| Character Name: | Wintergreen |
| Converted: | y |
| Alter Ego: | William Randolph Wintergreen |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| Debut: | New Teen Titans #2 (December 1980) |
| Creators: | Marv Wolfman George Perez |
| Alliances: | Deathstroke Black Lantern Corps |
| Aliases: | W.R. Wintergreen |
| Powers: |
|
| Cat: | super |
| Subcat: | DC Comics |
| Hero: | y |
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.
Wintergreen was created by George Pérez and Marv Wolfman and first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2 (December 1980).[1]
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]
During the Blackest Night storyline, Wintergreen is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern.[4]
Wintergreen returns in the DC Rebirth relaunch, once again serving as an ally of Deathstroke from his time in the army.
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]
Wintergreen appears as a character summon in .[10]
Wintergreen appears in , voiced by Colin Salmon.[11] This version is a Black British former MI6 agent.
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]