Floyd Lawton was a military sniper who received "Expert" level Army Marksmanship Qualification Badges in all AR670-1 Weapon Categories. Lawton was dishonorably discharged after taking too many unnecessary risks and concocting impossible shots. The accidental death of his brother unhinged Lawton's mind and he developed a death wish of his own. He became Deadshot and was suspected in connection with several murders and assassinations, all of which involved uniquely complex ballistic scenarios at long range. Deadshot's primary weapons are a pair of silenced wrist mounted arm cannons. A targeting scope is integrated into his costume.
Deadshot was one of several assassins hired by the Black Mask, the Joker in disguise, to kill Batman for $50 million on a Christmas Eve night. Batman ultimately survived and was the only person to make him miss. They soon clashed again while Deadshot secured hostiles from Blackgate Prison. Defeated and left on a rooftop, Deadshot was recruited along with Bronze Tiger for Task Force X by Amanda Waller. Despite his death wish and career, Deadshot longed to be reunited with his daughter Zoe. During an attempted prison escape, Lawton was innoculated by a physician and lost consciousness. He awoke in familiar surroundings but also noticed a lot of "rookies" present for Waller's latest mission. Deadshot became concerned for his daughter's safety after Waller revealed the Riddler threatened to release files on every member of Task Force X, including his, but warned Waller not to play him. Deadshot took the lead but was soon at odds with another "veteran" member, Captain Boomerang. Harley Quinn became attracted to Deadshot.
Task Force X turned up at the Iceberg Lounge to meet with the Penguin, whom Waller hired to help them get into Arkham Asylum for the mission. Deadshot used his good standing with Penguin to defuse a situation, namely Penguin wanting to kill Harley for helping the Joker destroy one of his delivery trucks for no reason. Later that night, Lawton caved in and had a one night stand with Harley. For the mission, Deadshot took the place of Harley's arresting officer and escorted her into the asylum. Harley created a diversion to allow him time to affix a device to a junction box which would legitimize the team's false credentials. After failing to get across the yard to the property room, Deadshot confronted both Captain Boomerang and King Shark for their incompetence. Deadshot discovered the Riddler's cane but Batman arrived. He soon deduced Killer Frost was assigned to kill Riddler and continued to play Waller while the team had their bomb implants defused with a 1000 volt shock. Deadshot and Joker soon came to a standoff.
Surprisingly, Deadshot bluffed the Joker into thinking his gun was empty with his death wish. Deadshot bashed the Joker and took his wrist cannon back. As the mission fell apart and the Joker released all of Arkham's inmates, Deadshot and Batman temporarily put their past history aside and the former revealed the Joker took off with Harley and her mallet. Batman realized the Joker's dirty bomb was in the mallet all along. Deadshot beat Killer Frost and Captain Boomerang to the police helicopter and proceeded to escape the island. However, the Joker and Harley were onboard. Deadshot and Joker fought once more and continued even after the helicopter crashed into a building. Despite being attacked with a chain and stabbed several times, Deadshot gained the upper hand on Joker. He tossed Joker into the helicopter, pinned him with his own knives, and tipped the unstable vehicle. As the helicopter dropped several stories, Deadshot fled the scene. He reunited with his daughter and they left the city. He managed to camp on the roof across from Waller's office. After Batman left the room, Lawton aimed his rifle at Waller and whispered "Bang."