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.