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| Rob Liefeld: In denial, delusional, or full of crap? |
Please don't misunderstand, I kid about this topic from time to time on this blog relative to Deadpool and Deathstroke, but I'm not saying that this is practice is by definition a bad thing. Comic book companies and creators have a long tradition of "borrowing," or to put it more rudely, "ripping off," character archetypes or other such defining characteristics from industry competitors dating back to the earliest days of the super-hero genre ("SHAZAM!"). If not for these homages/ripoffs we wouldn't have characters like Wolverine (Timberwolf), Aquaman (Namor the Sub-Mariner), Black Cat (Catwoman), Swamp Thing (Man-Thing), Quicksilver (the Flash), Miracle Man (the original Captain Marvel/Shazam), or even Thanos (Darkseid). Recently DC Comics launched The Terrifics (2018), which is basically a send-up of Marvel Comic's Fantastic Four, and I'm having a blast reading it. Given the long-standing practice of "homaging" characters in comic books, why does Rob Liefeld continue to deny that he did essentially the same thing when creating Deadpool?
At the 2018 LA Comin-Con, Liefeld was asked point blank "Did you, for the first issue of Deadpool, did you ever use Deathstroke as your...?" Liefeld didn't even let the question come completely out of the fan's mouth before he launched into a histrionic fit/diatribe that began thusly:
I DID NOT! I CAN DO THIS! If we had Deathstroke here: buccaneer boots, buccaneer gloves, half an effin’ mask, chainmail! WHERE IS THE CHAINMAIL?
Let me tell you guys how it went: "Hey guys, Todd McFarlane, he’s kind of blowing up on Spider-Man. I need a Spider-Man in my book. Oh, wow, so, I also like Wolverine. He’s my favorite character. Black and red, black and red. Can I tie him into Wolverine’s origin? So, can I do Spider-Man with guns and knives?” "Liefeld, Cable’s blowing up for us. We’re selling a million copies of New Mutants. Whatever you want to do Liefeld." YEAH!
I didn’t even hear about this until 10 years ago when it became cool to (unintellegible). I don't see it. I never have seen it! Like, strap me up! I'll do the lie detector that [Brett] Kavanaugh wouldn't! I'll sit there; ask me that question! Give me, give me the golden lasso! I really don't get it! That's why it's like, I just look at people and I go, "How are...I don't, yeah." There's your answer.
To view the question and Liefeld's answer in their entirety, the video is posted below.
OK. At this point, Shakespeare might have said that the gentleman "doth protest too much, methinks." First, I'd like to address Liefeld's statement, "If we had Deathstroke here: buccaneer boots, buccaneer gloves, half an effin’ mask, chainmail! WHERE IS THE CHAINMAIL?" Liefeld seems to be making the argument that just because Deadpool doesn't look like Deathstroke, then that means that Deadpool can't be based on Deathstroke. Unfortunately for Liefeld, that argument has already been proven deficient in a court of law is it was used by Fawcett Publications when they were sued by National Comics Publications (who would become DC Comics in the 1970s) for copyright infringement [National Comics Publications Inc. v. Fawcett Publications Inc. et al, 191 F.2d 594 (2d Cir. 1951)]. Even though some cosmetic details were changed, like Captain Marvel's suit was red instead of Superman blue and his cape was white instead of Superman red, the court ruled that Fawcett's Captain Marvel was too similar to the core concept of National's Superman to be coincidental and therefore was plagiarized. So Liefeld basing his argument that Deadpool could not be based on Deathstroke because Deadpool didn't have buccaneer boots and chainmail wouldn't even come close to holding up in a court of law.
For the sake of argument, let's take Liefeld at his work that it was Spider-Man that played a huge part in his creating Deadpool. This is obvious, especially in Deadpool's red-and-black color scheme and the large eyes thickly outlined in black. But when Liefeld added the guns and swords motif in addition to making him an assassin it made him a little too close to Deathstroke for Deadpool to be at least a factor in his creation. Apparently, Liefeld feels that it is completely acceptable to homage Spider-Man, but not Deathstroke? Additionally, his lie detector and golden lasso comments were nothing more than toothless quips to elicit laughs from the crowd. So, Deadpool not based on Deathstroke? STRIKE ONE!
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| Deadpool's first appearance in New Mutants (1983) |
Next, let's examine statements made by those directly involved in Deadpool's creation including then New Mutants co-plotter, Fabian Nicieza and Liefeld himself. When Liefeld sent his original concept art for his new character to Nicieza, he called Liefeld and stated bluntly that, "this is Deathstroke from Teen Titans." Nicieza further acknowledged the similarity between the characters by giving him the name "Deadpool," which is not unlike "Deathstroke." Nicieza further connected the characters by giving Deadpool the real name of Wade Wilson, which was a straight-up riff on Deathstroke's name, Slade Wilson. So while it was Nicieza that came up with names "Deadpool" and "Wade Wilson", it was Liefeld's "original" design that first made the obvious association with Deathstroke.
Liefeld himself took a stab at writing Deathstroke (2011) in early 2012. As part of promoting his run, Liefeld was interviewed by Jeffrey Renaud for Comic Book Resources (CBR). In the interview, Liefeld admitted to an affinity for Deathstroke, confirming that he chose to write and pencil his title. Later in the interview, Liefeld confessed that he passed on working with other characters because he had no connection to them. His connection to Deathstroke was further cemented when Liefeld said, "I've always been in awe of Hawkman and Deathstroke -- and 'always' means since I was a child." This comment from Liefeld corroborated earlier statements by Nicieza that both he and Liefeld were huge fans of the Teen Titans comics growing up. Because childhood "awe" drew Liefeld to work professionally on Deathstroke as an adult, it is reasonable to think that some of that same Deathstroke "awe" found its way into the creation of Deadpool. Deadpool not based on Deathstroke? STRIKE TWO!
The third piece of evidence I'll present against Liefeld's claim that Deadpool wasn't based on Deadpool is that if you look at other characters Liefeld has created, it becomes apparent that Liefeld definitely has a signature character type that looks suspiciously like Deathstroke. In my earlier post, "Deadpool and other Deathstroke 'Homages'", I included the aforementioned Deadpool and the character Deadborn that he created for his run on Deathstroke (2011), based upon a loosely assembled list of Deathstroke traits. Those traits included being an assassin or mercenary, utilizing a full-face mask, having an ominous or foreboding character name, preternatural skill with firearms and melee weapons, having superhuman strength, agility, or reflexes, and having white hair. I wanted a way to objectively compare these "homages" to Deathstroke himself. Using the six traits described above, I came up with an admittedly ridiculous scale that gages a character's similarity to Deathstroke. The Deathstroke Homage Scale (or DHS) awards one point for each characteristic that a given character has in common with Deathstroke. Using the 2/3 standard, if a given character gets a score of 4 or higher, the character will be considered an "homage" (not a "ripoff") of Deathstroke.
So what happens when characters are evaluated with the DHS? Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha's Death-Stroke was by design an homage to/parody of Deathstroke the Terminator, so if any character would score high enough to be considered an homage to Deathstroke on the DHS it should be him. Marvel's Death-Stroke earned a DHS score of 4, making him a Deathstroke homage. I next took a character that I knew could not possibly be a Deathstroke homage, Superman. Superman's DHS score was 1, making him definitely not a Deathstroke homage.
Now let's see what happens when seven different Liefeld-created characters are evaluated using the DHS. The characters evaluated were Deadpool, Cable, Bloodstrike, Deadborn, Lethal, Jagger, and Crypt. The results appear below.
All seven Liefeld characters that I evaluated with the DHS were, in fact, Deathstroke homages, including Deadpool (DHS score of 5). Some will say that not every single character that Liefeld has ever created can be considered a Deathstroke homage so this exercise is flawed and should be discounted. But, this exercise was not about showing that every single character that Liefeld ever created was a Deathstroke homage, but was instead just to illustrate that a large number are and that Deathstroke-like traits are ubiquitous in Liefeld creations over his entire career. Liefeld is so drawn to the Deathstroke character type that during his run on the Savage Hawkman (2011), he pitted Hawkman against the Jim Lee and Brandon Choi-created mercenary Pike, himself a Deathstroke homage (DHS score of 5). Deadpool not based on Deathstroke? STRIKE THREE!
With three strikes, Liefeld should be out as far as his claims that Deadpool was not based on Deathstroke. But Deathstroke is not the only character that Liefeld has homaged over his career. The following list represents a number of other Liefeld-created characters and the established characters from which they were homaged.
- Avengelyne: (Angela, Vampirella, Warrior Nun Areala)
- Badrock: (the Thing)
- Bloodwulf: (Lobo)
- Brigade: (X-Force)
- Copycat: (Mystique)
- Cougar: (Timberwolf, Wolfsbane, Tigra, Talon, Feral)
- Deadlock: (Wolverine)
- Diehard: (Captain America, Deathlok)
- Domino: (Longshot)
- Feral: (Tigra, Talon)
- Glory: (Wonder Woman)
- Masada: (Giant Man, Colossal Boy, Giganta)
- New Men: (the X-Men)
- Riptide: (Mera)
- Shaft: (Green Arrow, Hawkeye)
- Suprema: (Supergirl)
- Supreme: (Superman)
- Troll: (Puck)
- Vogue: (Black Widow)
- Youngblood: (Freedom Force, JLI, Suicide Squad, G.I. Joe)
Deadpool not based on Deathstroke? STRIKE FOUR! Out for real this time!
Rob Liefeld based Deadpool on Deathstroke. He continues to deny this and I don't know why. The evidence is clear. Liefeld's claim they don't look alike so Deadpool can't be based on Deathstroke utterly falls apart under historical and legal scrutiny. Both Liefeld's and Fabian Nicieza's previous public statements on Deadpool's creation and Deathstroke as a favorite character of both men contradict Liefeld's own recent, and very public denial. When quantifiably compared to Deathstroke, Deadpool, and many other Liefeld creations are too similar to the Terminator to be simply coincidental. Lastly, Liefeld has a long and proven track record of borrowing character designs and characteristics from other well-established characters. Rob Liefeld based Deadpool on Deathstroke and it is 100% OK that he did. I just wish Liefeld would believe that himself.
