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.

Have A Killer Christmas With DC's Holiday Special!

When the DC Comics Holiday Special was first announced, there was no mention of Deathstroke in its solicitation text.

Join Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash as they deliver powerful messages of hope like only The Worlds Greatest Super-Heroes can! Plus: Sgt. Rock fights the Nazis on Hanukah, the Teen Titans take on the literal ghost of Christmas past, and Swamp Thing battles that creeping feeling of existential dread! And don’t miss the legendary Denny O’Neil’s return to comics with an all-new Batman story!

So the usual suspects. And Sgt. Rock.

No big deal, Deathstroke isn't exactly a Christmas kind of guy. One can only imagine the conversation at the dinner table.

But Den Of Geek received some preview pages from DC Comics and it turns out that Deathstroke does appear. And, as one might expect from Deathstroke, he has Santa Claus at gunpoint.

That's the original outfit, minus the split mask. So this flashback goes WAY back to prior to Slade Wilson having his right eye blown out by his now ex-wife. Here's the info that DC gave Den of Geek:

Out of the kindness of his heart Joey Wilson donated one of his Christmas gifts to charity. Little did he know that his father Deathstroke hid a nuclear trigger in the gift for safekeeping. Now Deathstroke and his partner Wintergreen have to get the trigger back and get to Deathstroke’s Sister-in-Law’s house for Christmas dinner.

Sounds fun. For more preview material, check out Den Of Geeks' own article about the book.

I was reminded of another Christmas encounter that took place in issue #7 of volume one involving guest-star Batman. Writer Marv Wolfman cleverly used a couple of street-level scenes to display the difference in perception and tactics between the bat and Deathstroke.

Batman drives by a break-in attempt. When the would-be thieves see him, they run away. His reputation is such that all he had to do was slow down momentarily to scare them off.

Deathstroke isn't quite so well known so he has to take far more direct measures.

 Better than any gift card that dude might have found in a stocking.

The Holiday Special will be in stores on December 6th.

Revisiting Nuclear Winter

Since I own the individual issues to the first Deathstroke regular series, the solicitation for the third reprint collection from that run wasn't of great interest to me. But coming across it again on Amazon months later, it might actually be worth a longer look.

This was how the book was originally marketed:

In these stories, hunted by the CIA and the Teen Titans, Deathstroke is in trouble--he may be dying. But his chances for survival lie with a figure from his past, half a world away in Cambodia.

While his pursuers believe him to be dead, Deathstroke takes refuge on Titans island--and when he regains his strength, he's shocked to learn that the island has been taken over by the forces of the evil Lord Chaos. How will he escape with his life? 

Collects Deathstroke, The Terminator #14-20.

Here's the new version of the solicitation text:

The unthinkable is happening: Deathstroke the Terminator is dying. The serum that gave Slade Wilson his enhanced abilities seems to be killing him, and the CIA is still hunting him for crimes he didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, he must seek out his former enemies/allies, the Titans. But what he discovers at Titans Tower could lead him to salvation…or global nuclear war!

Plus, Deathstroke must join forces with Peacemaker and the Huntress to stop the madman known as Kobra!!
 
 Collects DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR #14-20 and SHOWCASE ’93 #6-11!

 

Well! Not only is that much more clear, but that added content is motivating!

As described here in the past, Showcase was an anthology book which, if my memory is sound, typically featured three unconnected stories. I thought it was standard size but a quick research reveals that each issue was actually 48 pages in length. The story in which Deathstroke takes part would probably have been a solid 12-16 pages long per issue then.

I know I have at least one issue of that run of Showcase stashed away somewhere and I don't recall being particularly motivated to gather the rest no matter how big a fan of Deathstroke I was and remain. The story didn't particularly grab me at the time, Slade seemed out of character, and Peacemaker is a tool.

But in a collection, clocking in at 272 pages total, of which about 120 pages or so are new to me, and including guest stars like Katana and Deadshot...I might just have to take the plunge on this after all.

The book is now due for release on December 12th, according to Amazon. It bears noting that DC comics lists it on their website as having been released last month and with only Deathstroke issues 14-23 (instead of 14-20) included. There is no mention of the Showcase story. It feels a little early for a new edition of a book that was released three weeks ago, so it may be best to wait until this book is actually in stores and content can be reviewed before ordering it.

Deathstroke vs Deadshot: Round 1

Yesterday, Bleeding Cool was kind enough to make us aware that Deathstroke and Deadshot have themselves a good scrap in Batman #28, released earlier today. Here's their description of it.

...in Batman #28 by Tom King, Mikel Janin and June Chung, published tomorrow by DC Comics, fans will get what they have wanted for ages. With Deadshot and Deathstroke divided by allegiances to the Joker and the Riddler as the War Of Jokes And Riddles — and Batman’s post-coital-and-proposal conversation with Catwoman — continues after the previous Peanuts-inspired interlude. 

And a full-blown, knock-down battle between the two across the streets of Gotham with a longevity more like a cricket game than a baseball match. And a little on the Miracleman #15 side, too…

The article in question mentions that they've been in conflict before but that it's not a regular occurrence. By my quick count, this would be the fourth and they're fairly well spread out.

For kicks, we're going to go over each one, starting with Deathstroke: The Hunted #41. But first, if you're somehow less familiar with Deadshot, here's some abbreviated background from the DC Comics website.

An assassin (and) expert marksman, Floyd Lawton lives by a simple code: do the job that you're hired for with the least amount of casualties possible—after all, you're not being paid to waste bullets. 

...Deadshot is obsessed with precision, firmly believing that the target who’s been paid for should be the only one taken down. In the midst of a successful career, Lawton was taken down by the Dark Knight and sentenced to life in prison...Deadshot joined the Suicide Squad—a team of villains recruited by Amanda Waller to carry out covert (and highly illegal) missions. Often the de facto leader of the team, Deadshot always aims to complete the mission at hand... even if it kills him.

Along with his ability to "never miss" his target, Deadshot possesses an unfulfilled death wish...His reasons for this are unknown—many speculating family upbringing, loss of a loved one or simply not having anything left to live for. However, this complete disregard for his own life, along with his commitment to the job, make Deadshot one of the most dangerous assassins in the world.

One of them. Deathstroke can lay claim to that title too. But in the first meeting, Deadshot got a clear upper hand.

In 1994, Deathstroke's solo book took on the sub-title "The Hunted". Slade was being framed for an attempt on the president's life so the government was hell-bent on bringing him in. They first sent Deadshot's Suicide Squad teammate Bronze Tiger after him, but when the man in charge of the operation (Sarge Steel) lost faith in Tiger, Deadshot was sent in as well. Deadshot showed up while Tiger and 'stroke were grappling.

During that era, Deathstroke had a habit of returning to life in a berzerker frenzy. As a result, he popped back to life in the next issue and would live on to encounter Deadshot again, several years later. But there's little question that Deadshot got the first solid punch in.

Before moving on, I want to point out that Deathstroke also appears on the cover to #30 of Batman, something I'd missed earlier.

Upcoming Collections

The early peek at the June solicitations reminded me to have a look at Amazon for books available for pre-order and sure enough, there are a couple on the way beginning with, unsurprisingly, the third book of the current series.

Deathstroke Vol. 3: Twilight (Rebirth) 

What happens when the World's Deadliest Assassin begins to go blind? Faced with a potentially career-ending diagnosis, Deathstroke is coached by Power Girl to reinvent himself--and comes face to face with a rival assassin known as Deadline! But he might not be able to face this villain until he unearths a way to cure his own weaknesses.  

Written by Christopher Priest (Black Panther) and featuring stunning illustrations by special guest artist Cary Nord, this game-changing volume collects DEATHSTROKE #12-17.

This one is fresh enough that there is not even a tentative cover available for it yet. It is scheduled for October of this year. That's kind of good because volume two is only due for July, which seems pretty damn far away.

Meanwhile, reprinting of Deathstroke's first series continues with the World Tour story being made available next March.

Deathstroke The Terminator: Vol. 4 

Deathstroke, the breakout villain from the 1980s sensation THE NEW TEEN TITANS and current star of the hit TV series Arrow stars in his own graphic novel series! In these stories, hunted by the CIA and the Teen Titans, Deathstroke is in trouble! 

From writer Marv Wolfman (THE NEW TEEN TITANS) this graphic novel collects DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR#27-34 and DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR ANNUAL #2.

Fun story. They are using the cover to issue 27 for it remains to be seen whether that's going to last. I would think the reference to 1993 will disappear. We'll find out some time in the next year.

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (Trailer)

Here's a look at the upcoming Teen Titans animated movie.

Not a huge amount of Deathstroke content, but from what little we see, his mission of capturing the Titans one by one for The Hive seems consistent, particularly where it involves Dick Grayson, just prior to becoming Nightwing.

Grayson ultimately escapes by jumping through a window, much like the middle part of the scene above.

Deathstroke was voiced by actor Miguel Ferrer who sadly passed away last month at age 61.

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 December 2016 Solicitations

Once again, only one cover is revealed and it is for #8, as the solicitation text will make obvious. 

DEATHSTROKE #8
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art by CARLO PAGULAYAN and JASON PAZ
Cover by ACO
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“THE PROFESSIONAL” part eight! It’s the Man of Steel vs. the world’s deadliest assassin in the no-holds-barred finale to the “The Professional”! 

On sale DECEMBER 14 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+ 

DEATHSTROKE #9
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST
Art and cover by CARY NORD
Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS 

“FOUR DAYS” part one! After Deathstroke’s family is shattered, Slade recalls the first time he and Wintergreen worked together—on a mission that changed both of their lives forever. Special guest artist Cary Nord illustrates this game-changing two-part adventure. 

On sale DECEMBER 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+

No guest appearances that I could see.

I did notice, however, that the third reprinting of the first series now displays a release date of April 2017 on Amazon, and a different cover.  It was originally said to be available this past June.

In these stories, hunted by the CIA and the Teen Titans, Deathstroke is in trouble--he may be dying. But his chances for survival lie with a figure from his past, half a world away in Cambodia. 

While his pursuers believe him to be dead, Deathstroke takes refuge on Titans island--and when he regains his strength, he's shocked to learn that the island has been taken over by the forces of the evil Lord Chaos. How will he escape with his life?  

Collects Deathstroke, The Terminator #14-20.

Deathstroke, the Terminator Vol. 3: Nuclear Winter

Even though DC's solicitations are only released to April, I came across the following on Amazon.ca this weekend.

Deathstroke, the break-out villain from the 1980s sensation The New Teen Titans and current star of the hit TV series Arrow stars in his own graphic novel series!

In these stories, hunted by the CIA and the Teen Titans, Deathstroke is in trouble--he may be dying. But his chances for survival lie with a figure from his past, half a world away in Cambodia. 

While his pursuers believe him to be dead, Deathstroke takes refuge on Titans island--and when he regains his strength, he's shocked to learn that the island has been taken over by the forces of the evil Lord Chaos. How will he escape with his life?  

Collects Deathstroke, The Terminator #14-20.

Christ, I own these books and that still seems confusing as hell.

I initially doubted that the cover displayed with the solicitation would be the one that will actually appear on this compilation. But options may be limited. Half of the issues included in the book have covers on which 'stroke is wearing a short-lived "new" uniform. Check out that ode to "generic" over at right.

Terrible. Thankfully he was back in his real suit by issue #21.

While the cover to 18 might be more appropriate for a compilation of issues originally sold 24 years ago, it seems unlikely that they would use a "look" that barely resembles the character that they're trying to promote on TV, video games, perhaps movies, etc.

So if DC continues their tendency of using a slightly-updated version of one of the issues contained in the compilation, their best option may be #15, displayed at the bottom of this post. And the issue in which Rose first appears, no less.

Amazon lists a release date of June 28th.

August 10th updates

Continuing to list Deathstroke's publishing history, here's what was added to certain site pages earlier today:

Volume One: Issue #31, part five of the World Tour.

This was a good time to be a Deathstroke fan. If Amazon.ca can be trusted, a second compilation of the first volume will be released at the end of the year collecting issues 10-13 and the first annual (which featured one of my favourite cover all-time, at right). If plans are to continue doing so, no doubt the World Tour will be included as it was a fun, self-contained story within the series. It's very accessible to current readers.

Volume Three: Issue #8, part of the Godkiller story line, released July 22nd.

Guest-Appearances: Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. issues one and two.

Deathstroke's contribution to these two books is rather brief, but at least his background with Steve Trevor is recognized. Trevor appeared in the last two issues of Team Seven as a member of that group. He crossed paths with Deathstroke as a result, but I don't recall a specific cause for the animosity that Slade shows towards Trevor in  A.R.G.U.S. Mind you, in light of how the entire Team Seven project all went to pot, Slade might just want to put a bullet in anything that reminds him of it.

The page for Volume Two is pretty well done aside from minor corrections and details, and Volume Three gets updated more or less as books are released.  As the page for Volume One continues to fill up, as well as the guest-appearances page and the one dedicated to Rose Wilson, then new ones will be created to cover Deathstroke's appearances in the digital books dedicated to the Arkham series of video games and to the Arrow TV show. Looking forward to that, actually, because much of that material will be new to me.

This "Getting Young" Thing Is Getting Old.

I finally received the first volume of the current Deathstroke series in the mail last week. Entitled "Gods of War", it collects the first six issues, including some sketches and the variant covers.

Now it's difficult to maintain a blog about a character yet avoid spoilers because you're "waiting for the trade". If you're still waiting to pick up this book yourself, stop now and come back (please) when you haven't because there will be some spoilering going on.

Those who are still here are likely aware that Slade Wilson's youth was restored in this book. I had heard something to that effect, but misunderstood it.  I believed that he was going through a "Batman Begins" type of flashback in which his past was being back-filled. I didn't think he was literally going to be young again. But he is.

I don't care for this decision. It takes away a number of things that made Slade stand out among the pack.

In the character's first volume, Wintergreen refers to Slade as being in his 40's. If so, based on hair colour, it's late 40's. And characters that age are in a small minority.

His missing right eye has been "restored", too. Relatively unique features are being done away with. Furthermore, you'd be hard-pressed to read a random page and to differentiate him from Bruce Wayne.

It's not even particularly original. The reason Wintergreen referred to Slade's age in volume one was that Slade had become young again in the last few issues of that series.

Issues 53 and 54 of the first volume featured a two-part story called "The Borgia Plague" and, as you might have guessed from the title, it revolved around a biological weapon.

The story concluded with Deathstroke being caught in an explosion. And when he was later found in the rubble (in #55), he was about half his age.

There are a number of differences between the current "de-aging" and the one from volume one. From issue 55 until the conclusion of the series in #60 (June 1996), Slade was still missing his right eye and his hair was blond. His hair colour was consistent with prior flashback material from the Teen Titans series. I don't know why Tony Daniels saw a need to change it for volume three.

As you can see from the cover of #55, the newfound youth also led to a uniform change.

Deathstroke also lost his memory as a result of the de-aging in volume one, but it was restored by the time the series concluded. None of the other changes that were made to the character lasted very long, either.

His next appearance was in Detective Comics 708 (April 1997), written by Chuck Dixon.

This is the first chapter of a three-part story called "The Death Lottery". In this book, Slade's hair is still blond, but he seems to be back to his normal age, as evidenced by a supporting character at his African retreat asking him if he feels old after hunting a lion (to which Slade replies that he's not old, he's bored). No explanation is given so one assumes that the effect just wore off with inactivity. Sure, why not?

Slade would then show up in a few issues of Nightwing, as well as Green Arrow, Azrael and Robin. But the next story to be centered around him would be a three-part tale in The Titans called "The Immortal Coil". Running from issue 10-12 (December 1999 to February 2000), it was written by Devin Grayson and involved several characters that had a history with Slade, including Cheshire but most prominently his ex-wife, Adeline. It also marked the return of the traditional Deathstroke outfit.

So within a couple of years, all the changes that had taken place at the end of volume one were essentially erased gradually and seldom referred to, that I know of. Since I'm a bit behind, perhaps this "younging" is also already on the way out. Hope so because it takes away from the character instead of making him more interesting.

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.

The Time(s) Deathstroke Beat the Entire Justice League

Ah, this was fun. And it still is for a totally different reason.

I don't know if other shared my experience, but I recall the buzz for this showdown between Deathstroke and the Justice League being high when the previews came out. Comments were to the effect that Deathstroke is such a bad ass, the fight looked awesome, etc.

In fact, people seemed to be into Identity Crisis in a big way at first. This was reflected in its sales at the time. According to comichron.com, the second and third issues were the third best-selling books in their respective months of release (July and August 2004).

But the whodunnit's big reveal fell flat and it seemed like everyone suddenly decided that the entire seven-issue mini series was crap. And nowadays if I see a mention of Deathstroke's fight against the Justice League in the third issue, it's usually in reference to how improbable it is that Slade would have won like he did. The back-pedaling cracks me up.

Even setting aside the whole bit about how Deathstroke is supposed to be the best of the best anyway, it must be taken into account that Deathstroke was completely prepared for this battle, whereas the league was caught with their pants down. The league was expecting to go whup on a long-time loser in Dr. Light. They had no idea he had hired Deathstroke for protection. And Deathstroke had planned ahead.

The narration is by Green Arrow, who doesn't fare much better. 'Stroke removes him from the equation by rendering his weapons useless.

Love that.

Now it isn't all gold. Deathstroke takes Hawkman out by cutting the strap to his wing harness, as if that character is incapable of fighting without them. And for some reason Green Lantern decides the best way to contribute is not to use the most powerful personal weapon in the universe but rather to throw a punch, which is completely illogical, not at all true to form, and of course backfires.

But the disdain over this fight is still a bit overblown because Deathstroke doesn't win. He doesn't actually beat the league. He is eventually overwhelmed after blowing his top when Arrow stabs him in the right eye socket (though he does manage to escape them).

The notion that he would cause the league fits shouldn't be so ludicrous anyway because there actually is some precedent to Slade Wilson dispatching several of that team's members.

In the 13th issue of the first volume of his own book, Deathstroke is on the run from the law (hardly cause for surprise) and the league tries to locate him. He handles several members, including Flash and Green Lantern.

The cover to that issue (at right) kills me, by the way. You have a bunch of Justice League members guest-starring in a book and what do you do? Spotlight a battle against some nobody called "Hemp". What's his power? To make really strong rope??

Anyway...In facing the league that time, Deathstroke uses much the same method as in the Identity Crisis fight. Applying a basic understanding of his opponents' strengths, weaknesses and personalities against them. He can't "out-power" The Flash or Green Lantern but he can outsmart and out-think them. Sometimes, all you need is to drive a stick in their spokes.

    

Fun stuff. I'm no Flash expert but I believe it's always been said that while his speed is enhanced, his reflexes are not. So the gut shot is actually entirely plausible.

On to Lantern.

So Identity Crisis was not the first time that Deathstroke made members of the league look foolish. It's not surprising that a character that walks both sides of the morality line would face off against the "good guys" numerous times and as this blog continues to grow it'll be fun to go over some of those battles. I might even keep a win-loss record!

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.

City of Assassins

As stated in the "About This Blog" page, I'm using this page to organize my Deathstroke collection and refamiliarize myself with a character of whom I've been a fan for about three decades. While I won't be reading every single appearance in order, I did want to jump on City of Assassins ASAP.

I recall that there were "soft spots" in the first volume. Not all of it was gold, but as I recall the first year or so was outstanding, at least.

That includes the second storyline in the series, City of Assassins. A team-up with Batman bring high expectations and these books delivered. The storyline runs through issues six to nine inclusively.

The inevitable fight between the two characters (in the second part, issue seven) may be my favourite one-on-one Deathstroke scrap. It was written in such a way that Batman's image does not suffer from the loss and he is recognized as a formidable challenge.

After a face-off to build up the action, artist Steve Erwin fills the page with as many panels of action as he can fit. Batman appears to go down for the count, but gets back up for another exchange, underscoring his determination. Deathstroke ultimately gets the upper hand, but later acknowledges that he isn't sure he would have if not for his enhancements. So 'stroke wins (it is his book after all), but Batman is handed a disclaimer.

It's pretty great stuff, in my opinion. Because the two meet fairly late in the book, it felt as thought the battle may be brief, but the pace is so quick that the opposite turns out to be true.  Here's a sample page.

That I know of, this story has not been collected in trade format. Perhaps Deathstroke's recent "push" in other forms of entertainment will prompt DC to reconsider that but if you can get your hands on the individual issues of City of Assassins at a reasonable price, I would recommend doing so.