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| The Lawton family was one of the oldest and most influential in a small mid- American town named, naturally, Lawton. Edward, George Lawton's oldest son, was a star school athlete and a ladies' man. When his brother Floyd reached high school, everyone expected the younger sibling to be like the older; instead, Floyd opted for the reverse and was nothing but trouble. |
| Genevieve Pitt Lawton hated her husband George and spent most of her time with her sons, sowing seeds of hatred against their father. She manipulated them into agreeing to shoot George, but Eddie decided he would do the deed without pressuring Floyd to help. Floyd, later rebelling against the planned murder was locked in the family boathouse while Eddie went to shoot his father: Floyd escaped and attempted to warn his father, but was too late. A shot from Eddie's gun went wild and permanently paralysed George instead of killing him. Floyd tried to stop his brother, but an ensuing struggle left Eddie dead. This act destroyed whatever spirit Floyd had; he developed a death wish, which manifested itself in years to come. |
| George Lawton suppressed the criminal investigation into the shooting, then banished Genevieve to a small house on the outskirts of town and sustained her on a small pension. Since hatred continued to seethe between the couple, a disgruntled Floyd finally left town. He relocated in Gotham City and entered the jet set life, which provided little satisfaction. Their Floyd met and was briefly married to a young woman named Susan, and they had a son whom they named after Floyd's dead brother, Eddie. |
| Floyd soon decided that becoming a costumed figure might indulge his death wish, so he embarked on a career as the assassin Deadshot. |
