Deathstroke vs. Deadshot: The War of Jokes and Riddles

In 2017, Tom King brought the world a previously unknown early tale of Batman and the bloody conflict that pushed both him and Gotham City to their limits as the Joker and the Riddler squared off in the twisted "War of Jokes and Riddles." The two villains declared war on one another for both control of Gotham and the bragging rights of destroying the other criminal mastermind. In one particularly savage battle of the war, the two master assassins, Deathstroke (Team Riddler) and Deadshot (Team Joker), battled one another for the honor of eliminating Batman. Even though the two elite mercenaries fought one another to a virtual standstill, they still managed to kill 108 innocent Gothamites as collateral damage after five solid days of carnage. It took Batman to put their savage combat to an end. Posted below are images of the brutal battle between Deathstroke and Deadshot from Batman (2016) #28 featuring art by Mikel Janín. Keep an eye out for a bit of an "oopsie" in the pages below.

Does anyone else notice that Deathstroke is "looking" through the scope
with the side of his head that has no eye? Oops.

Oops, again.

Deathstroke vs. Deadshot: Part 1

Floyd Lawton: Deadshot

Deadshot, the professional name of assassin Floyd Lawton, debuted in 1950 in the pages of Batman (1940) #59. The year 2016 marked Deadshot's coming-out party to the general public with the recent release of Suicide Squad in theaters worldwide. Will Smith's portrayal of the world's best marksman even meet with some critical praise. Given the nature of their chosen profession, it seems only natural that Deathstroke and Deadshot would cross paths from time to time, leaving a trail of blood behind them. This feature will take a look at some of these bullet-filled confrontations.

Our first stop on our tour of blood between these two super-assassins takes place in Deathstroke: The Terminator (1991) #41. In part two of the "Deathstroke The Hunted" storyline, Slade Wilson finds himself on the run, framed for a crime of which he has no knowledge. With people coming out of the woodwork to bring him in, Deathstroke finds himself confronted by not one, but two of the world's deadliest men, the Bronze Tiger and Deadshot. Thought Deathstroke had the upper-hand against Deadshot in close-quarters combat, the interference of Bronze Tiger complicated matters greatly for Slade. Slade took Deadshot to the ground, but while distracted by Tiger, Deadshot opened up his wrist guns on Deathstroke at close range ending the confrontation. This battle is depicted below. Round One goes to Deadshot, but with a huge assist to Bronze Tiger.

Another confrontation took place in Secret Six (2008) #6, even though it was pretty short. This was little more than a deadly form of a game of chicken with neither killer "winning."

Two battles between the two master assassins with no decisive victor. But both of these battles took place prior to Flashpoint. In part two of this feature, I'll take a look at more confrontations between Deathstroke and Deadshot, featuring some within the New 52.