TOOLS OF THE TERMINATOR: A Sword Called...Deathstroke!

The Deathstroke
Art by ACO

Since Deathstroke the Terminator's debut in the pages of The New Teen Titans (1980) #2, there has been at least one constant companion (with the exception of stints during the New 52) for Slade Wilson and his business of blood. That faithful companion is none other than his iconic battle sword with the yellow/orange cross-guard. Over time, this sword has become as closely associated with Deathstroke the Terminator as the trademark bifurcated color pattern of his mask so I thought that it was time to take a closer look at this infamous instrument of death.

When Christopher Priest took the reigns of the Deathstroke (2016) title as part of DC Comics' Rebirth publishing initiative, he not only returned the sword itself, which had been missing for much of the "New 52" and "DC You" runs, he greatly expanded its history and its connection to Slade himself. On Priest's own website, he wrote detailed new information including the origin of the sword and how it came to be owned by Slade (much of this information can also be found nearly word-for-word in dialog from Deathstroke (2016) #9). Priest wrote about the sword as follows:

Deathstroke's sword was originally named "Scrymgeour." Eòsaph Mar cut down a thousand of King Charles' men with it after Jenny Geddes threw her stool at the head of the minister in St [sic] Giles' Cathedral, inciting the Bishops' Wars. Or, at least, that's the story Deathstroke told. One of dozens. Slade Wilson actually won the sword from a rich collector in Glasgow with a full house, queens full of nines. An antique Grete war sword the blade was forged of three seperate pieces hammer-welded together, the bottommost a flattened diamond cross-pattern. The blade became mangeled during the "Judas Contract" incident and HIVE re-cast it in Type-II, or "Volatile," Promethium—a dangerous mutagen capable of absorbing unlimited amounts of energy—which Deathstroke  stole from S.T.A.R. Labs. It is suspected that particle bleed may have played a role in activating dormant metagenes in Slade's children. The blade cannot be damaged or destroyed by any known means.

An additional piece of information about the sword was revealed during a flashback scene in Deathstroke (2016) #9 when one of the other card players explained that the sword was eventually named "Deathstroke" as illustrated in the image below.

Slade Wilson seated at the bottom of the page...and the rest is history.
Art by Cary Nord

Slade used the sword for years, but it was all but destroyed during the events of the "Judas Contract." As described by Priest in the quote from above, when H.I.V.E. repaired the sword they added the super-metal Promethium giving it extra-physical properties (think of Promethium as a combination of Marvel Comics' Adamantium and Vibranium). The sword became virtually indestructible and capable of cutting any substance. It also gained incredible energy absorption abilities, the limits of which have yet to be seen. The sword's new abilities are illustrated below.

Deathstroke's Promethium sword is capable of cutting Superman
Art by Carlo Pagulayan

The sword can easily handle Superman's powerful heat vision.
Art by Carlo Pagulayan.

So to recap:

• The sword was originally called Scrymgeour, named for the medieval Scottish clan to whom the warriors that wielded it belonged.
• The sword was eventually renamed "Deathstroke," and was, therefore, the inspiration for Slade Wilson's professional nom de guerre.
• Slade won the sword in a card game. The sword-winning hand was a full house of queens and nines.
• The sword's extra-physical properties, granted by the super-metal, Promethium, make the sword indestructible, capable of absorbing massive amounts of energy, and may be partially responsible to the emergence of superpowers in Slade's children, Joseph (Jericho) and Rose Wilson.

TOOLS OF THE TERMINATOR: The Ikon Suit

When the character designs for the DC Rebirth Deathstroke series by ACO were released, it was assumed by many that the new, streamlined look was simply a cosmetic choice designed to differentiate the series' look from the heavily armored, Liefeldish motif used in prior series. But, in issue #2 of Deathroke (2016), the world was introduced to the "Ikon Suit."

The Ikon Suit was designed by Deathstroke's former special ops associate, David Isherwood. Once Isherwood presented the prototype suit to him, Slade casually dismissed using it, instead choosing just to store it in a footlocker. Isherwood would go one to perfect a version of the suit, which he used to fight crime in Canada as the hero Doctor Ikon. Isherwood's completed suit would find its way to Jericho, Isherwood's former lover, after Isherwood's apparent suicide. Jericho continues to use Isherwood's own suit for his own superhero activities. Slade would later be manipulated into donning his prototype Ikon Suit complete with an artificial intelligence system programmed with his old friend, Wintergreen's, voice and personality, which Isherwood included simply to irritate Slade. Deathstroke now wears an upgraded version of his Ikon Suit.

According to the encyclopedia entry on the DC Universe streaming service, the “'Ikon' suit absorbs kinetic energy and blocks it, making it impervious to bullets or the fist of a superhuman opponent."

The Ikon Suit in action against Superman

Art by Carlo Pagulayan

The FANDOM-hosted DC Database provides even more details:

The Ikon Suit is a gravity sheath, a point defense system which creates a gravitational tidal effect: the greater the surface area, the weaker the defense shield. The suit is virtually impenetrable against anything around the size of a human fist. It is controlled by gestures — along with the EEG (Electroencephalography) leads in the mask. By overclocking the system, one can even attain flight. The suit also has a sophisticated A.I. programmed into it. The Ikon suit also has a major drawback: each suits' programming can be manipulated by any other suit with the master programming. This allows one Ikon suit user to activate or deactivate other suits at their discretion.

Another fault point of the Ikon is it's [sic] Gravity Sheathe can be disrupted and penetrated by Inertron, a heat and light absorbent material that has anti-gravity properties which easily enable it to penetrate it's [sic] point defense shield. Dr. Isherwood developed the Ikon Suit for Deathstroke. He gave the prototype a glance and tossed it into his footlocker, not taking their work seriously at first. A more advanced version of the Ikon Suit is currently worn by Slade, while Jericho proceeded to use the model that Ikon wore.

In any event, Deathstroke's Ikon Suit is one of the cooler additions to the Terminator's mythos.


UPDATE: This post was originally titled "Ikonic: Deathstroke's Ikon Suit."

Deathstroke (2016) Rebirth #1 Out Today!

Deathstroke Rebirth #1 cover art
by ACO

I don't generally like to promote products for companies that are capable of doing it themselves, but today I'll make an exception. Deathstroke (2016) Rebirth #1 is available now. This issue marks the long-awaited writing debut of Christopher Priest on Deathstroke. Priest has vowed to rebuild the Deathstroke mythos and it all starts here as the solicitation copy teases...

"A thousand enemies, a thousand kills-Deathstroke is the world’s greatest assassin. Stalked by an unseen foe, Slade Wilson is confronted by his own troubled past and challenged to reinvent himself before he loses everything and everyone in his life. Can Deathstroke be redeemed? Or will his addiction to violence destroy him?"

Deathstroke (2016) Rebirth #1 lays the groundwork for the new series that begins with Deathstroke (2016) #1 available on August 24th, and continues twice monthly thereafter. This looks to be the start of a special run for the world's greatest mercenary/assassin.

Deathstroke and Ravager's DC Rebirth Redesigns

The artist ACO has redesigned the looks of both Slade and Rose/Ravager for the DC Rebirth relaunch of Deathstroke's title. As one can see below, ACO has ditched Leifeld's bulky 90s Youngblood-style armored look for Slade in favor of a sleeker, more modern look. Darker blues with dashes of orange are the idea here featuring streamlined gear and weaponry with the trademark half-black mask/helmet is still intact. Yet with the mask/helmet removed from the new attire, Slade looks less like a middle-aged super-merc and more like a surfer dude in a wetsuit looking to catch a wave. I kid, but I really am digging these redesigns.

This says, "I am modern warfare!"

This says, "Cowabunga, dudes!"

ACO's take on Ravager's new look is clearly inspired by 2016 fitness fashion as Rose is sporting a racerback top, workout shoes, and...wait for it...YOGA PANTS! This is easily my favorite Rebirth redesign and the best one since Batgirl of Burnside. This is exactly what my teenage daughter would wear if she were a trained killer.

Fashionable, functional, fatal.

She just finished a workout and didn't have time to put on her mask before killing you.

This time she went with the mask, but not the upper body armor. A great choice for showing off abs, but not for mortal combat.