Deadshot
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Deadshot is a fictional character in the DC Universe.
Deadshot (real name Floyd Lawton) is a hired assassin and quite possibly the greatest marksman in the world, often boasting to "never miss" (he shares this catchphrase with the Marvel Comics character Bullseye). He is capable of using a large variety of weapons, but prefers using a pair of silenced, wrist-mounted guns. He initially appeared in Gotham City as a new crimefighter, but was revealed to be an enemy of Batman when he attempted to replace the Dark Knight. When this plan failed, he attempted to become king of Gotham's Underworld. Batman and Commissioner Gordon publicly exposed his plot, and he went to jail.
After serving his term, Deadshot began hiring his services out as an assassin, changing his costume from the top coat and tails he previously wore to his now more familiar red jumpsuit and distinctive metal face plate with a targeting device on the right side. He has been a major figure in the Suicide Squad in its latest two incarnations, where his skills as a marksman and his absence of care for human life served to greatly further the group's objectives. During a hiatus from the Squad (in a four issue miniseries from 1988), his son was abducted, raped, and killed by a pedophile, whom Deadshot later took revenge upon. Probably his most peculiar trait is a great desire to die in a spectacular fashion, this being his primary motivation for joining the Squad. He feels he has no reason to continue living, and, while he does not want to commit suicide, he simply does not care if he dies. Various reasons have been cited for this, but the most common thread in them is his parents' peculiar hatred for one another, so much so that Lawton's mother tried to hire both her sons to kill their father.
A second miniseries featuring Deadshot recently concluded, in which Deadshot found out that he'd had a daughter who was being raised in a crime filled area of Star City. Lawton decided to do right by this daughter, and embarked on a lethal war on the local gangs that plagued the area. The series ends with Deadshot faking his death having realized a normal life isn't for him, but having mostly cleared up the area and having convinced Green Arrow to patrol it more regularly.
Deadshot was recently featured in the Infinite Crisis storyline comic book Villains United. The Secret Six were banded together by a mysterious, shrouded character named Mockingbird (who was actually Lex Luthor) who offered a major reward for committing to the team and a severe punishment for not accepting membership. Deadshot was offered the reward of ruling North America; his punishment was to be the destruction of the neighborhood of his daughter and his daughter's mother. At the end of the miniseries, a stalemate was reached and Deadshot's status remains roughly unchanged from the end of his second miniseries. He remains a part of The Secret Six and was shown having reached a grudging friendship with another member, Catman. He was recently found in bed with Scandal's lover, Knockout.
[edit] In other media
Deadshot has also made appearances in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. In first appearance, The Enemy Below (Part I), he is hired to kill Aquaman by his brother, Orm. He was apprehended by the Justice League and forced by Batman to reveal who hired him. Deadshot later appeared during the villain rampage in both parts of "Hereafter" along with Copperhead, Star Sapphire, Volcana, and Livewire. His next appearance is in the episode Task Force X. Floyd Lawton is about to get the chair until the warden and guards discovered Colonel Rick Flag Jr. in it who gives the warden a note that he has been chosen to participate in Task Force X, a decision they force upon Lawton by revealing that his last meal was laced with explosive nanotech robots. He and Rick worked alongside of Captain Boomerang, Clock King (Temple Fugate), and Plastique in a stealth mission to steal a magical automaton called the Annihilator from the Watchtower. After that mission (and the loss of Plastique), Rick ends up telling the remaining members that they have to work for five years to earn suspended sentences. However, the dissolution of Project Cadmus led to the early release of various members, as revealed in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Flash and Substance," in which Captain Boomerang makes an appearance. Deadshot's status is unknown.
Deadshot is voiced by Michael Rosenbaum who also voices The Flash. Rosenbaum uses a Kevin Spacey impression for Deadshot's voice, apparently on request of the producers; Rosenbaum entertains them with his impressions during recording sessions. Coincidentalally, Spacey recently played Lex Luthor in Superman Returns, a character that Rosenbaum has gained quite some fame for playing on Smallville,. Rosenbaum also appeared in the movie adaptation of Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil with Spacey as well.
Deadshot also appears at the beginning of Kevin Smith's unused Superman Lives screenplay as the leader of a group of mercenaries who winds up having to take on Superman.
A Deadshot fan film was released in October 2006 at http://www.fanfilmsquarterly.com
