DEATHSTROKE KNIGHTS AND DRAGONS (2020)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*

I could have copied for my illustration one of DEATHSTROKE's more violent scenes, but instead I chose this talking-head shot, to clarify how bland the animation style is when no one's being shot or stabbed. Possibly his blandness has something to do with the DTV's origins as a web-series prepared for a subdivision of the CW company.

I can't fault the script of Marc de Matteis in finding the most efficient way to boil down the relevant elements of the Deathstroke property so as to exclude his origins in the TEEN TITANS book. KNIGHTS contains most of the characters germane to the cosmos of Slade Wilson, a.k.a. the masked mercenary of the title: his estranged wife (and former combat-veteran) Adeline, his son Joseph, his daughter (by another mother) Rose, and his assistant Wintergreen. In the comics Deathstroke works for the criminal cabal H.I.V.E. rather than fighting against them-- at least in early narratives-- but since KNIGHTS is in effect independent of DC continuity, this change is not important. De Matteis creates a new villain (as far as I know) named the Jackal who's one of Deathstroke's opponents, and he throws in a couple of stooges who are funhouse-mirror versions of their DC-counterparts, Lady Shiva and The Bronze Tiger.

The big problem is that the film-script emulates Marv Wolfman's Deathstroke-of-the-comics far too well-- which may be a selling point for some viewers, but which was a turnoff for me. In the comics Deathstroke originated as a TITANS villain in his early-1980s appearance, though he enjoyed a starring DC series from 1991 to 1996. Conceptually the character followed closely in the footsteps of hyperviolent crusaders like Wolverine and Punisher, in being utterly unrestrained in terms of striking his enemies with unrestrained violence. This approach would not have been extraordinary if Deathstroke had remained an unregenerate evildoer. However, even in the mercenary's first appearance, Marv Wolfman sent mixed signals. Deathstroke was merciless, and yet he possessed some vague nobility. He was a mercenary who killed people for pay, but he had some code of professionalism that supposedly distinguished him from the average assassin. 

These mixed signals, Marc de Matteis produces impeccably for KNIGHTS-- but they don't make Deathstroke as compelling a character as either Wolverine or Punisher at their respective bests. Slade Wilson becomes the costumed Deathstroke as the result of a military experiment, and he uses the powers he gained from the experiment-- rapid healing, super-fast reflexes-- to become a mercenary. At the same time that he's a ruthless mercenary, he's also a family man, marrying Adeline and spawning young Joseph-- though during some foreign-based adventure, he also sleeps with another woman, who gives birth to an older female, Rose. These movie-characters have next to nothing in common with the comics-originals, for their purpose is the same as Adeline's here: to give Slade Wilson grief for his past sins. Yet the script is spongy on the subject of what those sins were, aside from sleeping around.

KNIGHTS tries to make Deathstroke sympathetic in that in one exploit, he's seen confronting one of his targets, but informs the guy that he's just killed the man who ordered the target's death and now demands that the target pay Deathstroke for the hit. This is meant to suggest that Deathstroke somehow manages to make his murders serve an altruistic purpose. Frankly, this is so phony that when The Jackal takes the contrary position in one monologue-- to the effect that there's no real meaning in violence beyond the acquisition of power-- the villain sounds more authentic than the hero ever does.

The characterizations of the supporting characters are no better; they come on stage, air their grievances, and press their attacks on long-suffering Deathstroke. There's a lot of competently executed violence, but without a protagonist whose violent obsession feels roughly justified-- again, paging the Punisher-- the violence alone is likely to make some viewers want to go watch a PUNISHER movie instead.