Deathstroke July 2019 Solicitation

We already know about an appearance in Batman Universe this summer, let's see what's going on in Deathstroke's own title.

Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN
Cover by ED BENES and RICHARD FRIEND
Variant cover by DAVID FINCH 

In the wake of Slade Wilson’s death, a new Deathstroke has vowed to complete his last, unfinished assignment. But the master assassin Shado has plans of her own, looking to step in for the late, great World’s Greatest Assassin and usurp his place in villainous hierarchy. 

Meanwhile, Rose Wilson discovers the identity of the person responsible for her father’s death. Can her brother, Jericho, stop her from seeking vengeance? 

Also in this issue, Slade Wilson’s son Jericho accepts Lex Luthor’s offer of power—but he’s determined to use it as a force for good…so why is Lex smiling? 

ON SALE 07.03.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99
FC | RATED T+

Lots going on there...

So Shado, eh? There's a name I didn't expect to read. I don't recall any connection between the two of even if they've ever met. I'm only vaguely familiar with her so let's get a breif bio, courtesy of the DC Fandom Data Base.

Shado is an enemy, ally, and lover to Green Arrow. Her father was a member of the Yakuza, and she became a bow-wielding assassin to avenge her parents. Despite her selfish motivations, she has teamed up with Green Arrow and encouraged him to execute his targets. She is also known to have raped Green Arrow while he was delirious from fever. This allowed her to conceive a son, Robert Queen.

Sounds like sweetheart with similar parenting skills to Slade. Hope she stick around a while.

Deathstroke to Appear in Batman Universe #1 this July

While Deathstroke was featured rather prominently on the Walmart-exclusive Teen Titans books, I didn't pay much attention to them when they were announced and released.

The reason is simple; Deathstroke's appearance in these books was in a reprint of issues from the Titans book from 2003, written by Geoff Johns. The 100-page books all included four stories, three of which were reprints. Deathstroke did not seem to appear in the single story of new material.

That he appeared in the Batman story eluded me. Here is a portion of a press release (first seen on Newsarama, for the record) about these Walmart exclusives being reprinted for comic shops this summer.

Following the theft of a priceless Fabergé egg, the Riddler leads The Dark Knight on a wild hunt after its true owner: Jinny Hex, a descendant of the haunted Western hero Jonah Hex. Deathstroke, Green Arrow and some of the brightest stars in the DC Universe will join The Dark Knight on the chase to find this treasure! 

The covers to the early issues of these Batman books all seemed to give one of the reprints the spotlight. Check out Deathstroke at the bottom right of the fourth issue.

I believe that will be his only appearance.

While attempting to sort all that, I collected the covers from the Titans books which featured Deathstroke and those are now displayed below.

Our Ravager Is Confirmed

Chelsea Zhang it is. So unless they start casting for Adeline or Grant Wilson (mum and brother to Joseph/Jericho, as you probably know) we have our Wilson family.

The character bio for Ravager:

“Daughter of the deadly assassin, Deathstroke, Rose Wilson was forced to undergo the same procedure that granted her father nearly superhuman abilities, becoming a weapon known as Ravager. Ever resentful, she seeks out the Titans not only for their protection but to get back at her father. Knowing how dangerous it is to be the offspring of their deadliest foe, the Titans take her in but that doesn’t necessarily mean they trust her.”

Again, this was reported by Deadline first, I believe.

And Now We Have Our Jericho

Raise your hand if you thought Chella Man would make a great Jericho!

If you raised your hand you're a filthy liar. :-)

I didn't know this guy from a hole in the ground so I looked him up. The information below is from this Deadline article.

Man is a model, a student at New York University, and a You Tube presence (173,000 subscribers, 2.5 million views) with his personal account of gender transition and living “deaf, Genderqueer, Chinese, and Jewish.”  Man has also contributed writing to multiple blogs (including Condé Nast’s Them) and is a speaker on gender, identity, race, and disability.

Okay, so...He doesn't particularly look the part and has absolutely no relevant body of work. It does appear as though the first criteria is achievable though. Prior to finding the photograph above in this article, I did not think so.

The Titans casting has been pretty solid so far so they certainly deserve the benefit of the doubt here. I remember when Daniel Craig was going to be a terrible James Bond, Ben Affleck a weak Batman and Gal Gadot couldn't fill Wonder Woman's outfit. All those opinions were ultimately proven to be very, very wrong. There's a reason why these things aren't left up to fans.

Here's the description of Jericho, from the very same article.

Son of the infamous DC villain Deathstroke (played by Esai Morales), Joseph Wilson is the Titan known as Jericho. Mute after his father failed to rescue him from having his vocal cords severed by assassins, Jericho has the unique ability to possess anyone just by making eye contact. This gentle natured yet proud hero has proven himself a formidable Titan.

Hopefully this means we gets casting news for Rose Wilson soon as well. Ironically, in light of her comic book history, I would completely expect an Asian influence where that character is concerned (her mother is Hmong). I'm curious to see if we'll get it.

Edit: We very well might. Revenge Of The Fans speculates that Chelsea Zhang may have nailed down the role. I'll wait for something a bit more official though.

Deathstroke June 2019 solicitations

Looks like just one book in June but it should be an interesting one.

DEATHSTROKE #44
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art by FERNANDO PASARIN
Cover by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI and CAM SMITH
Variant cover by RICCARDO FEDERICI 

“DEATHSTROKE: RIP” starts here! 

Deathstroke is dead, secretly killed at the hands of a Teen Titan. As Slade’s closest friends, enemies and frenemies pay their respects (and disrespects) to the World’s Deadliest Assassin, some uninvited guests crash the event—the Legion of Doom! But what do they want with the body of the most lethal man on the planet? And will anyone find out who killed him? A brand-new storyline begins here…with an ending you won’t see coming! 

ON SALE 06.05.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+

It's amusing to see comics news sites refer to a "spoiler" about Deathstroke's death in the solicitation. For one thing, it was quite clear from last month's solicitations that Robin had apparently killed Deathstroke at the end of the crossover with the Titans. For another, I think by now we all know that comics deaths are rather...temporary.

That said, I'm looking forward to seeing what Christopher Priest does with it. He's one of few writers that I trust to make a promise of "and ending you won't see coming" stick.

Esai Morales is your Titans Deathstroke

We've known for a while that Deathstroke would appear in the Titans TV show but we finally know who will bring him to life in this incarnation. 56-year old veteran of virtually every cop show ever made (but most prominently NYPD Blue) Esai Morales has the honours.

This works for me. I have no doubt that Morales will be able to look sophisticated and/or bad ass, depending on what the situation calls for. I've already come across comments online about how he's not menacing enough and that sort of thing but I don't buy it.

For the sake of interest, here’s Titans’ official description for Deathstroke:

“Slade Wilson is known for being DC’s deadliest assassin. While serving his country, Slade became an elite soldier before government testing enhanced his physiology to near superhuman levels, putting him on a path of darkness and revenge. To his family, Slade is a father and husband, but to the rest of the world, he is feared by many as the infamous Deathstroke; selling his services to the highest bidder as the ruthless assassin that never gives up and never misses.”

Father and husband, well...By definition, that's certainly true. I know the show is not about him but if his kids also show up as rumoured I hope we get a glimpse of his dysfunctional that clan is.

I don't know how accurate this is but IMDB currently has Morales appearing in episode 2.1 of Titans.

Apparently this news was first announced by Deadline.

The Terminus Agenda Concludes in May

And it doesn't sound like it goes real well for our boy.

Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST and ADAM GLASS
Art and cover by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
Variant cover by CLAYTON CRAIN 

“The Terminus Agenda” finale! 

It’s code red for the Teen Titans as their plan to capture and imprison Deathstroke has backfired in the worst possible way. Mercy Hall is on lockdown, and all the super-villains have escaped their cells! 

As the villains team up to take down their captors, Deathstroke makes one final attempt at “fixing” Damian—will Damian finally abandon Batman’s code to save his friends from certain death? 

ON SALE 05.01.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+

Strangely enough, the regular cover for the book seems to be a little tricky to find among solicitation listed on the major comics sites. Bleeding Cool displayed the page from the Previews catalogue though so I share that here since it's as good a version of it as I've come across.

But get a closer look at Clayton Crain's variant for this book. Damn!

It's not clear whether Deathstroke show up in the epilogue that takes place in Teen Titans #30. It doesn't sound like it, as that issue appears to me more geared towards blow back to Damian's actions in the Deathstroke issue. The cover alone makes that quite clear.

If writer Christopher Priest continues as he has, I suspect we'll get another 5-6 part story following starting in June with Slade's world properly shaken up as a result of this one's conclusion. Dude doesn't mess around!

Deathstroke April 2019 Solicitations

The Terminus Agenda continues in April.

Nice change, it appears as though the variant covers are being revealed ahead of time. That Mattina one is a thing of beauty, too.

DEATHSTROKE #42
written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST and ADAM GLASS
art and cover by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
variant cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
“The Terminus Agenda” part two! Captured by the newest group of Teen Titans, Deathstroke finds himself powerless and restrained inside Damian’s secret prison. But when a crisis erupts, only Deathstroke stands between the Teen Titans and total disaster—can Robin swallow his pride to protect his team?
ON SALE 04.03.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T+

TEEN TITANS #29
written by ADAM GLASS and CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
art by BERNARD CHANG
cover by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
variant cover by MICO SUAYAN
“The Terminus Agenda” part three! After their last mission nearly ended in disaster, the Teen Titans are coming apart at the seams. As Deathstroke’s influence over Damian reaches new heights, the team must evaluate how far they are willing to go in their war on crime. And with the Teen Titans seemingly on the brink of destruction, a new threat reveals itself. And the worst enemies of all…come from within!
ON SALE 04.17.19
$3.99 US | 32 PAGES
FC | RATED T