The character of Deathstroke is one that has been beloved by comic fans since his debut. Co-created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, Deathstroke, aka Slade Wilson, has often been saddled with the label of supervillain, but the actual history of the character is a bit less black and white. Wilson has certainly brought a lot of pain to some of our favorite DC heroes, but he might be more accurately described as an anti-hero with a code of ethics that he does his best to stick to. If you get on the wrong side of him, you are unlikely to make it out in one piece, as he often serves as a one-man death machine. The character has been portrayed quite a few times over various animated and live-action properties, with arguably the biggest role in multiple seasons of Arrow. These depictions have been a lot of fun, but there is still so much more to explore with the character. Thankfully, the DC Animated Universe has finally deigned to dig a little deeper into their bench of characters and given Deathstroke the full-length film that he deserves.
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons serves as an excellent place for new fans to jump in with the character. We first meet Slade (Michael Chiklis) already well into the Deathstroke portion of his life, but we gain insight into how he arrived at that place via some appropriately paced flashbacks. Slade is a husband to Adeline Kane (Sasha Alexander), whom he trained under in the army, and father to Joseph, neither of whom know the truth about his alter ego. Many years ago Slade was given an experimental drug that unexpectedly works to give him special abilities such as regeneration and super strength. At the beginning of the film, Slade’s marriage to Addie is on shaky ground as memories of an affair he had in Cambodia years earlier still haunts the marriage. During a mission, Slade’s life gets turned upside down as Joseph gets kidnapped by The Jackal, a ruthless member of the secret organization known as H.I.V.E., and his secret identity is exposed to his wife. Slade goes on a rampage to retrieve his son, which he does, but the fallout from the night has permanent ramifications that forever alter the family.
The lion’s share of the story takes place ten years later, when Joseph is once again taken by a H.I.V.E. member; the new leader known as the H.I.V.E. Queen. Separated for some time, Slade must once again return to Addie to help retrieve their son with the help of some old friends. While it would be so satisfying to just watch Deathstroke hack his way through a litany of goons in increasingly gory ways, there are some interesting twists and turns that keep the plot fresh while filling in more backstory. Slade has developed some enemies over the years, and the past has a funny way of not remaining buried. He also has to deal with the fallout of how taking the serum years ago impacted those closest to him. The voice acting featured here from Chiklis gives a raspy, world-weary quality that perfectly suits where the character is at this point in his journey. Likewise, Alexander brings a tough-as-nails quality to Addie that makes her more than just the typical wife role. The story has a measured scope that many superhero tales feel the need to push beyond, but this introduction is the perfect starting place for this character that will hopefully be granted many more films.
The latest Justice League Dark film featured some brutal violence, but Deathstroke shares more in common with the most recent Mortal Kombat Legends film when it comes to sheer brutality. With gallons and gallons of arterial spray painting the walls and a fair amount of foul language, this is a film not intended for the younger crowds that may have seen the character on Teen Titans Go! It feels almost perverse how much joy seeing these limbs lopped off brings to my darkened soul. While the scale of the movie is not larger than necessary, that does not keep the creative team from providing some truly exciting action sequences that show off some of the qualities that comic fans have been appreciating for years. Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons offers up the perfect balance of personal drama with intense action that makes you wish that DC would take more risks with lesser known properties such as this one. I have to applaud them for giving us a film that does the character justice, and leaves the door open for future adventures.
Video Quality
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons comes to Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer that looks quite stunning despite the lack of a 4K option. This disc provides a lot of breathing room given its short running time and lack of substantial extras which helps eliminate any signs of digital artifacting. The film features a muted color palette throughout most of the runtime, but it starts to pop off the screen once you get to the H.I.V.E. lair and other locations in the second half. The disc provides deep black levels for an extremely clean viewing experience free of crush. The animation style of the film is not my favorite, but this disc provides excellent line detail, which gives the characters more definition. There are some textural effects that took some getting used to during the presentation, specifically a dot shading style that gives some depth to explosions, lights, etc. The Blu-Ray disc looks great within the confines of the format.
Audio Quality
This release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that more than gets a workout during this fight-heavy film. There is a good amount of activity in the low-end which will cause your room to shake pretty often throughout this presentation. Dialogue is consistently crystal clear with no issues of clipping during more active moments. This usually stays in the center channel, but there are some fun moments where characters are calling from off screen that are rendered well.. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of destruction that really make you feel like you are in the thick of the action. Warner Bros. knew what they were doing with this track, so those with a good surround sound setup should have fun with this one. There are optional subtitles, including English SDH, included on the disc for those who desire them.
Special Features
- Deathstroke – One Man Death Machine: A 14-minute featurette that gives a brief history of the character including the initial creation and visual design along with his backstory and what went into adapting it into a full-length animated production. There are interviews with co-creators George Pérez and Marv Wolfman, voice actor Michael Chiklis, Arrow actor Manu Bennett (Slade Wilson/Deathstroke), and more. This gives a good overview of the character for newcomers along with additional context for the character in other properties.
- Trailer: No trailer for the main film, but the disc provides trailers for Superman: Red Son and Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge.
Final Thoughts
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons is the perfect starter kit for the character as it offers up all of the relevant background information while delivering a wildly violent, twisty adventure. There are so many interesting places that the DC animated films team could take Deathstroke, and I hope the film is successful enough to guarantee further adventures. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray with an excellent A/V presentation and an interesting featurette. Established fans and newcomers alike should find a lot to enjoy in this adaptation. Recommended
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray Combo Pack and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.

Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.