Deadline later becomes part of a more villainous version of the Suicide Squad propping up the dictatorship in the Bermuda Triangle island of Diabloverde.

[2] During the Underworld Unleashed crossover event, Deadline meets fellow mercenaries Deadshot, Merlyn the Dark Archer, Bolt, and Chiller, and bands together with them as the Killer Elite where they each got to live out their dream assassination.

[5] Deadline is shot and apparently killed by Warden Gregory Wolfe at Iron Heights Penitentiary while trying to escape with cohorts Deadshot and Merlyn.

Writer Christos Gage justified this by pointing out that, at the time of the shooting, Deadline had been dosed with Joker venom, which has been established as having healing properties.

After receiving a phasing suit, DiStefano takes the name Deadline and raids the Department of Defense (DOD)'s headquarters to steal their data.

Despite being defeated by Superman, who damages his suit and traps him in a wall, DiStefano succeeds in uploading the data to Intergang so they can raid other DOD facilities.