Flashpoint’s Biggest DC Villain Change Was To Deathstroke

When the Flash decided to travel back in time to save his mother’s life, he created a series of ripple effects and inadvertently changed reality. One of the strangest ripple effects made due to Barry Allen’s time-travel shenanigans was that Deathstroke changed from one of the world’s deadliest assassins to a pirate. Yes, really.

Barry unintentionally made numerous changes to the DC Universe in Flashpoint: Batman existed in the universe, but instead of the man behind the cowl being Bruce Wayne, it was Thomas Wayne, as Bruce died in the alley instead of his parents. Superman was taken in by the government, not the Kent’s, resulting in a rail-thin version of the Man of Steel. Meanwhile, Deathstroke became a ruthless pirate with his own crew.

Flashpoint #2 by Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, Sandra Hope, Alex Sinclair, Nick J. Napolitano, opens with Slade Wilson leading his own pirate crew that consists of some of DC Comics’ biggest bad guys, including Victor Zsasz, Clayface and Icicle. Deathstroke’s crew uses Sonar to hunt for treasure. But, on their sails, they encounter a fallen ship in a flooded Paris. That’s when Deathstroke’s crew is attacked by Emperor Aquaman and Ocean Master, currently engaged in a full-out war with Wonder Woman, who subsequently sink their ship.

Deathstroke got his own Flashpoint spinoff comic in Flashpoint: Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravagers, where his own crew would eventually mutiny against him – led by Sonar, Icicle and the Eel. Slade doesn’t take kindly to his own crew trying to betray him as he engages an all-out war with his crew alongside Jennifer Blitz – who melts Icicles head off his body. After stopping his own mutiny and tying up (or killing) most of his former crew, he encounters the Caretaker, who has captured his daughter Rose. After agreeing to trade Blitz (Caretaker’s creation) for Rose, Deathstroke double-crossed him and kills him while blowing up his ship. The series ends with Rose and Deathstroke reunited.

Deathstroke’s turn as a pirate isn’t a bad arc by any means, as it’s quite explosive. However, it’s such a bizarre change of course for the character that it’s weird to think about. Deathstroke leading a gang of pirates – when he seems to usually thrive by working by himself – is sort of a weird sight to behold. Among the many changes Barry made to the timeline in Flashpoint, Deathstroke’s time as a pirate is definitely one of the weirdest and most unexpected.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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