The Arrowverse has a reputation for butchering characters. DC mainstays like Black Widow and Amanda Waller fail to reach their full potential on The CW, forcing the movies to pick up the slack. However, not every character the Arrowverse brings to life goes on to find success on the big screen. After all, there’s an argument to be made that The CW’s Barry Allen runs laps around the one in the DC Extended Universe. But it doesn’t stop at the Flash, with an underrated DC villain also hitting their stride while appearing on Arrow despite having a big-name actor play them in Suicide Squad and showing up on the popular series Smallville.
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Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, makes several appearances on Arrow, making life hard for Oliver Queen and Co. And while it’s easy to assume he’s just another villain of the week, his arc tugs at the heartstrings by proving there’s more to the character than his arsenal.
Deadshot Has a Tragic Backstory in Arrow
Arrow‘s Lawton spends his early adult years in the military, acting as a sniper for the United States Army. He devotes his life to his country, even missing the birth of his daughter, but once he gets home, life doesn’t get any easier. Lawton feels the ghosts of all of his kills, and it affects his relationship with his wife and daughter. After his family gives up on him entirely, H.I.V.E. makes him a contract killer, with his first target being John Diggle’s brother, Andy Diggle. Earning the name “Deadshot” for his deadly accuracy, Lawton eventually makes his way to Star City and has a run-in with Oliver Queen, aka The Hood.
Obviously, Lawton isn’t inherently a bad guy, but someone who ends up in a bad life because his only skill is killing. Diggle comes to realize this, and after learning the truth about Andy’s death, he teams up with Lawton as part of Task Force X. Lawton takes to his job doing bad things for good people pretty quickly, even saving Diggle and his wife, Lyla Michaels, on a few occasions. Sadly, Lawton eventually makes the ultimate sacrifice when a mission to save a U.S. senator goes off the rails. Waller, the head of the Suicide Squad, places the blame for the incident at Lawton’s feet, which makes Diggle and Lyla sever their ties with her and A.R.G.U.S.
Throughout his time in the Arrowverse, Lawton acts as a cautionary tale for Diggle, showing how bad life could get if he gives in to the darkness. However, Deadshot shows he’s more than just a killer at the end of his life, giving up his chance to reunite with his family to ensure another one survives. Lawton’s tragic tale will likely never get the love it deserves because it’s on a CW show, but it’s still better than the ones Smallville and Suicide Squad tell.
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Suicide Squad‘s Deadshot Fails to Hit His Mark
It’s hard to compare Smallville‘s Deadshot to any of the other live-action versions, as he’s little more than a tool for Rick Flag to use. That leaves Suicide Squad‘s take as the only one with a chance to give the Arrow character a run for his money. Like the Arrowverse’s Deadshot, Will Smith’s version in Suicide Squad does everything for his daughter. However, from the start, Lawton clearly doesn’t feel nearly as bad about killing as his CW counterpart. He happily takes on missions and even takes his daughter out on the town afterward. But Lawton’s antics come back to bite him when Batman confronts him about killing in front of his daughter and teaches him a lesson. Deadshot ends up in prison, where Waller recruits him for Task Force X.
During the team’s mission in Midway City, Deadshot opens up to other characters like Rick Flag and Harley Quinn, but he’s still not all that likable. In fact, by the end of Suicide Squad, it doesn’t seem like he learns very much because, while he’s able to spend time with his daughter again, there’s no sense of urgency about turning his life around. It feels like, as soon as he gets out of prison, he’s going to go back to his old ways. The DCEU’s Deadshot, while having a couple of solid moments, never gets one as great as the Arrowverse’s version, leaving him feeling underbaked in his one and only appearance.
Arrow is streaming now on Netflix.
Do you think Arrow‘s Deadshot is the best live-action version of the character? What do you wish the DCEU did to help Will Smith’s iteration be better? Let us know in the comments below!
