught by the League.
In Hereafter, the nineteenth episode of the second season of Justice League, Deadshot is seen appearing with many supervillains, causing absolute chaos in Metropolis and celebrating the supposed death of Superman. Well, of course, our assassin’s target happens to be Batman, but his plans get thwarted with Superman stopping his bullet and then him getting knocked out by Batman.
Speaking of Task Force X, in the fourth episode of the second season of Justice League Unlimited, Lawton’s execution gets canceled when Colonel Rick Flag has him enrolled into a government unit of supervillains that go on high-risk missions. Thinking what’s the barter? Well, nothing better than a reduced sentence, eh?
Next, voiced by Tom Kenny, the character has also appeared in James Tucker and Michael Jelenic’s animated tv series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, based in part on the DC Comic series, the Brace and the Bold. In the sixth episode of the third season titled, Night of the Batmen, during the absence of Batman, Deadshot is seen going on a literal crime spree in Gotham with plenty of other villains only to get defeated by Green Arrow impersonating Batman.
Why Is Deadshot So Lethal?
Just a single glance at his physique and you will know that he is literally in his top physical condition. So what if he is imprisoned, does that stop him from doing vigorous workouts? The answer is a big bold no. Well, it did take a whole team of ARGUS agents boasting riot shields to pin him down and restrain him after his cell was opened. But then also, he was easily able to kick at least two of them into the ground.
So, you get a fair idea, right? Speaking of his strength, he is physically very strong. Right from cracking cement by punching, ripping out his chains in Chinook-2, breaking the lock to the Golden tree bar to enduring brutal beatings of the ARGUS agents, and recovering right after receiving a superhumanly strong blow from Incubus, Deadshot is exceedingly durable.
Have you ever wondered why is he viewed as the world’s deadliest marksman? Well, if you go by his records, you will see that he has never really missed a target in his life except for Batman. He is an expert combatant and apparently, his skill in shooting is even better than the Dark Knight thanks to that high-tech eye patch. Shooting the same target again and again with multiple different guns, single-handedly taking down Enchantress’ horde of monstrous troops, Deadshot is quite a professional.
In fact, he is considered dead even when he is at a distance of four kilometers which comes to 2.49 miles. If you think it’s Katana and El Diablo, who come under the category of the most dangerous human beings on Earth, well, don’t forget to add Deadshot to that very list.
This master assassin here can assassinate his target within split seconds after the payment is done. Of course, he has to be satisfied with the amount that is getting credited but then that is just how Deadshot is. We have talked about him having an elite clientele so please know that before he was captured by Batman and imprisoned at Belle Reve, he was literally the most wanted hitman in the world.
Ever heard someone say, “I am the best at what I do because I think through every contingency. When the wind changes, I am the one who knows by how much.” Well, that’s precisely what makes him an expert strategist. He will actually think through every possibility and then chalk out things to the very last detail.
Also, the sole fact that he has previously been a member of the Boy Scouts as well as the US Special Forces, helps him to carefully plan for all his shootings. He is also a very skilled leader. There have many several instances where his character is seen to calm down Harley Quinn thus having a certain degree of influence on all of his Suicide Squad members.
Apart from these, let’s take a look at his equipment. We know he wears a bulletproof combat suit that has worked out in his favor most of the time. He is also seen wearing a white ballistic face mask, one that covers his whole head as well as neck. But it is the high-tech eye patch that he dons over his left eye, which is the highlight of his whole hitman look. The laser eye patch not only enhances his shooting skills but when it gets combined with the scope of his sniper rifle, there’s just no stopping him from missing his target.
Why Will Smith Not Return As Deadshot?
Those who have seen James Gunn’s 2021 superhero flick, The Suicide Squad, will know that the movie did not have Will Smith return as Deadshot. While the film was a follow-up to David Ayer’s 2016 superhero flick also titled, Suicide Squad, and had some of the surviving characters from the previous film making a comeback, Will Smith’s Deadshot was nowhere in the picture.
Surprisingly, Idris Elba was cast in the 2021 movie and most of the fans actually thought that it was Elba who was going to portray the character of Deadshot. Thank God, it was not the case. Not even with Idris Elba playing the role of Bloodsport, who by the way happens to be a mercenary in the movie.
Coming back to Will Smith, a lot of people actually thought that the actor did not want to return as Deadshot in James Gunn’s movie because of the negative reactions Ayer received. That was definitely not the case and Smith even clarified it later addressing it as a ‘timing issue’. Also, after post-learning that Idris Elba was playing an entirely different character, Smith said and we quote, ‘Cool, I can come back.’
Well, this would certainly be interesting to see a face-off between Deadshot and Bloodsport given that both their characters are expert tacticians, quick thinkers, and most importantly, on-point marksmen. We are also cool with both of them teaming up together as a team. Let’s hope DC has plans of diversifying the characters sometime soon.
Is Deadshot Officially Dead In The DC Universe?
Guess, it is already official that in the DC Comics Suicide Squad, the character has been shot dead. It was DC that announced Floyd Lawton would be killed in Tom Taylor’s latest series. Of course, it did come as a shock because the character of Deadshot was so close to being free from Task Force X. But what was supposed to be the character’s final mission before attaining freedom became his last mission in life.
If you look at the last few issues of Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo, you will realize that both Harley Quinn and Deadshot had been a part of more than enough missions to earn their freedom. In fact, they were actually done with their sentences but sadly, their characters were never really informed about it.
Black Mask is eventually disclosed to be Deadshot’s killer in Suicide Squad #9 when he kicks Deadshot out of the window and the latter falls to his death. What makes his death even more tragic is the simple fact that he was literally so close to getting what he really wanted in his life – to be free with his daughter.