Somebody's Been Doing His Research!

Ah, Christopher Priest, you are the man.

I love a writer who makes use of everything, and everyone, at his disposal. Using an example close to home, Rose Wilson did not make a whole lot of appearances for many years until Geoff Johns decided to use her in a Titans book as the new Ravager.

Priest did something similar in issue 6 of the current series. It was such an obscure reference that I think that even some of people who have been reading Deathstroke since the first volume might have needed a refresher. I admit that I launched a loud profanity out of sheer surprise.

**Spoilers Below**

Deathstroke has determined that Rose's current boyfriend, going by the name Richard, is involved in an attempt on her life. He's captured him and while Richard is being interrogated by an...associate...of Deathstroke, we are shown the following flashback sequence.

Luis. Holy shit.

This kid first showed up during the City of Assassins arc that ran between issues 6 through 9 of volume one in  1992. In the story, Gotham police officer Pat Trayce was becoming increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with "the system". A hired gun was going to be getting away with his criminal activity because he was willing to provide information about certain organized crime figures and it was driving her nuts.

It was fairly evident at the time that then-writer Marv Wolfman had a plan for Trayce. For a random Gotham cop, she was given quite a bit of face time and dialogue.

Wolfman, of course, co-created the Adrian Chase Vigilante character that first appeared in the Titans comics and wrote much of that character's 50-issue series. It comes as no surprise that he still had an interest in the concept.

In the final issue of City of Assassins, Trayce took on the Vigilante identity and teamed up with Deathstroke and Batman to deliver a major blow to organized crime in Gotham (for what that's worth). And in the following issue, the spotlight basically shifted to her.

I remember not giving a rat's ass about this. I'd been a fan of Deathstroke since his initial appearances in the Teen Titans book. The last thing I wanted was for him to step aside for a new character, in his own book, within its first year.

But at least that issue featured Deathstroke co-creator George Perez on inks (over Art Nichols pencils), so it looked damn nice.

In one page, we find out that Trayce was a widow and that she also lost her (police) partner not long before this story takes place. And there's little Luis Jr. bawling at bottom right. He does a lot of that.

Trayce later explains that Luis Jr's mother passed away as well shortly after Luis Sr. did.  Junior was being raised by his aunt with Trayce's assistance. Furthermore...

So of course he had it rough growing up. This issue and the next revolve around Trayce's training by Slade but also Luis running around with a bad crowd because they make him feel accepted.

Awww....

Anyway, this Vigilante stuck around for a few more issues but when she did leave the book, it was never for very long (unfortunately, in my opinion).

Research reveals that she appeared in a Hawk and Dove limited series in the mid 90s. She was also included in a few issues of the first volume of Resurrection Man that I owned in which she as a member of the Forgotten Heroes. As much as Marv Wolfman seemed to love her, she never seemed to get any traction with readers, however.

And that I know of, little Luis was basically forgotten after that one story. Until Christopher Priest chose to work him into the current volume 24 years later.

Now we know that Priest is not going to shackle himself to past continuity. He may just keep the broad strokes of that story intact and add his own details. But apparently Deathstroke's fling with Pat Trayce has remained in continuity and Luis has a hate-on for him over it. Neat.

Deathstroke: The Terminator Vol. 1: Assassins

A mere 24 years after the release of Deathstroke's first series, its two initial story arcs are collected along with an issue of New Titans that, for all intents and purposes, served as a preview of the series. The story in New Titans did not lead into the series, but it gave us an idea as to what we were in for.

Both the digital and print versions were released a few days ago. For some reason, the solicitation on Comixology was totally butchered, but we'll try to patch it together.

Mercenary. Husband. Villain. Father. Killer. Friend.  

Slade Wilson has been all of these things. And and now his many past lives are finally catching up to him.  

After an attack at his home in Africa and a near fatal shooting that almost killed his ex-wife, Deathstroke is on the hunt for the man called the Ravager. After discovering what the link is between his family’s past and this masked super soldier’s vendetta, Slade must make it out alive against this dangerous new foe. However, the real trouble finds him in.

Then Deathstroke must travel to Gotham City, where someone is eliminating major crime bosses and smearing his reputation. There’s only one problem standing in his way: Batman. Even if he can somehow beat the Dark Knight there’s still the masked killer known only as the Vigilante waiting in the wings.  

Writer Marv Wolfman (NEW TEEN TITANS) is joined by artists Steve Erwin (CHECKMATE) and Will Blyberg (TEAM TITANS) in defining Slade Wilson as Deathstroke the Terminator, the breakout character from the hit TV show Arrow, in his first solo comic book series. Collects DEATHSTROKE: THE TERMINATOR #1-9 and the NEW TITANS #70.

Sample page below. I love the way 'Stroke so casually kicks the one guy out of the jeep.

That page is from the Titans issue mentioned above, basically a stand alone story which had nothing to do with the issues that preceded it (or, that I can recall, followed it).

But from there Deathstroke would come to be included in the Titans book for the next year and a half or so. First, he worked alongside a decimated Titans team and a handful of their allies to rescue teammates and friends from a group of armoured villains referring to themselves as The Wildebeests. That would lead into the three-part Jericho Gambit in which Slade Wilson would need to face a possessed version of his son Joseph.

All in all, the early 90's were a prolific period for Deathstroke as he frequently appeared in at least two books on a regular basis. He was also involved an a story called "Panic In The Sky" running through the various Superman books at the time. Not too shabby.

Assassins is not the first compilation of the early issues of Deathstroke's first series, it just includes more of them. Titans 70 and issues 1-5 of the Deathstroke series were collected in a graphic Novel called Full Cycle (the name of the first storyline) early in 1992.  The cover for that, by Mike Zeck, is copied below. The book has been out of print for some time now.

If you're a relatively new fan of the character, a collection of 10 issues from that era for about $20 (print) is a pretty sweet deal.

There is one downside; some elements of the Full Cycle storyline resurfaced later in the series, in issues 17-20 or so. That story, called "The Nuclear Winter", explains a number of things in greater depth. I'm not sure if there are plans to collect those issues as well, since some of it is told in Titans books (the Total Chaos crossover), but DC should really try to find a way to make it work.