How DC’s Deathstroke Actually Made Superman BLEED

Some mere mortals have made the Man of Steel bleed before and the most recent non-superpowered human to do so was Deathstroke.

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Superman is, quite famously, difficult to defeat. The Man of Steel isn’t only incredibly strong and fast, but he’s also very durable, as he’s well-known for his bulletproof anatomy. As a consequence, it is very difficult to make Superman bleed. Usually, he only bleeds in brutal fights against superpowered opponents such as Doomsday and Darkseid. However, some mere mortals have made the Man of Steel bleed before – including Deathstroke.

Deathstroke #8 by Christopher Priest, Larry Hama, Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, Sean Parsons, Jeremy Cox, Hi-Fi, and Willie Schubert sees Slade Wilson battling against Superman on a ship. At first, it seems as though Slade is about to surrender to the Man of Steel, but then Deathstroke shoots Superman in order to knock the Kryptonian backwards. Deathstroke then activated the defensive shielding on his armor, allowing Superman to land his punches in the process. Superman thought that Deathstroke’s armor was protected by a force field, but Slade says that his armor is actually a gravity sheath. This armor had stored the pressure from Superman’s blows and released them back on him, resulting in Kal-El’s capillaries bursting and a bloody nose.

Naturally, while giving Superman a bloody nose is impressive (considering it’s Superman), it isn’t very satisfying. Fortunately, the fight between Deathstroke and Superman doesn’t end with a bloody nose. Their fight continues across the ship, as Deathstroke attempts to complete his assassination contract by tracking down his target. Superman chases Deathstroke across the ship, with Slade using clever strategies to keep him at bay. One of the most interesting of which was the use of fake kryptonite to put Superman on edge.

The two eventually come to blows again, with Superman using his laser vision to attack Deathstroke. However, Deathstroke is a clever opponent and he wouldn’t just leave himself open to such an obvious attack. Slade blocks the laser vision with his Promethium Blade, absorbing the Kryptonian energy being exuded by Superman in the process, saving up enough energy for one powerful reverse attack on the Man of Steel. Quick as a flash, Deathstroke turns defense into attack and slashes across the shield on Superman’s chest, drawing a splatter of blood and leaving a gash in his chest as a result. It isn’t often that Superman bleeds while fighting crime and this attack from Deathstroke clearly caught him off guard. That being said, regardless of his quick thinking, Deathstroke would eventually be defeated, with Superman knocking Slade unconscious soon after this skirmish.

While Slade was unable to actually defeat Superman, the fact that he was able to draw blood from Superman is impressive enough. What is interesting is that Deathstroke used Superman’s own power and energy against him, which is a very interesting battle strategy. This story highlights Slade’s tactical mind, showing that he is definitely one of the most intelligent, cunning, and skilled characters in the DC Universe.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/deathstroke-superman-fight-bleed-dc-comics/