Did Affleck Choose Deathstroke As The First Batman Villain To Appeal To Fans Of ‘Arrow’?

When Arrow first premiered on the CW, many critics wrote it off saying it was a watered down, less interesting television version of Christopher Nolan’s realistic Dark Knight trilogy. Fast forward five seasons later, and it looks as if roles may have reversed: Arrow may now be serving as inspiration for the next generation of Batman movies. It’s no secret that Manu Bennett absolutely killed it (sorry, Moira) during his run as Slade Wilson. Bennett brought Deathstroke to life in a way that was unmatched by any other comic television villain at the time. Most fans agree that Deathstroke the Terminator is the reason Arrow took off the way it did, and it’s no wonder that a lot of fans’ opinions of the show have declined since the end of his story-arc. Deathstroke raised the bar too high, and now Arrow is struggling to live up to itself. That, however, is a topic for another day and another editorial.

The main takeaway from the previous paragraph is that Deathstroke appearing so prominently on Arrow made the character extremely well known, and helped propel the show’s popularity to the point it was able to launch its own shared universe. Let’s go back to 2012 when the Arrow pilot aired, one year after Ryan Reynolds flopped as Green Lantern, and still almost an entire year away from WB’s newest endeavor: Man of Steel. Would Man of Steel start a new DC film universe? Would it connect with Arrow? Would it even be any good? At a time when DC’s movies were still trying to figure themselves out, Arrow was the only thing DC fans had (besides for the animated movies – big shout out to DC’s animated movies). But because of the awesomely entertaining conflict between Slade and Oliver, that was more than okay. Arrow didn’t just contribute to DC’s television success, it single handedly carried that success on its back until The Flash spun out of it and took over as the team MVP. At a time when Batman was on a hiatus, we had the next best thing: Oliver Queen.

When it was announced by TheWrap and Heroic Hollywood’s own Umberto Gonzalez that Deathstroke would be the main villain of the first Batman solo flick in the DC Extended Universe, my initial thought went right back to Arrow. As soon as I saw the test footage Ben Affleck posted to social media, my mind immediately went to Manu Bennett and Arrow‘s second season, and I instantaneously got more excited for Batfleck’s first solo flick. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that Affleck may have done that on purpose – with the intention of appealing to Arrow fans. From my time in the DC TV fandom, which now accounts for over two years of my life, I’ve learned that Arrow fans are some of the most loyal, excited, and vocal fans on the internet. One look at the Arrow Reddit back in 2013 would prove my point: Arrow fans are diehard. It’s the reason the show was able to spawn its own television universe without even meaning to in the first place.

Unfortunately, not all fans of Arrow and The Flash are fans of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man of Steel, or Suicide Squad. Like I mentioned above, Arrow fans are vocal. If they don’t like something, they will let you know. I used to run a Facebook page devoted to ‘DC TV Universe’, and I can tell you from first hand experience there are a significant number of Arrow fans who do not like the DC movies we have been given. Thanks to the current state of both Arrow and the DCEU, now would be the perfect time to try and bring old-school Arrow fans over to the movie side. And what better way to do that than with Arrow fans’ favorite villain, Deathstroke?

The Current State Of Arrow

Like I briefly mentioned on the first page, it’s no secret that Arrow‘s popularity is not at the same level it was back when Manu Bennett had the spotlight. The show switched its focus on to the ancillary characters in season three, even giving us a three episode arc in the middle of the season where Oliver was presumed dead by the sword of Ra’s al-Ghul. Many fans didn’t like the new direction of the show, saying that characters like Felicity and Ray Palmer were being given too much romantic screen time, when you have an A-list villain like Ra’s al-Ghul who is being used for only a handful of episodes.

The tone of the show changed going into season four in an attempt to make it more similar to its younger and more popular cousin, The Flash. The show shifted its focus to magic and the paranormal, which on the surface sounds interesting, but in reality wasn’t well executed. After two seasons of Arrow‘s identity confusion, many fans jumped ship. They still loved and longed for Arrow back it its season two prime, but between the new direction of Arrow and the problematic DC Extended Film Universe, a lot of fans felt scorned. I can say this because I was one of them.

Back-peddling to a point made much earlier, Arrow fans are vocal. Arrow fans who feel betrayed have been known to make sure and let the actors and producers know on a regular basis, bombarding them over social media with derogatory comments and replies to tweets that sometimes borderline harassment. Marc Guggenheim endures hate all the time from upset fans, one look at his Twitter is proof positive of that. There is no way that the big-wigs over at WB haven’t seen the complaints.

What if, just stay with me here, instead of fixing Arrow, WB is letting their own show continue to veer off in the direction it’s currently headed, while using this time to convert its audience over to the under-preforming movie universe? All the drama, the romance, and the love triangles are appealing to certain demographics, specifically demographics that DC and WB have trouble connecting with otherwise – teenage females. WB is attacking from both ends, finding a way to win back over one-time Arrow diehards, while simultaneously making sure they use Arrow in its current state to continue appealing to a demographic they would have trouble reaching otherwise. Of course this is all just speculation, but it sure makes a lot of sense from a marketing point of view.

Not only is Arrow on a downswing, but the DC movies haven’t been fairing much better. Sure, they sure do bring in a lot of money, but critics have consistently panned them and fan reactions to the films have been mixed at best.

The Current State Of The DCEU

Let’s break this one down a movie at a time. First, DC gave us Man of Steel. The film served as an introduction to DC’s tentpole character, Batma.. I mean, Superman. When the film was released, it seemed almost like an experiment to the WB. Like pasta that they weren’t sure was done, they decided to throw it up against the wall to see if it stuck. To the dismay of WB, the pasta didn’t completely fall, but it didn’t fully stick either. Like the pasta in this metaphor, Man of Steel stuck with half of the fandom, but fell straight to the floor with the other half. If there’s one word that best describes Man of Steel‘s reception, it is split.

The reason I use the reference of pasta being thrown at the wall is not because I’m hungry, but because that’s what they were doing with the movie in terms of an expanded universe. If it was successful, we’d get more. If not, it would meet he same fate as 2011’s shunned Green Lantern.  At the end of the day, even though Man of Steel received split reviews for the choppy editing, the destruction at the end, and the tone of the movie (among other things), it was still profitable enough to warrant launching a universe.

Next up was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, living proof that you can slap Batman’s name on anything and it’ll fill theaters. As a response to the split reviews for Man of Steel, WB decided to forgo any direct sequel and instead make a pseudo-sequel by pinning Batman onto the title. WB knew they needed a hit to follow up Man of Steel, and what better way than to include Bruce Wayne?

The marketing for Dawn of Justice was top notch, and it succeeded in doing what it was ultimately meant to – fill theaters and make money. Where it fumbled, however, was once again the critical response. Like Man of Steel, the critics were not kind of Dawn of Justice. Unlike Man of Steel, reception for Dawn of Justice wasn’t just split, it was outright bad. Critics complained about everything from various actors, to the tone, to the effects, to pretty much everything in between. I won’t sit here and say there weren’t flaws, but it seemed like the critics were out for blood. That was, of course, until I saw what “out for blood” really meant when I read reviews for the DCEU’s next and most recent chapter: Suicide Squad.

Suicide Squad was supposed to be the critical masterpiece that DC had been missing. Take Batman and add a dash of Guardians of the Galaxy, how could a combination like that go wrong? There was The Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Deadshot, Batman, and even The Flash made a brief appearance. The soundtrack debuted at number one in the country, and the marketing was even more on point than WB’s marketing for Dawn of Justice. It had all the ingredients of a hit, and that is exactly why it came as such a surprise to me when it too was panned by critics. For the record, I loved this movie. I thought there were some issues with the villain, but other than that, it was everything I could have asked for. That’s why I was so shocked to read all of the negative reviews. I went into the film thinking I was going to dislike it, but I was blown away. If a movie that entertaining could be panned by critics, what else can the DCEU even try to do to win over critics and audiences at this point?

That’s when I put two and two together.

DC Needs To Make Better Use Of Its Existing Fanbase

DC has a unique situation on its hands. It has an existing fanbase who currently has nothing to be excited for. To some of the most cynical, Arrow has gone off track, and the DCEU simply isn’t delivering (at least we still have The Flash, right?). I’m not saying this is everybody, as both Arrow and the DCEU definitely still have well-established fanbases, but it is certainly a significant percentage of DC’s fandom. This is why when I saw the video of Deathstroke shared by Ben Affleck, who was then confirmed as the villain in the first Batman movie, it all made sense.

Affleck is no dummy. He went from Gigli to Batman, he knows what he is doing. What if the reason he chose Deathstroke was more of a marketing tactic than anything? What if using Deathstroke is a way to reenergize stagnant Arrow fans and bring them over to the DCEU? Arrow has gotten so far off track that their Reddit page was even converted over to a Daredevil theme to protest the direction of the show. Arrow fans need something to cling to, and Affleck realized that that something could be Deathstroke.

DC knows which characters sell and which don’t. Batman obviously sells. The Joker obviously sells. Thanks to Arrow (and Manu Bennett), Deathstroke sells. I will speak for myself when I say this, but my interest is even higher for the next Batman movie because of how much I enjoyed Deathstroke in Arrow, and I don’t think I’m alone in that opinion. If you look at the suit in the test screening that Affleck posted, it is even somewhat reminiscent of the suit from Arrow. A little sleeker and more true to the comics (aka no longer a hockey mask…), the presumed DCEU suit is sure to trigger Arrow fans everywhere. I’m thinking Affleck knew that, and used it to his advantage. And now until the time Affleck’s Batman movie comes out, we will be writing articles discussing and comparing the different versions of Deathstroke (kind of like this one), fan-casting the character, and reminiscing back on the days that Manu Bennett first brought Deathstroke the Terminator to life. Don’t forget, the best type of publicity, is always free publicity.

Right, kid?

Josh Behr

Josh Behr

Jack of some trades, master of some others. That saying never really made a lot of sense to me.