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Thursday, 15 March 2018

Who will win in a fight between Black Panther and Deathstroke?


I would argue the King of Kings Black Panther should be able to edge out Deathstroke in what, if ever visualised, would go down to be an insanely violent battle. And I would even say Deathstroke might be outclassed.
Let’s see how I tear it down…

INTELLIGENCE
Deathstroke is undoubtedly intelligent. He’s essentially a metahuman and has superior mental faculties compared to average humans. This intellect generally translates to battle strategies and military tactics that allow him to stand toe-to-toe with Batman himself. However, if we do use the Dark Knight as a reference, Deathstroke has certainly never completely outsmarted Batman hands down (even though he has beaten Batman in 1-on-1 battle…he has lost many a times).
Thus Slade Wilson is surely smart, just not generally considered to be a genius level intellect along with other DC characters (like Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor or Mr. Terrific).
Black Panther on the other hand is also considered to be extremely intelligent - by both fans and other intellectually reputable characters in Marvel (like Tony Stark and Reed Richards). He’s supposedly the “8th smartest man in the world” and a member of Illuminati ( a secret society with the smartest heroes in Marvel like Tony Stark, Prof. Xavier, Black Bolt etc.). T’Challa holds a PhD degree and has even developed his own specialised field in physics. Many of Black Panther’s battles are won by his sheer genius preparedness or ingenious wit.
Now, one might argue that T’Challa is just book smart, whereas Slade is battle hardened and more tactical. Which is possible, but there is no evidence of any clash between them (because different multiverses) - so it’s hard to gauge which one beats the other.
However, I would insist that the scale would tip in Black Panther’s because he also possesses the knowledge of every other Black Panther before him. On top of that T’Challa is an innovator and futurist who wouldn’t shy from introducing a new gadget to beat an enemy no matter how big. That wealth of experience and arsenal of lessons, situations and solutions is hard to match up.
Black Panther 1 - 0 Deathstroke
FIGHTING ABILITY & SKILLS
Deathstroke is trained in multiple different martial art styles. A testament to his prowess is the number of times he has given Batman a run for his money when they engage in hand to hand combat. Another mega boost to Slade Wilson’s ability is his mastery of multiple different traditional weapons, from throwing knives to slashing a katana or wielding a bo staff. His specific weapons will be discussed in another section, but the point I’m trying to make is that Slade can virtually weaponise anything and is adept at using whatever he gets his hands on.
Black Panther is known for his formidable fighting ability. Most of the greatest close quarters combatants in Marvel have tasted dirt at his hands - that includes Cap. Although he is rarely shown to weild multiple different weapons, he too has mastery of all known weapons and all known fighting forms.
That’s a dilemma isn’t it? Both of them have mastery of everything. One of them has championed Batsy and the other has gone blow for blow with Cap. Shall we call it a draw?
Nah, let’s dig deeper…
Deathstroke being an assassin, is an expert at stealth, disguise, deception and escapology. But guess that’s nullified by Black Panther’s advanced tracking and hunting experience.
Let’s breakdown ability to the very raw parameters - Speed and Strength.
In terms of speed Slade Wilson is supposed to be as fast as any olympic level athlete. However, Black Panther has godly enchantments - which allow him to move at speeds far greater than earth’s finest athletes.
Apparently, in terms of strength both these warriors are in the superhero spectrum - with both being able to lift at least a ton of weight. Though, it is unclear how much Black Panther can lift given his powers are mystical in nature.
Yet even if we ignore the limits, with the speed factor and comparable strength, T’Challa takes this round too.
Black Panther 2 - 0 Deathstroke
ARMORY & WEAPONRY
Deathstroke is essentially an anthropomorphic arsenal. While I previously stated T’Challa can use any weapon, Deathstroke regularly employs weapons ranging from blades to guns in combat. So Slade actually carries these weapons to battle and is extremely lethal and precise with their use - energy lance, sniper rifles, anything you can think of can be pulled out by Deathstroke. And if he doesn’t have it on him, trust him to have layed out booby traps or trigger demolitions around any of your favourite heroes.
On top of all this heavy artillery, Deathstroke’s armour (and most of his weapons) is made of a Promethium. This is fictional metal from the DC universe. To put it in context, a significant part of Cyborg’s body is made of this metal. It’s nigh-indestructible as it can absorb most types of energy blasts.
The Black Panther barely ever carries weaponry. The only significant times he is known to bring in a major weapon into battle is when he has had enough prep time. His main paraphernalia is his suit.
The suit is made of a Vibranium weave - yep the same material that is Cap’s shield is essentially covering his entire body. On top of this he has Claws made of Antarctic Vibranium that can virtually slice through any known material.
If it weren’t for Black Panther’s equipment a pure brute force strike from Deathstroke would have ended him. But the fact of the matter is that there is no way for Slade to break T’Challa. The Promethium materials although strong are not nearly as significant and robust as Vibranium is supposed to be. If the Black Panther wants he could rip Deathstroke, his armour and weapons included, to shreds.
However, Slade also uses a bunch of ranged weapons and explosives that if used to maximum effect can cause critical damage to T’Challa and even keep him at a distance. So I’d say this would be a ties as it is very situational (basically who writes the story)
Black Panther 3–1 Deathstroke

When you look back, the result is kinda obvious. T’Challa is essentially very similar to Bruce Wayne. And while Batman has plot armour and bat boners to help him beat any opponent possible, Black Panther has some mystical enchantments and some extremely advanced equipment. Given that Slade has never overcome the Caped Crusader, it’s understandable that he can’t beat the King of the Dead.

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