Good News / Bad News Delivered by Bleeding Cool

First the bad news: It should have struck me that a Batman/Deathstroke book to accompany Deathstroke's regular series was too good to be true, but I was blinded by hopeful optimism. Alas, it it instead a story-within-the-series.

It seems like a hell of a tale, though. Right-click the image below and open it in a new tab (and thanks again to BC for providing the information in this format, I love that).

“Deathstroke vs. Batman” part one! Beginning this month, a six-issue series-within-a-series featuring the ultimate showdown between DC’s fiercest rivals! 

When Batman discovers a mysterious package containing DNA test results proving that he is not Damian Wayne’s biological father, the Dark Knight sets his sights on his son’s true father — Deathstroke! But Damian Wayne can’t really be Slade Wilson’s son — can he? And who sent the package — and why? The ultimate custody battle ensues as the World’s Greatest Detective and the World’s Deadliest Assassin clash in this instant classic!

Rose and Damian as brother and sister. Hilarious. I can't wait for this.

The good news is that Deathstroke does make a guest appearance in another book in April. It was a matter of time, really.

Written by Dan Abnett, art by Viktor Bogdanovic, cover by John Romita Jr. and Sandra Hope. 

“Payback Time,” part one!

The Silencer has been targeted by every hit man, meta-mobster and weapons-depot dropout that the Leviathan organization has to offer — now it’s time for Honor Guest to take the fight back to them! Too bad Deathstroke has other plans. 

Silencer squares off against Slade Wilson as we kick off a brand-new epic! And this duo’s devastating past run-in will leave you speechless! 

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on April 25.

That cover makes it look like the barrel of her gun is nearly poking out of the back of his head!

There's potential there for Deathstroke to hang around for a few issues so let's keep an eye out for that. I'mcurious about this character anyway so if he showed up in the back end of a trade, I'd be all over that.

Our favourite mass murdered also see the fourth book of volume one reprints, called Crash Or Burn, released on May 9th.

Deathstroke returns in these 1990s tales to battle the Vigilante, Fire and Blood, and Janissary! 

Then, Slade Wilson must enter the Black Dome — and he might not make it out alive. 

Collects Deathstroke, The Terminator #21-25, plus Deathstroke, The Terminator Annual #2, featuring the origin of Gunfire!

If there's one character more forgettable than Gunfire, it's certainly Janissary. That was his one and only appearance.

And on top of all that, he will appear in a Titans trade paperback reprinting the dismal Total Chaos storyline that crossed over the Titans family of books at the time.0

A threat from the future has come to the present to destroy the Titans: Donna Troy’s son, Lord Chaos! Bringing with him a futuristic army, the would-be hero turned despot faces Titans past and present in the heroes’ greatest conflict to date. However, when the battle becomes too much for even these super-teams, will they be able to turn to their greatest foe, Deathstroke, for assistance?

This timeless crossover from one of the greatest creative teams of all time is finally here! Collects New Titans #90-92, Deathstroke, the Terminator #14-16 and Team Titans #1-3.

Get it for Nightwing's mullet. I'm pretty sure he was still rocking that thing at that point.

And finally, he has significant involvement in the New Teen Titans Omnibus hardcover third volume.

In this third massive collection of the hit 1980s series, now back in print, the team battles the villainy of H.I.V.E., faces the evil Dr. Light, witnesses the trial of Deathstroke, and tries to rescue the dark hero known as Raven from her own father, Trigon. 

Collects Tales of The Teen Titans #42-68, The New Teen Titans (second series) #1-9 and Tales of The Teen Titans Annual #3.

336 pages! If you're buying specifically for Slade, you might want to track down a trade of The Judas Contract and leave it that. The trial is entirely forgettable. Almost as forgettable as Gunfire. Most of the rest of the material doesn't include Deathstroke at all.

Still, a pretty high-profile month for him. That's always comforting.

Rose, We Hardly Knew Ye

You may have noticed a page specific to Deathstroke 's daughter, Rose Wilson, under the banner image. It had been built a few days ago but I've just now begun to add material to it, including her first appearance, inauspicious as it was.

Rose was first seen in Deathstroke's first volume, issue  #15, the fourth part (of nine) of a Teen Titans events appropriately named Total Chaos. Somewhat oddly, regardless of his long-time connection to the Titans team, the event started in Deathstroke's previous issue, was continued in New Titans #90 and the third part took place in the big launch issue of Team Titans (which fizzled, but that's not our problem).

Slade's been under the weather since his encounter with Batman some time earlier (the City of Assassins storyline). He was being drugged during an interrogation and the serum reacted badly with his modified biology from the experiments that gave him his enhancements years earlier. He's on the run from the law (more on that later) and prone to weakness and fainting spells.

In the midst of passing out while looking for an escape route through the sewers, Slade seems to randomly tell Wintergreen about an adventure from several years past. While in Cambodia, he had been hired to rescue a "local princess" and bring her to Thailand.

Of course, it all went to pot, but Slade Wilson being the player that he is, it didn't prevent him from engaging in a little jungle lovin'.

The man always completes a mission!

Lili had since set up shop in New York and that was where 'stroke was headed to hide. Wintergreen and some now long-forgotten sewer-dwelling buds helped him get over to Lili's entirely different type of sweat shop. And there, Wintergreen connects a few dots when he lays eyes on Lili's daughter.

That dude behind the curtain is not creepy at all.

I still, to this day, wonder how anyone could think that Deathstroke's daughter would have "naturally white" hair. It was established long before (by the same writer, no less, Marv Wolfman) that Slade Wilson had blond hair when he was younger. I'm going gray too, doesn't mean that if I have a kid now he or she will have "naturally gray" hair. Did she risk being born with a goatee, too? I know you wanted to seed a mystery there, but come on, Marv!

Anyway, for all the questions that the above page raised, she wouldn't be seen again for quite some time but would eventually take on the Ravager name and join the Titans.

DC new 52 reboot from late 2011 muddled her history quite a bit, changed her appearance and at least to this point made her far less likable, in my opinion. At one point in Deathstroke's book that resulted from that reboot (the 20-issue second volume) she refers to Adeline Wilson, Deathstroke's ex-wife, as her mother, essentially erasing all of the above background material. There are other signs that volume two is basically being ignored going forward, which totally defeats the purpose of the relaunch in the first place.

I'll still be keeping an eye on her though. I understand that she appears in the current Deathstroke book (which I'm waiting to read in trade paperback format) and I believe some of the details will be laid out then. Hope so, but I admit that while I was open to a New 52 when it took place, I miss the "old" Rose Wilson.