DISCLAIMER: At times I write some posts and save them away for a time more fitting than the one in which they were first written. With that said, I wrote the majority of this piece before reading Deathstroke (2016) #44. Once Deathstroke #44 came out, I did rework the post to incorporate information from that issue, but only as further supporting evidence into my original argument. I entertained the idea of just scrapping this post altogether as the new information from Deathstroke #44 seemed to confirm my earlier suspicions, but I ultimately decided just to bite the bullet and go with it regardless.
SPOILER ALERT!
The following post contains spoilers from the recently concluded "Arkham" and "The Terminus Agenda" story arcs and Deathstroke (2016) #44. If you have yet to read the "Arkham" and "The Terminus Agenda" story arcs and Deathstroke (2016) #44 you may wish to avoid reading this post.
SPOILERS APPEAR BELOW!
Deathstroke is dead, long live Deathstroke! Well, Slade Wilson is dead, but this is the comic book industry so "dead" rarely means "dead for good." With a major role as the primary antagonist in the upcoming second season of Titans (2018) and an animated series in the works for CW Seed, I don't see Slade himself spending much time dirt-napping.
Because Slade was killed at the climax of the "Terminus Agenda" it seems that there is Deathstroke void needs to be filled in the DC Universe. Solicitation text for Deathstroke (2016) #45 verifies this notion stating that "In the wake of Slade Wilson’s death, a new Deathstroke has vowed to complete his last, unfinished assignment." Based on the image (posted below) that accompanied the solicitation text, Wintergreen appears to be quite taken aback by a new, male Deathstroke revealing his face. The image intentionally obscures the supposed new Deathstroke's face, but the coloring suggests dark skin indicating maybe Deathstroke's new acquaintance Death Masque (aka Devon) could don the Ikon Suit to carry out Slade's last job. Death Masque makes sense as Slade worked with Devon on (possibly) a large-scale mission during the "Arkham" story arc and Dev may feel an obligation to fulfill Slade's last contract. The only problem I have with this line of logic is that it seems a bit too logical and series writer, Christopher Priest, rarely spells out this type of plot development this clearly. But.....
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| Solicitation image for Deathstroke (2016) #45 Art by Ed Benes and Richard Friend |
Comic book publishers are not above releasing misleading, if not outright false imagery to protect an upcoming storyline. With that said, there is a real possibility that the new Deathstroke isn't even a man. Again referring to the solicitation text for Deathstroke #45, "Rose Wilson discovers the identity of the person responsible for her father’s death. Can her brother, Jericho, stop her from seeking vengeance?" As we now know, it was the Teen Titan's own Red Arrow, Emiko Queen, that shot an arrow into Slade's missing eyehole, through his brain, partially exiting through the back of his head that killed him. Rose being a trained assassin herself with a metahuman ability to predict the actions of others should make for a compelling confrontation when the two dealy young women come face-to-face. Another bit of information from the solicitation text is that "the master assassin Shado has plans of her own, looking to step in for the late, great World’s Greatest Assassin and usurp his place in the villainous hierarchy." Shadow, of course, is Red Arrow's mother and I doubt that it is a simple coincidence that the paths of the mother wishing to replace Deathstroke and the daughter that killed him have converged with that of a grieving and seething Rose Wilson.
Now consider the final two pages of Deathstroke #44, which are posted below. A.) Hosun built a version of the Ikon Suit with "inflatable air bladders" to mimic Slade's height and build. This means that the solicitation image for Deathstroke #45 doesn't necessarily have to be a male as it appears. B.) Wintergreen mentions that Slade had one last contract yet to be fulfilled before he died, which was pulled up on his laptop. And C.) Rose waits for Wintergreen to leave the room and seemingly assumed Deathstroke's last job by typing "AFFIRMATIVE" under the question "CAN YOU EXECUTE?" on Wintergreen's open laptop.
The above-described events and circumstances seem like they do indeed lay the groundwork for Rose Wilson to step into her father's figurative buccaneer boots. But when added to the design image below from DC's Year of the Villain Special (2019) #1, assuming the white-haired female is, in fact, Rose Wilson (the hairstyle does match the one Rose sported in Deathstroke #44), it seems as if she might very well be the one to succeed her father as the new Deathstroke.
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| Design image from DC's Year of the Villain Special (2019) #1 |
In any event, whether it is Dev, Rose, or someone else entirely that attempts to fill the Terminator's boots, I'm more than intrigued to see how Christopher Priest brings it all together until Slade makes his inevitable (?) return.
