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Wintergreen (comics)

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Wintergreen
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceNew Teen Titans #2 (December 1980)
Created byMarv Wolfman
George Perez
In-story information
Alter egoWilliam Randolph Wintergreen
Team affiliationsDeathstroke
Black Lantern Corps
Notable aliasesW.R. Wintergreen
Abilities
  • Master combatant
  • Skilled tactician
  • Aviation
  • Bi-lingual

William Randolph Wintergreen is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, often depicted as an associate of Slade Wilson (the supervillain Deathstroke). Although Wintergreen lacked Slade's superhuman physical attributes, he possessed far more combat experience and thus acted as Wilson's mentor.

A re-imagined version of the character appeared on The CW's live-action television series Arrow, portrayed by stunt performer Jeffrey C. Robinson and depicted as the first incarnation of Deathstroke. He also appeared in the DC Universe series Titans, played by Demore Barnes.

Publication history

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Wintergreen was created by George Pérez and Marv Wolfman and first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2 (December 1980).[1]

Fictional character biography

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William Randolph Wintergreen grew up in Oxford, England. At university, he avoided sports and squirreled himself away in the library, which was open to him due to his father's title. He possessed strong research skills, and knowing the conduits through which information flowed later aided him in his work with MI5. Wintergreen met Sergeant Slade Wilson during his time at the British Army, and the two developed a close friendship. When General Sampson sent Slade on a suicide mission, Wintergreen, now a member of the Special Air Service, rescued Slade from perishing in an explosion, while Sampson was given a minor reprimand. Wintergreen served as Slade's best man when the latter married his captain, Adeline Kane. Still holding a grudge for Wintergreen's disobedience, Sampson later sent Wintergreen on a suicide mission. Slade commandeered a plane and made his way to Hanoi, where he freed Wintergreen from a Viet Cong prison. Slade then revealed to Wintergreen that his physical attributes had been enhanced by a military experiment. Slade was subsequently discharged for disobeying orders to save Wintergreen.[2]

Following his discharge, Slade secretly began operating as the mercenary "Deathstroke". When Slade's occupation resulted in an accident involving their son, Joseph Wilson, Adeline divorced Slade and left with their children. Wintergreen then became Slade's butler and mentor, acting as his moral conscience, comrade in arms and medic. Wintergreen also began cataloguing Slade's adventures in journal entries. Slade took up hunting in Africa for a brief time, with Wintergreen at his side. Slade eventually returned to his mercenary ways, and Wintergreen continued to catalogue his missions. Slade later discovered that he had a daughter named Rose Wilson. Fearing that he would not be a good father, Slade left Rose in Wintergreen's care.

When Slade was later caught in an explosion, he retired and cut ties with both Pat Trayce and Wintergreen, claiming that they were no longer part of his life. Despite suspecting that this explosion restored Slade's memory, Wintergreen knew that Slade had his reasons for distancing himself, and thus respected this unspoken request from his student by giving him his space. In Slade's absence, Trayce and Wintergreen honoured him by continuing to run Vigilance, Inc., a search-and-rescue operation that Adeline originally created as a mercenary organisation.

Sometime later, Slade discovered that Joseph's spirit had taken refuge in his body. With the help of Wintergreen, he attempted to exorcise his son from himself, but was quickly overpowered. The possessed Slade then killed Wintergreen, mounting his severed head on a wall.[3]

Blackest Night

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During the Blackest Night storyline, Wintergreen is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern.[4]

DC Rebirth

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Wintergreen returns in the DC Rebirth relaunch, once again serving as an ally of Deathstroke from his time in the army.

Powers and abilities

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Wintergreen has received extensive training in military protocols and espionage, making him a proficient hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist. He has also proven an exceptionally skilled marksman in the use of various firearms.[5]

In other media

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Television

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Concept artwork of Billy Wintergreen / Deathstroke for the first season of Arrow
  • Wintergreen makes non-speaking appearances in Teen Titans as Slade's butler.
  • Bill "Billy" Wintergreen appears in Arrow, portrayed by Jeffrey C. Robinson.[6][7] This version is a former member of an elite division of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) under the codename "Bishop", friend of Slade Wilson, godfather of Slade's son Joe Wilson, a skilled swordsman and hand-to-hand combatant, and the first individual to utilize the Deathstroke persona.[8] In flashbacks depicted in the first season, Wintergreen and Slade were sent to the island of Lian Yu to rescue Chinese army deserter Yao Fei from a group of terrorists led by Edward Fyers. However, Wintergreen defected to Fyers' side and abandoned Slade before being killed by the latter. In the eighth season episode "Purgatory", Wintergreen, Fei, and Fyers are revived by Lian Yu's supernatural energy until Lyla Michaels and William Clayton build a device to absorb the island's energy, causing the revived individuals to disappear.
  • A young, African-American incarnation of Wintergreen appears in Titans, portrayed by Demore Barnes.[9] This version previously served with Delta Force before joining H.I.V.E. and served as Deathstroke's handler while he was with the organization.

Video games

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Wintergreen appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[10]

Miscellaneous

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Wintergreen appears in Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons, voiced by Colin Salmon.[11] This version is a Black British former MI6 agent.

Merchandise

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The Arrow incarnation of Billy Wintergreen / Deathstroke received a 6.75-inch action figure from DC Collectibles as part of a two-pack with Oliver Queen.[12]

References

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  1. ^ The New Teen Titans #2
  2. ^ The New Teen Titans #2
  3. ^ Teen Titans (vol. 3) #2
  4. ^ Teen Titans (vol. 3) #77
  5. ^ Deathstroke #1
  6. ^ Goldman, Eric (October 12, 2012). "Arrow: Exclusive First Look at Deathstroke". IGN. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Hughes, Jason (November 8, 2012). "'Arrow': Deathstroke Makes His Much-Anticipated Debut in the Latest Flashback (VIDEO)". Entertainment/TV. Huffington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  8. ^ "Arrow (Ep.105) - Damaged". The CW.
  9. ^ Hayes, Jackson (September 2, 2019). "The Flash Actor Demore Barnes Cast As Wintergreen In Titans Season 2". Full Circle Cinema. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  11. ^ Burlingame, Russ (October 4, 2019). "First Look at CW Seed's Michael Chiklis-Led Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons". comicbook.com. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  12. ^ "DC Collectibles Arrow Oliver Queen and Deathstroke Action Figure, 2-Pack". Amazon. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
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