Wintergreen (comics)

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.

Wintergreen
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	New Teen Titans #2 (December 1980)
Created by	Marv Wolfman George Perez
In-story information
Alter ego	William Randolph Wintergreen
Team affiliations	Deathstroke Black Lantern Corps
Notable aliases	W.R. Wintergreen
Abilities	Master combatant Skilled tactician Aviation Bi-lingual

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

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

Fictional character biography

William Wintergreen grew up in Oxford, England. At university, he avoided sports and secluded himself in the school library, which was open to him due to his father's title. 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 rescued Slade from dying in an explosion. Still holding a grudge for Wintergreen's disobedience, Sampson sent him on a suicide mission. Slade commandeered a plane and made his way to Hanoi, where he freed Wintergreen from a Viet Cong prison. Slade was subsequently discharged for disobeying orders to save Wintergreen.^[1]

Following his discharge, Slade secretly begins operating as the mercenary Deathstroke. After her and Slade's son Joseph Wilson is injured by Jackal and rendered mute, Adeline Kane divorces Slade and takes custody of Joseph and his older brother Grant. Wintergreen becomes Slade's butler and mentor, acting as his moral conscience and comrade.

Sometime later, Slade is forced to kill Joseph after he is possessed and corrupted by the spirits of Azarath.^[2] Joseph is later revealed to have survived by transferring his consciousness into Slade's body before he died. Under Joseph's control, Slade kills Wintergreen and mounts his severed head on a wall.^[3][4]

During the Blackest Night storyline, Wintergreen is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern and attacks Deathstroke alongside Adeline Kane and the Ravagers (Grant Wilson and Bill Walsh).^[5] He is permanently resurrected following The New 52 relaunch, which reboots the continuity of the DC Comics universe.^[6]

Powers and abilities

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.

In other media

Television

Concept artwork of Billy Wintergreen / Deathstroke for the first season of Arrow

• Wintergreen makes non-speaking appearances in Teen Titans.
• Bill "Billy" Wintergreen appears in Arrow, portrayed by Jeffrey C. Robinson.^[7][8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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

Wintergreen appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.^[11]

Miscellaneous

Wintergreen appears in Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons, voiced by Colin Salmon.^[12] This version is a Black British former MI6 agent.

Merchandise

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.^[13]