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.
After the events of "THE PROFESSIONAL," Deathstroke's family has been shattered. One of the most lethal and hardened antiheroes in the DC Universe is now a man without a mission and without something propelling him forward. He must look to his past for meaning. In an attempt to understand how he's gotten to the turning point he now faces, Slade recalls the first time he and Wintergreen worked together--on a mission that changed both of their lives forever.
