Post by Batman on Nov 29, 2015 12:16:16 GMT -5
Nov 27, 2015 11:21:26 GMT -5 @xbrianthegreatx said:
Basic InformationPlayer Nickname: Brian.
Profile URL: www.roleplaychat.org/profile.php?user=Deathstroke%20the%20Terminator
Do you want other role players to give you feed back? Yes.
Which DCU Earth are you applying to? All of them.
Please link the URL to our rule page to confirm you have read them. (URL here)
Please link the URL to our activity policy to confirm you have read it. (URL here)
Character Origin: Mixed. I've read Wolfman's, Higgins', Liefeld's and Daniels' takes on Deathstroke, as well as the Birds of Prey, Villains United and different Teen Titans storylines. I've also looked into the Arrow, Young Justice and Teen Titans TV show portrayals of Slade to measure their similarities with the different interpretations of the comics. My goal is to reach across those sources, find consistencies and give what I feel is the most accurate portrayal of Slade. I will be disregarding things in other non-Wolfman interpretations of Slade that I disagree with, such as Slade’s referring to Wintergreen as his “nursemaid” and “manservant” in the Titans comics and Faces of Death. Wolfman’s Slade will serve as my foundation, and I fully expect to utilize my own creative license at some points along the way.
1. Earth 1 and Earth 4 are the major Earths, however, if you're applying to Earth 3 then you'll be playing President Slade Wilson who is a politician and not an assassin, in which case your app should adjust to include the Earth 3 variant.
2. No activity policy listed nor rules listed - I'm assuming that since you've already been approved before as Bronze Tiger you're looking at this as unimportant, which to a seasoned player it isn't. This is for uniform with new players so they do not mistaken how important it is to know the rules, how to find them, and where the activity policy is. If you could please update this, it would be appreciated.
3. Character origin is well stated, the examples given aren't necessary.
Nov 27, 2015 11:21:26 GMT -5 @xbrianthegreatx said:
Face Claim's Name: Manu Bennett seems to be who they’re going for in the newer comics. I like the look, so I’ll settle for it.
Name: Slade Joseph Wilson
Alias: Deathstroke the Terminator
Race: Enhanced human
Age: Physically 30. Overall 55.
Birthday: August 1st, 1960
Alignment: Neutral
Height: 6'4
Weight: 225 lbs
Hair: White
Eyes: Blue
Physique: If you were to measure size by attributes, Slade's body would be the perfect cross between speed and power. At 6'4, his can be a figure that dwarfs others, but looking at his various portrayals I wouldn't describe him as having Bane's physique by any means. He's large, toned, deceptively strong and quick, and usually shares a similar body type to Batman.
Training: Wilson was a highly decorated soldier in the U.S. Army, who eventually graduated to Team 7, its most prestigious Spec Ops team. In accordance to Army and Spec Ops training, Slade would have experience with hand-to-hand and weapons combat, tactical driving, marksmanship, infiltration and exfiltration techniques, resistance to interrogation and more. He was trained personally by his future wife and then superior, Captain Adeline Kane, and deployed into multiple high-risk missions where he thrived. Following the experiment that essentially made him a super-soldier, Slade collected decades of field experience as an enhanced mercenary and established a reputation as one of the best assassins in the world.
It’s also worth noting that Slade’s father, a CIA agent, taught him early on to keep emotion out of his missions. He imparted this type of wisdom to Slade at the expense of his childhood.
Additionally, Slade has also sought out the training of an assassin known as Natas to study the ways of the ninja. He has been written, in multiple iterations, to prefer a head-on approach to combat with those who are the center of his missions. During The Hostage Heart story in the Birds of Prey, Slade is shown as using stealth to infiltrate Gorilla Grodd's base, while interrogating his soldiers. This is only because he’s looking for Gorilla City and trying to avoid added attention from a formidable foe. He's also shown in various issues to often set up ambushes and show up where he's least expected. One way or another, Slade usually finds himself in direct confrontation with his adversaries.
Equipment: Slade's usual equipment varies depending on the mission. This can be seen during Liefeld's run when Slade is attacked and doesn't have the right tools. For my variation of Slade, I'd like to keep the suit with Nth metal which enhances his strength and speed, along with lighter, more fragile iterations for different missions. Slade has been shown to have multiple masks in Liefeld’s run, which would imply he has different suits of armor. Additionally, he'll carry his promethium energy staff, which can create powerful blasts that are capable of taking out aircraft and injuring metahumans; has been shown to be able to shock people; has previously been upgraded by Squirrel so that the aforementioned features are only activated by Slade's gloves and DNA; can be separated into two separate parts; and can be shortened to 14 inches for mobility.
Additionally, Slade has been known to alternate between guns, again, depending on the mission. While possessed by Jericho, he blew off Impulse's knee with a shotgun. In other issues he carries assault rifles (sometimes two at a time, sometimes silenced), and has also used a variety of handguns including magnums and 9mms. As seen in his battle with Lobo during Liefeld's run, he also carries some explosives. During his quest to kill the "Unkillable Man," he blinded angry civilians with what looked like a flash grenade. He sometimes carries a broad sword, others he carries one or two swords, and regardless he keeps a few knives on his person. Slade's arsenal includes a wide variety of weapons, but consistently switches depending on the task he undertakes.
4. Manu Bennett isn't exactly my preferred portrayal of Slade, but it is a fair and a good one.
5. Batman has a body builder body-type about 70% of the time in comics. There are enough comics that define him as slim looking but that's more so in JLA comics and deception created by his outfit to make him appear like a smaller target.
6. Your link for "Doesn't have the right tools" doesn't work.
7. I would've preferred some layout of weapons he uses rather than citing sources and giving pictures. I get that Deathstroke switches up his weapons but, as a hired assassin he would have a preference to weapons he likes to use because of reasons X, Y, and Z. Comic writers don't think of this because they aren't assassins and they don't understand the concerns of an assassin. Weapon reliability being very important in most if not every instance. If you take note - I don't believe Deathstroke ever uses a Chinese gun due to their unreliable nature. Deathstroke commonly uses Israeli, German, or American made weapons because they are countries that don't make crappy weapons. (Desert Eagle = Israeli, M-16 or M4 = American, Uzi = Israeli/German, MP5 = German)
Katana = Japanese, very reliable weapon, not because he's a ninja and not because it's "cool." Claymore = A symbol of brute force and the weapon of an aggressive fighter with eclipsing strength - if swung it has not only slashing damage by also blunt-force damage capable of stunning its victims. Regardless it is reliable.
Nov 27, 2015 11:21:26 GMT -5 @xbrianthegreatx said:
Powers / Abilities
Military Enhancements: Slade volunteered for a military experiment that was supposed to focus on increasing resistance to truth serums, however it's frequently implied that this is a cover up for something much larger. The A.C.T.H derivative Slade was given affected his adrenal glands, giving him a unique physiology and a variety of enhanced physical attributes. These include:
• Enhanced strength: Slade, in some instances, has displayed some metahuman level strength feats. Some say he's capable of lifting around 25 tons -- this is best exemplified by him ripping an airplane door at 500 mph in mid-air. He has also landed jarring blows on the likes of metahumans such as Legacy and Lobo. It should be noted, however, that all of this was done while wearing the Nth metal armor.
• Enhanced speed and reflexes: Slade is commonly remarked to be extraordinarily quick. This is an observation that has been made by the likes of heroes such as Superman. He's frequently dodged gunfire (sometimes at point blank range), deflected two of Vigilante's bullets, caught a punch from Kid Flash, and moved quickly enough to catch The Flash in his preemptive traps. His ability to move as quickly as he thinks gives him reflexes that rival those of speedsters’. He's been shown to stalemate Deadshot in a fast draw in Villains United as well.
• Enhanced intellect: Slade thinks 10 steps ahead and 9 times faster than the average human. He has equated his brain to being like a supercomputer in some panels, which augments his problem solving and strategic abilities significantly. He is able to calculate distance, time, and speed extremely quickly, which has manifested in various ways throughout his mercenary career. One noteworthy example is during a car chase when Slade was able to time a turn so precisely that his pursuers fly through a guard rail. He also has a talent for leveraging the strengths and weaknesses of a team and compensating for his own weaknesses as well as how they're perceived by otherwise superior opponents.
• Enhanced stamina and durability: Perhaps encompassing some of his more impressive feats, Slade has been able to withstand being hit by the likes of Wonder Woman, Flash, Lobo and Superman. These metahumans have proven strong enough to be able incapacitate Slade, but just being able to withstand a few hits speaks volumes about the amount of punishment he can take. Most impressive of all, after being hit by all of these people, he's been able to get up and continue fighting. He's also survived being hit by a submarine during Higgins' run, whereafter he continued to fight and eventually killed Legacy -- the metahuman who threw it at him.
• Enhanced senses: Slade has displayed, in numerous ways, that he possesses enhanced senses as well. During the battle with JLA in Identity Crisis, he spotted Atom floating in front of him after he'd shrunk to what would otherwise be a level of invisibility to even some peak humans. He's also, on numerous occasions, demonstrated an enhanced sense of hearing, which has allowed him to hear motors and guns from faraway distances. He also carries an enhanced sense of smell.
Healing factor: As a result of the military enhancements, Slade has a healing factor that gives him a tremendous threshold for punishment. He's survived point-blank execution style gunshots to the head, swords through the heart, and in an Elseworlds issue survived being burned alive. During Wolfman's run, Slade is depicted as having immortality, though some sources contradict this. Slade himself states, during a battle with his daughter Rose, that if she'd decapitated him she might've killed him for good. Additionally, when Adeline Kane was disintegrated by Starfire's star bolt, she was unable to recover. It can be assumed that Slade is unable to regenerate body parts, as he goes back to wearing an eyepatch after ripping out his right eye as a sacrifice to the gods on Themyscira. Gunshots, stab wounds and broken bones heal in a matter of weeks and days; however, this is a result of Cheshire speeding up his healing factor during Wolfman's run.
• Enhanced immunity and decelerated aging: Slade's initial experiment was supposedly to resist enemy truth serums. While this has been alluded to as merely being a cover, perhaps it was still included. During the City of Assassins story, Slade works with Batman and allows himself to be captured in an informant's stead. He's pumped with a deadly amount of sedatives and truth serums and survives, despite hallucinating and going insane for a brief period of time. It’s stated that taking the amount of the sedatives he’s given would kill an ordinary man. Due to his healing factor, Slade doesn’t age and often fears that he will outlive the few he loves. This is sometimes questionable, however, as Slade's revivals from the dead have been shown to result him being brought back as younger and older versions of himself.
Tactical analysis: Claimed at one point to be "the world's greatest tactician" by Roy Harper, Slade has displayed his strategic and tactical prowess on more than one occasion. One excellent example would be him taking out the JLA methodically, and another would be his battles with Cassandra Cain. Her precog abilities struggled against him, and Slade has still been able to plan around his own weaknesses when they worked. At one point, he manipulated Cassandra into thinking she took control when she led the way into a trap he laid out for her. This line of chessmaster-esque thinking shows that Slade is often thinking so far ahead of his opponents that he predicts what they’ll do before they do it. For other examples, look to the assembly of Titans East and his first escape from Aquaman, Green Lantern and Flash during Wolfman's run.
• Leadership: Slade's strategic brilliance has often been displayed in leadership roles. This can, again, be noted in Titans East as well as Villains United when Lex Luthor appoints him to lead an army of villains to attack the Secret Six. It's worthy to note that he organized a strike team for the front and another for a tactical insertion through the rear, which can be traced back timeline-wise (if you were to mix pre-52 and new 52) to his military experience where he led Team 7 in Liefeld's origins issue. Slade has also initiated and partly led missions with the Titans. In spite of his leadership abilities, he has stated on numerous occasions that he prefers to work alone.
• Teacher: Slade's tactical analysis comes in handy for measuring the strengths and weaknesses of his pupils. He was able to take Pat Trayce under his wing and mold her into the Vigilante, where she found her own success as a crimefighter. He's also been shown mentoring Rose in some comics. Notable examples would be Grant, who eventually died, and Rose, who took up his mantle as the Ravager, became exemplary assassins under his directive. Rose in particular learned to make the most of this and sharpen her focus in battle, though it’s fairer to say that most of her training came from Lilianna and the Titans.
Self-control: During Faces of Death, Slade stated that he could control every molecule of his body. Perhaps that statement may be hyperbolic, but he does have feats that support it. During his first bout with Cassandra Cain, she stated that her body-reading abilities didn't work on Slade because his body was "like a choir" with “too many voices,” all of which were “too loud.” In Faces of Death, he was able to reverse his healing factor and trick doctors into thinking that Slade's body was killing itself due to some form of depression. It can be inferred that Slade can speed up or slow down his healing factor and control his body completely while conscioua.
Hand-to-hand and weapons combat: Slade's received ninjutsu training under Natas, private hand-to-hand and weapons combat training under Adeline and additional army and spec ops training. He's also honed his abilities, testing them against the likes of some of DCU's greatest martial artists -- Bronze Tiger, Batman, Cassandra Cain, Black Canary, and even Lady Shiva. As far as weapons combat goes, Deathstroke has been shown to run through waves of soldiers, demons and even ninjas with his swords and knives. He also relies on his power staff from time to time. He's been shown to defeat and stalemate even Batman on numerous occasions, which is also a testament to his tactical abilities.
Hunting and tracking: Slade has spent years doing this for assassination contracts. He routinely hunts down key people of interest, whether it be for revenge or interrogation purposes. During Wolfman's run, Slade was shown as having a variety of contacts that he could meet face to face for infomation. His assistants -- be it Wintergreen, Peabody or Bronze Tiger (or Tiggs) -- have all been capable of providing Slade with an ample amount of information. Having people like this around shows that Slade keeps a plethora of useful resources close to him, and frequently leverages them to fulfill and learn more about contracts.
Weaknesses
Family tragedy - There are some things that cut Deathstroke deeper than a blade. Slade, at least during Wolfman's run, has always been portrayed as a deeply guilt-ridden, conflicted man who leads a depressing existence and finds freedom in his work. Multiple enemies have tried to use this against him, taking hostages in front of him to remind him of when his son Jericho's throat was slit and exploiting his former lack of ability to kill kids because of it reminded him too much of his sons dying. His most predictable line of thinking comes when someone close to him dies and he attempts to hunt down the killer. While Slade is good at suppressing his emotions in the heat of conflict, these things deeply bother him and influence his thinking afterward. Kids have continued to be a sore spot for Slade because of some of the losses he experienced.
Women - Slade, in Wolfman and Liefeld's runs, has displayed an uncanny weakness for women, especially the strong and beautiful ones. If you look at his sagas with Pat Trayce and even Zealot (though that one was really, really absurd) then it's clear that it doesn't take Slade very long to let his guard down if he's attracted to a woman. One grand example is during Wolfman's run when Slade is hunting down a monster with Aniel, the female leader of an Israelite armed forces squadron. During their hunt, the two end up having sex, and in the end she turns out to be the very monster he's hunting. These trysts with women he's known for a short time indicate a clear weakness.
Limited healing factor - Starfire disintegrating Adeline with her star beam was the first example that Slade could actually die. Also, he remarked to Rose during Faces of Death that his head being sliced off may've killed him. This and Slade’s recent inability to bring back his eye in Daniels’ comic shows that Slade doesn't have regenerative abilities. His weaknesses are also revealed in how he approaches fighting other foes with healing factors, which has, in the past, meant scattering or separating their limbs so that they can't regenerate.
Revival effects - While in many ways an advantage for Slade, his healing factor has damned him in the past. Due to his unique physiology, being brought back from the dead can have a variety of weird effects on his mind and body. Sometimes nothing happens, sometimes he's brought back at the prime of his life with limited memory and both eyes, others he's been brought back as sick and depowered. During Wolfman's run, Slade was plagued with bouts of temporary insanity when he came back from the dead, until his mind settled into his fresh body. He had to be killed two or three more times before he returned to "normal."
Reliance on left eye - As shown in Daniels' run, Slade experienced drawbacks when he was brought back from death in the prime of his youth (which was stated by I-Ching to be due to his physiology). Sure, he was given back his eye, but when he fought he found that having two eyes threw him off. This affected him to the point that he had to close his eye in order to be able to act and react as he usually would. This is most apparent against high caliber opponents -- Slade experienced a dangerously high level of difficulty against Batman with two eyes. Eventually, during the God Killer story, he rips the eye out as a sacrifice to the Greek pantheon because it’s the only sacrifice that wouldn’t actually leave him at a disadvantage.
Bad contracts – Many of the people who hire Slade attempt to lie to him in one way or another. During the God Killer story, Slade wasn’t told that the Greek pantheon required a major sacrifice from any human who killed a god, and he was hired by one of the gods themselves. At the beginning of Daniels’ run, he was also purposely given a bad contract that would lead him into his death. When Slade fought Lobo in Liefeld’s comic, it was stated that the files he’d been given on Lobo weren’t properly updated to include all of Lobo’s abilities. Contacts are typically a very good way of leading Slade directly into deadly situations, but more often than not, Slade overcomes these odds and hunts down the employers that betray him
8. "Here is the bread and butter and he's where I have a large issue with this application." (Bruce, 2015)
If that headline doesn't indicate where I'm going with this, I don't know what will short of saying. This entire section felt like I was reading an encyclopedia and not a writer's work.
I was curious to see if in the audition post I'd start seeing "Wolfman, Deathstroke issue #14" in the middle of it.
You're writing a roleplay character that *you* are interpreting and not writing a school paper article about Deathstroke, his history, his writer's history...etc etc etc.
9. What I want to know, because none of this tells me. A) Super Strength, where is his bench mark? Is he strong enough to punch Superman and knock him out? Or is he stronger than Batman but weaker than Aquaman? Where do *you* draw the line? B) Healing factor, where do you draw the line? Is it super fast? Is it capable of regenerating a lost limb? What is it?
10. This gets to the point and the problem with using comics as your source because - comics CONTRADICT themselves. At least 5 times in your encyclopedia here you've had conflicting messages as to "In one instance X happened but in instance 2:1 Y happened even though X says it couldn't have happened that way, which implies a new variable of Z but according to Y, Z isn't possible.
It's more efficient if you write these down as "Here is how I will interpret the powers. Here is the ceiling and here is the floor. Now you don't have to wonder if he's too overpowered or too underpowered. And I have a definitive baseline to follow while writing the character." Furthermore - as a writer, it's frustrating and maybe even infuriating to others, to read something so unimaginative or un-creative as an encyclopedia about a character they're supposed to be reviewing.
Nov 27, 2015 11:21:26 GMT -5 @xbrianthegreatx said:
Character Time Line
I can’t really sum up all of Slade’s life in five years, so instead I’ve decided to separate it into significant time gaps.
1960s - 1980s
- Is born some time in the 1970s to Charles Wilson, who in my and Daniels' portrayals is a CIA operative. Charles is cold toward his son and teaches him the values of keeping emotion out of his work. Slade doesn't see him much, and when he does the two don't really connect. Charles judges and berates his son in hopes that he'll be better than him one day.
- Slade lies about his age to join the army early at 16. He's an exemplary soldier at Camp Washington, and by the time he graduates to Spec Ops, he's already become a legend. During this time, he meets his brother-in-arms and future best friend Major William Randolph Wintergreen. The two go on to trade off saving each other's lives for the next twenty years. He's trained by his future wife, Adeline Kane, as well. He commands Team 7 for a few years, at some points saving Wintergreen from captivity, and marries Adeline after being brought closer to her by training, admiration and the dishonesty of bureaucrats.
- Volunteers for army experiment to “resist enemy truth serums.” Has an adverse reaction and goes into a coma for a month and several weeks. He wakes up, spends a short time on desk duty hoping to get back into action, but eventually quits the army since they keep him there. He becomes depressed and hunts, until he eventually creates the persona of Deathstroke the Terminator.
- He establishes a reputation as the best mercenary in the world. This comes at a price, however, as his jealous brother, Wade Wilson, hires William Walsh to act as The Jackal and gain information about Slade's client. William slices Joseph's throat as Slade tries to shoot him instead of complying, and because Wade has tampered with the trigger of the gun, Slade can't react in time. Joseph loses his voice.
1980s - 1990s
- Grant grows up wanting to be like his dad, and Slade pressures him to be his superior. A frustrated Grant runs away from home and accepts an experiment from H.I.V.E. that's similar to his father's. It's also tampered with by Walsh, who's thought to be dead. Grant becomes The Ravager, but uses 100% of his brain power due to Walsh’s tampering, and takes a contract on the Teen Titans which Slade helps with. The experiment kills Grant, and Slade blames the Titans.
- Takes on a government contract to kill his father in the new 52 comics. Believes him to be dead, however Charles survives and sets up Slade to be killed years later.
- The Judas Contract happens and Joseph soon dies around this time. He's possessed by the spirits of Azarath and Slade is forced to kill him. Adeline shoots his right eye and declares that she’ll avenge her sons. Slade accepts a contract to fight in Vietnam, where he meets and unknowingly impregnates Rose's mother, Lili. Knowing Slade's a bad father, Lili keeps the child a secret from him, He retires to hunting in Africa before he's pulled back into life as a mercenary after Walsh shoots and nearly fatally injures his wife.
1990s - 2005
- Slade accepts multiple missions with Wintergreen at his side as he's always been, most of which require him to defend the country. At the beginning of this time period, he becomes involved in Qurac politics through a contract targetting Walsh. Slade eventually kills Walsh and stops a plot to blow up the senate and congressional houses. During this period he encounters Batman and Pat Trayce.
- Continues to expand his already terrifying reputation, but remains plagued by guilt for all that’s happened over the years. He saves and encounters his wife on a few occasions, each time being reminded of how she hates and wants to kill him. He throws himself into his work, accepting more and more impossible missions, and gradually losing control of himself in the process. Wintergreen acts as a father figure and a friend, keeping him focused.
- Takes on a contract to act on behalf of the United States’ political interest to stop Braniac’s operation to acquire nukes. Higher powers again lie to Slade and don’t launch their ambush when they say they will, instead attacking after Cheshire, who has splintered from and turned against Braniac’s forces, has acquired a nuke. Cheshire famously blows up Qurac because of this strategic error.
- Learns about Wade Wilson after he kills three of Slade's friends, including his step-mother Frannie, who's Wade's biological mother. He also kills Slade's former lover Lili, the mother of his daughter. Slade goes to kill Wade and Adeline is there as well. They learn that Wade orchestrated Joseph’s kidnapping, which led to him becoming a Titan and losing his voice, and his part in Grant's death as well. The police encounter and shoot them both, but not after Wade shoots Adeline by accident. Slade gives Adeline his blood to survive, the properties of which cause her to go insane.
- Continues accepting contracts until he learns that Adeline is the H.I.V.E. mistress and is in leagues with Vandal Savage. Adeline knows she's insane and wants to die, and her insanity leads to an effort to give her blood to create an army of immortal soldiers who'll take over the world. Slade gathers the Titans and arrives at the base to find her tied up. As an act of mercy, Starfire kills Adeline who’s begged Slade to reunite her with their sons. Slade renounces his ties with the Titans.
2005 - 2015
- Spends his next years trying to get revenge for the deaths of his loved ones on the Titans. The events with Batgirl happen during this time. He also acts as Dr. Light's bodyguard, which would've been out of character for him but at this point he's lost everything. This shapes how he thinks, and leads to him serving Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super Villains
- Jericho (or Joseph) eventually comes back, having taken refuge in his father's mind after his death. Slade feels him growing stronger, still possessed by the evil spirits, and attempts to have him exorcised with the help of his longtime friend, Wintergreen. Jericho possesses Slade and drives him to decapitate Wintergreen.
- Slade doesn't seem to struggle with his sanity as much, despite going after Jericho to kill him. At this point, he’s already lost a good deal of it. Due to his service for the country, he isn't deported during Salvation Run. Slade eventually decides that the past has to go and blows up all of his safehouses and safety deposit boxes, hoping to eliminate the influence of the past. He still, in his own messed up way, tries to help his daughter Rose by making her hate him so that she doesn't suffer the fate that Grant did when he tried to be like Slade.
- Dies at the hands of his father’s forces. He’s brought back to life by I-Ching as a much younger version of himself. He kills his father as part of a bad contract that draws him into war between I-Ching and one of his new contacts’ groups, the Dead Bastards, and the League of Assassins, the latter of whom his father telepathically controls.
- Slade accepts multiple big contracts, including blowing up Lobo and killing the god known as Lapetus alongside Wonder Woman and Superman on Themyscira.
11. You failed to read the instructions for the timeline. You're writing out his life history (in comic terms) and not in your own interpretation or assembly. As it's clear the timeline is jumping all over the place and doesn't read like a person who is aging and gaining experience through time.
2005 - Bruce Wayne becomes Batman.
2008 - Batman recruits Robin and Batgirl
2009 - Batman meets Superman
(Reader's Question: When did Bruce Wayne become Batman? Oh look, it's right there it says 2005. Fantastic, my question was answered.)
(Reader's question: When do Batman and Superman team up for the first time? Oh look they first meet in 2009.)
Grant it, there is creative flexibility here and you're able to construct a timeline to articulate whatever your point is - but you're pulling a Hal maneuver here by trying to compress and show an entire character's history rather than shedding the light on important events that make the character who he is today or what you're presenting today.
Wade Wilson orchestrating the death of Deathstroke's family - important factor to note out of everything in the entire timeline. Deathstroke blaming the Teen Titans for his sons death. Deathstroke fighting the Justice League important event.
Particularly 1990-2005 Starfire wasn't Starfire in our group. She becomes Starfire in 2010-ish.
You're following 30 years of comic book history and you're not tweaking or adjusting it to our Earth(s) nor are you making it remotely flexible to fit into a NEW universe.
The events you have listed can happen and can be in the past - but you need to adjust and factor in that; the Titans didn't exist in 1980. Earth 4 Batman picks up the cowl of Batman in 2005 and he's considered by many to be "The first new age superhero" (contrast to Wildcat, Black Canary I, Wonder Woman I, Blackhawks, Alan Scott, Doctor Fate, who were Superheroes during the 1940's era.)
You should look at other people's applications to read how they have done their timeline. The information you have present is perfectly fine if you want to demonstrate to outsiders your knowledge of Deathstroke, but for the purpose of the RP group it doesn't tell us about the character's past experience and history relevant to what we will be encountering or dealing with.
Nov 27, 2015 11:21:26 GMT -5 @xbrianthegreatx said:
Audition post
Parallel parked along a winding road were a series of black, armored luxury cars and SUVs, all of which had opaque tints, bulletproof tires and bulletproof windows. They were known for passing through the city in motorcades, like caravans full of guards sent out by dictators to remind their kingdoms of their iron rule. Max Cappelletti postured similarly, except he didn’t have the luxury of staying on top anymore. His was more like the Roman Empire in its days after Caesar, resurrecting tradition to reach some former greatness that was long lost in the past. He, for all of his grandeur, lacked the ability to advance with the rest of Gotham’s underworld and more or less became an antique that could still be appreciated in a Godfather or Goodfellas movie. The Italian crime empire hadn’t existed for years now, and had long since follow from its former prominence under the nose of the world’s guardians. Cappelletti himself was an older man, aged somewhere in his 50’s, who maintained a graying beard and a head full of black, medium-length hair. He looked like he was in his 30’s, and lived like it too. The private road eventually led to a gate that closed off access to his large compound, which was a massive three story house with a fountain and a walkway that curved in both directions around it.
This wasn’t about losing money. It wasn’t even setting up his kid’s kids anymore – no, this was about reputation. This was about allowing the empire to thrive after it was inherited by his son, who he didn’t know would be a son, but Cappelletti was the type of guy to place all of his eggs in one basket. Tonight, Deathstroke the Terminator was one of those baskets, a magic mechanic that’d grease the cogs of a dying machine. Max knew what he wanted, and he knew that the Terminator couldn’t turn down the amount he was offering, not for a job this simple. The only question was rather or not the mercenary was actually fit to do it. A pensive Max stood on the balcony suspended above his living room, looking down at the entrance to the house. There was a staircase off to the far left, blocked off by a reinforced door that could be locked shut if Max anticipated a threat. He pushed the sleeve of his dark green trenchcoat up to look down at his watch. One minute until his arrival. The band of men below and around him were armed to the teeth – shotguns, assault rifles, grenades, RPGs – with everything that Cappelletti could get his hands on. But this was Deathstroke. Max knew that even all of that wouldn’t stop the Terminator from killing him if he pissed him off.
“Get ready!” he called out as one of his men flew through the two front doors, tearing them off the hinges. Suddenly every gun was leveled toward the entrance.
Slade knew plants when he saw them. These men fought overeager, competing amongst themselves to get what they thought was an easy kill. There were three parts of that last statement that implied they were amateurs. The first is that they were overeager, meaning they were fighting to make a name for themselves. The second is that they were competing to impress the don, who obviously must’ve been close by given the unnecessary maneuvering and spacing they put between one another. The third was that they thought he was an easy kill, and if that was what they thought then they clearly hadn’t been in this business very long. He was surrounded by three men at the moment, with an armada of others lining the sides of the walkway up to the entrance. One of them was trying to “take his weapons,” a policy that Cappelletti knew Deathstroke didn’t abide by in the Gotham’s hostile criminal environment. With the way these men positioned set up, he knew it was a trap from the beginning.
This contract could’ve been set up through Slade’s intermediary, but Max insisted upon a meeting. It was either high priority, a set-up, or a first-time client’s way of seeing what the hype was about. These men didn’t really have steady hands for guns, and Slade could read the anxiety behind their stone-faced stares, noting even the slightest of twitches as he passed by. Some of them were scared. The crazy ones were excited. None of them knew what they were in for. Three men surrounded Slade at the front door. A big one in front, two smaller guys to his left and his right. Slade’s eyes darted between all of them. He caught sight of a gun tucked behind a guy’s belt, a little too far inside to really pull out right away. The guy to his right, on the other hand, was ready for anything that was coming. He was one of the nervous ones. The man in front was too confident for his own good and clearly didn’t think any of this would even happen. He stood with his arms folded over his chest and a cocksure smirk on his face. Perfect for a first target.
The sole of Slade’s boot went crashing into the big man’s chest, sending him flying through the door. With an impressive sleight of hand, Slade had already drawn the knife holstered at his right thigh, slamming it into the throat of the man to his right in tandem with the push kick. ”Gurgh!” The other guy, as Slade predicted, went for his gun and struggled to pull it out right away. He grabbed the handle of his blade, pulling on it lightly to throw the stab victim off-balance toward his holster-hankering buddy to the left as Slade swiftly stepped out of view of the entrance. The initial motion was to send the man into a stumble, but with a quick pull, the blade exited the windpipe and the guy on the left caught him with one arm as the small .38 revolver finally left his belt with intent to fire over his cumbersome comrade’s shoulder. Too late. Slade drew a .50 Desert Eagle, which was a novelty gun, but the power it packed was intended to make a statement. Max wanted reassurance – Slade would deliver it by the quart. With his enhanced strength, Slade fast-drew it from the holster on his left and fired a single round execution style through the guy’s head, which left blood spatter streaked across the outer walls of the house. Perhaps most impressive of all to those who’d fired a magnum was that he was able to do it with one hand.
He set up C4 against the wall in case additional forces exited the entrance, launching his knife across the walkway into the skull of a far off baddie on his right. Quickly, Slade readjusted and fired off more Desert Eagle rounds, taking out another two guys to his left. His free hand reached to the right of his twin swords, unsheathing one of them as the boldest of Max’s street soldiers charged into his personal space. With one swipe, Slade severed his head, acting on their reload times by kneeing it into the air and stepping back with a careful measure of distance. He leapt at a dangerous angle, his shoulder closest to the ground as his foot slammed into the severed head and sent it across the walkway directly into that of a friend’s, knocking him out. The last guy popped out of cover as Slade rolled off his side and onto his back, firing off his Desert Eagle once, then rolling onto his side to aim toward the band of men inside as the aggressor dropped behind him. There they were, all set up like a firing squad, staring at him down through their scopes and iron sights. Slade rolled a little further onto his thigh, clicking down the button of the detonator under his weight. The mortar of the wall exploded into smoke and debris, and soon Deathstroke emerged as a silhouette, firing a single round that burst the first guy’s head like a melon just as he’d just rolled over and gathered himself on his hands and feet.
Max’s cavalry shielded their eyes from the dust and gore as Deathstroke stood under Max, calmly sheathing his bloodied sword. The knife was still lodged in the skull of another, but that was fine – Slade came armed with more than enough to take on their entire front line. “Stand down,” commanded Max of his men, casually leaning onto barrier of the suspended walkway to look down at Slade.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, Deathstroke, but I don’t believe I’m paying you to blow up my house and kill my men.”
“I know a plant when I see one. Or should I say eight?”
Max stopped for a moment, then he smiled, “you’re good! Just like they say.” He began pacing from left and right, his fingers wrapped around his chin as though thinking of what witty banter he’d go through next. He stopped and looked over at his shoulder at Deathstroke, who stood fearlessly in the face of over 20 well-armed made men.
“Good isn’t what I need for this mission. I need the best. And that’s why I hired you, Deathstroke. The Cappelletti family has been a cornerstone of Gotham’s organized crime ranks for well over 50 years now, and we’re the ones eating the shit. It ain’t enough for the Bat-brats to lock us up no more, they’re doing community development projects now. Anti-crime propagranda, youth centers, I’m hard-pressed to even recruit these kids personally. I need to put my family back on the map, not just for the future ranks, but for the families at the top as well. I want you to cripple Batman Inc.”
“Cripple them?”
“The way I see it, you just kill one of ‘em, they come back even stronger. They hit harder, they move faster, they think smarter. But you cripple ‘em? You distract ‘em? Take out their infrastructure, rough ‘em up, kidnap them, blow up their little youth centers or whatever the fuck. You do those things and you slow them down enough for me to make a big deal and start making money again. The biggest families will take us serious, they’ll start working with us more.”
“What am I covering up?”
“Drugs, lots of em. Heroin, meth, cocaine, you name it. We’ll pay you $7 million now, and $8 million later. Part of that’s a percentage of what we’re going to make, so your payday depends on your success. And that brings me to a question I have for you. ‘Stroke. How do I know I can trust you?”
“Money is only part of the agreement, Max. Once I take a contract, I don’t stop until I see it through. My word is my bond. Consider both of our names on the line.”
Slade turned, walking away. Without looking back, he made gave his last few words.
“Wire the money to my account. I want $10 million up front and another five upon completion. One of my contacts will be in touch with you following the transaction.”
Max grimaced at the thought of the arrogant mercenary overriding his price tag, but this is what you got when you played in the big leagues. He thought the Cappelletti family had been forgotten, but apparently this Deathstroke had done his research. Brushing shoulders with these self-important types felt vaguely familiar.
“And what do I do until then?” Max asked abruptly, looking over at Slade as he vanished through the broken entrance.
“Keep your heads down, and try not to attract the Justice League. Or you’ll be paying me extra.”
12. Decently written, almost fell into a steep hole with the first paragraph, but you picked up when you began writing for Deathstroke and not some other character. You showed Deathstroke's personality rather well and needless to say that your writing is very good. As I joked earlier, I was half expecting to see cited source material all throughout this audition post, which I'm glad I didn't see any.
Supervillain Plot and Story written for the Roleplay (All other characters can remove this section)
Here is what I’ve come up with. Feel free to make any adjustments that you feel are necessary.
Nov 27, 2015 11:21:26 GMT -5 @xbrianthegreatx said:
Return to Glory.
Heroes: Batman Inc. is the only really requirement for this one. And even then, just Robin, Nightwing, Batman, Damian, and maybe even Batgirl will do. Other heroes are free to get involved if they want to be or are recruited.
Villains: Deathstroke, Cappelletti (easily replaceable by an actual DC crime boss like Black Mask or Penguin), maybe Bane (he’s optional), and anyone else who’d like to join in the festivities. I’m willing to play the NPCs.
Plot: Basically, the progress of Batman Inc. has begun to impede that of Gotham’s underworld. Criminals feel the need to strike back, so they decide to empower their lower ranks by sending in shipments of a new strain of venom. This is meant to be kept a secret from Deathstroke initially, however this plot is malleable, so we can fix the minor details to the liking of anyone who’d like to join. Bane could be the person on the receiving end of the shipment and doing business with the crime boss who hires Deathstroke or Deathstroke can be in on the whole thing and Batman Inc. can go on to deal with the venom empowered soldiers. I haven’t quite decided on what this strain of venom does yet, but this is the bare foundation of the plot. I plan to work on it a little more as I go. For the most part, it’ll begin with Deathstroke distracting Batman Inc. and keeping their eyes off the shipments until it’s too late.
Knights and Pawns
Heroes: Batman and any other major hero that’d like to kick ass in Gotham.
Villains: Mandatory need for two crime bosses to fight against each other, made up or otherwise. Deathstroke is obviously going to be involved. Anyone else who wants their character to have some kind of invested interest is welcome to join. Someone with fire powers would be good, as they could incinerate the body. Again, I can NPC.
Plot: A crime war erupts in Gotham. There are a series of shootouts that are broken up by heroes, and are thought to be a series of minor turf wars by police until an entire bus of innocent people gets massacred in an effort to catch a second in command. A Mayoral candidate earns most of Gotham’s support by promising a war against organized crime and an effort to have it included in the U.S. government’s war on terror. Wanting to avoid government attention, one of the families hires Deathstroke to kidnap this man so that they can kill him, dispose of his remains and replace him with a body double. The other candidate is being paid off by a separate family, so in replacing this one, the families essentially bring their war to city politics.
A little too much description and too much uncertainty here. I suggest you look up plot descriptions like this...
Plot: A mysterious note is left at a crime scene demanding Red Robin and his allies give him up to an unknown person. The timing couldn't be worse as Gotham's new mayor is pushing an Anti-vigilante movement of which this ransom letter becomes the center of criticism of Gotham's vigilante's. Batman and Catwoman seek justice while avoiding the authorities and the ever elusive conspirator.
or this...
Plot: When public officials go missing Gotham city turns to Batman for help, but what happens when the master detective is no where to be found? Black Canary creates a team specialized in assault, infiltration, and mystery as she sets out to uncover a plot to destroy Gotham City with only the Birds of Prey standing as its last line of defense and only chance for vengeance.
