Priest's Pastiches Part Two: Death Masque

Death Masque (with a "q)
Art by Fernando Pasarin
& Carlo Pagulayan 

Christopher Priest's current run on Deathstroke (2016) is easily one of the finest that the character has ever had. The most recent story arc, "Arkham," could be accurately described as equal parts action adventure and gaslit head trip. But Priest's "Arkham" introduced a pretty cool, yet familiar (and I mean really familiar) new addition to the Deathstroke supporting cast in the form of Death Masque ("with a 'q'").

To set the stage for Death Masque's debut without spoilers, I'll just say that Slade found himself a patient/inmate at Arkham Asylum after being declared criminally insane. Once inside, Slade is drugged to the extent that his reflexes and rapid healing abilities are compromised, In addition, even though Slade can still hear Wintergreen's simulated voice via an implant containing his Ikon Suit AI, he was told repeatedly by Arkham staff that the implant doesn't exist and instead the voices that he hears are nothing more than hallucinations. During a holographic virtual group therapy session with some of Arkham's most notorious residents (Mr. Freeze, Dr. Destiny, Prof. Hugo Strange, Victor Zsasz, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum), session leader, Dr. Candace Evans, asked Slade if he could hear Wintergreen at that moment. Slade replied that his combat AI implant was not compatible with the group therapy system, making it appear that he was making excuses with his sanity looking to be further in question. But one member of the therapy group appeared to be more than a little out of place amongst Gotham's murderous elite, was a young man known only as Devon.

Devon began the session having a bit of fun (at least unwelcomed by Dr. Evans) by assuming the virtual form of Harley Quinn. Devon assumes a his "true" form and claims to the group that he has been in hiding inside Arkham for 87 years, with the exception of his recent "zapping" to the planet, Pulor where he was the subject of, what one must assume was unwanted experimentation. Later in the session when Slade asked the group that if given the chance, would anyone not kill him, only Devon raised his hand in the affirmative. Later when trying to escape, Slade encountered Devon, who was also keen to escape. Upon reaching the asylum grounds, both Slade and Devon were caught in an apparent Zeta beam and transported to who knows where.

Death Masque after accidentally
scaring an old man to death.
Art by Fernando Pasarin

When we next see Slade, he is laying on the floor of his cell dazed from the drugs used to pacify him. Dr. Evans visits his cell to check up on him. Slade asked the doctor how he got back to Arkham, but she informed him that not only had he not left Arkham, but that he had been there for 23 straight days. Slade told Dr. Evans that he had been gone to two weeks fighting the Pulorians with Dev, only for her to ask, "Who's Dev?" To prove he is not insane, Slade guided Dr. Evans and a security force along the route he used to escape, only this time there was a brick wall blocking the way. At this point, Slade was questioning his own sanity. But Dev...well...

Dev is next seen very much on the outside of Arkham Asylum searching for Deathstroke, but he is wearing a strange black and white amalgamation of Deathstroke's costume with a suspiciously looking ill-fitting cowl, not unlike that of Marvel's own resident #*&%@$$, Deadpool, and is calling himself Death Masque ("with a 'q'"). Death Masque next locates Slade's son-in-law, Hosun, (but not before he inadvertently triggered an old man's heart attack by appearing full costume in his bedroom due to breaking in a house at the wrong address) to aid in his search for him and the rest of the story can be found in Priest's recently completed "Arkham" story arc.

Death Masque is definitely the most "meta" character that Priest has introduced into Deathstroke's mythos. With his quick quips and his propensity to break the fourth wall, Death Masque is an obvious parody of Marvel Comics' Deathstroke rip-off, Deadpool. But Priest's use of Death Masque works at the story-level and at the meta-commentary level as well. Priest uses his own Marvel past to reference his stints on both Deadpool and Black Panther to really great comedic effect, which a title like Deathstroke needs from time-to-time. One particular battle scene, pictured below, is such an overt meta-reference to Priest's own Deadpool writing debut, that Death Masque himself ponders the possibility of a Marvel lawsuit just for mentioning it. Other meta-zingers include declaring"Wakanda forever," after calling Dr. Evans "hot," addressing Deathstroke, "Mr. Liefold," as an obvious nod to Deadpool's "creator" Rob Liefeld, and even while criticizing Slade himself after they both got caught in a Zeta beam by declaring that, "This is why you'll never get a movie!" I won't spoil the remainder of Death Masque's misadventures with Deathstroke as "Arkham" concluded, but let's just say I can't wait for more of Death Masque's brand of...heroics? We'll go with heroics.

Death Masque channeling Christopher Priest and his Marvel past.
Art by Fernando Pasarin & Carlo Pagulayan