The cover for New Teen Titans (1980) #34 is amazing in multiple ways. First, it is a prime example of a trademark George Pérez multi-character scene. Secondly, it is jarringly symbolic as it clearly illustrates Deathstroke's desire to terminate the Teen Titans. Thirdly, this comic marked only the fifth ever appearance of Deathstroke, still commonly referred to as "Terminator," and, despite his popularity with fans, Deathstroke had not appeared in New Teen Titans in two years, though Chris Claremont and Walt Simonson did use him for Marvel and DC Present: The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans (1982) #1.
And lastly, (bear with me here as I admit that this one is a stretch) if one looks at the cover as a photograph taken in the middle of an in-progress action, Deathstroke is firing at the Titans from the viewer's left to right. If the action continued along that path it is reasonable to assume that all of the Titans would be struck by Deathstroke's gunfire. That is, all of the Titans except one. Raven, Robin, and Kid-Flash had not yet been shot because the line of fire had yet to reach them. But the line of fire had already passed through Terra, and she had not been shot. In a certain context, this cover foreshadows the yet-to-be-revealed relationship between Deathstroke and Terra as well as Terra's role as a mole within the group as the reason she was not shot on the cover (I know, it sounds a little conspiracy theorist on my part, but it was fun to speculate). Anyway, the cover is posted below and as always, for best viewing results, open the image into its own tab.
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| Art by the Legendary George Pérez |
