Justice League's Jarro Dreams of Deathstroke

Move over (Insert the name of a flash in the pan character here), the newest comic book sensation is here and he's adorable...in a way. During Justice League: No Justice (2018), one of the villains that Brainiac recruited for his grand plan was Starro the Conqueror, an immense, telepathic starfish-like alien that had been a menace to the Justice League from its earliest days. Starro was seemingly killed in an act of apparent self-sacrifice when it was literally ripped apart by one of the Omega Titans. Flash forward to Justice League (2018) #10, Batman reveals that he has a literally new crime-fighting assistant in the form of a fragment of the original Starro, which had grown a miniature body of its own. Batman cleverly named this new partner "Jarro," as he was kept in a jar, and was using the newly independent alien telepath for some completely necessary psychic probing.

Batman and...son?
Art by Francis Manipul

But a funny thing happened between Batman and his new assistant, Jarro. Thought Jarro was capable of the same cosmic-level telepathy as Starro, he was basically an infant from a developmental standpoint. As Batman was the first individual with whom the "newborn" Jarro had seen, it imprinted upon Batman, much the way newly hatched goslings and ducklings do with the first animal that they see that is larger than themselves. As a result, Jarro thinks of himself as human (at least so far) and sees Batman as his "Dad." As a result, Jarro has displayed a rather adorable tendency want to please Batman and actively seeks his approval in everything he does.

Another of Jarro's lovable attributes is that he wants more than anything to not just become a Robin for Batman, but he wants to be the best Robin that Batman could ever have. This desire is wonderfully illustrated in Justice League #20 in the form of a dream sequence that begins with Batman giving chase to none other than Deathstroke. Deathstroke is on the verge of escaping an exhausted Batman when he calls for an assist from Robin. Jarro, clad in full Robin regalia, gleefully responds to Batman request with "On it, Dad!" Robin the Star Wonder then affixed himself to Deathstroke's face and subdued the world's greatest assassin with little effort. Batman is so pleased with his son's performance that he tells Jarro that he is his "favorite Robin ever" just as Jarro awakens.

Jarro dreamed that Batman needs his help to take down the dastardly
Deathstroke thus cementing, in his imagination, his place as Batman's
favorite Robin from JusticeLeague (2018) #20.
Art by Jorge Jimenez

It's unknown if Jarro will ever attain his heart's desire of full-fledged Robinhood, but it is worth noting that even in the idealized world of Jarro's dreams, Deathstroke is recognized as a challenge too big for even Batman to handle alone.

DEATHSTROKE COVERED: Deathstroke the Terminator (1991) #6 by Mike Zeck

For this edition of DEATHSTROKE COVERED, we turn to the 1991 cover to Deathstroke the Terminator (1991) #6 by Mike Zeck. This issue was the first chapter of the "City of Assassins" story arc that saw Deathstroke make his way to Gotham City to ferret out another assassin who was taking out Gotham mob bosses. What was special about this story was that it marked the first-ever confrontation between Deathstroke and Gotham's own Dark Knight, Batman. This landmark moment was not lost on Zeck as he rendered Deathstroke on a rooftop gargoyle, a usual haunt of Batman, in the middle of a storm-filled night. Deathstroke's pose beneath the specter of the Bat Signal conveys that he knows a confrontation with Batman is inevitable, but that he is more than ready to take down the Caped Crusader in his own city. Given the result of their first physical altercation, he was absolutely right to think so.

Art by Mike Zeck

Deathstroke vs. Deadshot: The War of Jokes and Riddles

In 2017, Tom King brought the world a previously unknown early tale of Batman and the bloody conflict that pushed both him and Gotham City to their limits as the Joker and the Riddler squared off in the twisted "War of Jokes and Riddles." The two villains declared war on one another for both control of Gotham and the bragging rights of destroying the other criminal mastermind. In one particularly savage battle of the war, the two master assassins, Deathstroke (Team Riddler) and Deadshot (Team Joker), battled one another for the honor of eliminating Batman. Even though the two elite mercenaries fought one another to a virtual standstill, they still managed to kill 108 innocent Gothamites as collateral damage after five solid days of carnage. It took Batman to put their savage combat to an end. Posted below are images of the brutal battle between Deathstroke and Deadshot from Batman (2016) #28 featuring art by Mikel Janín. Keep an eye out for a bit of an "oopsie" in the pages below.

Does anyone else notice that Deathstroke is "looking" through the scope
with the side of his head that has no eye? Oops.

Oops, again.

BATMAN vs DEATHSTROKE (2016) Fan Film by Crime Alley Studios

A dedicated group of Italian filmmakers and cosplayers, known as Crime Alley Studios, released what they describe as a "No-Profit (and Budget Zero)" fan film that features a throwdown between the Dark Knight and the world's deadliest assassin. With a runtime of just under four minutes, Batman vs Deathstroke (2016) is very short, but it is clear from the tone, the costuming (of Deathstroke, at least), the fight choreography and that this was indeed a passion project. Crime Alley Studios' YouTube page says to "Please share the video," so you'll find it posted below along with two trailers (one spotlighting Deathstroke and the other one Batman) and a behind-the-scenes video. The audio is in Italian, so if you can't speak it, be sure to turn on the closed captioning for the following videos.

Happy Batman Day 2016!

HAPPY BATMAN DAY! I know what you're thinking, "Hey, this is a Deathstroke blog. Why are you making such a big deal about Batman Day?" There are three reasons.

1. Batman is an important foundational character to not only my favorite comic book publisher, DC Comics, but to the entire comic book industry as a whole.
2. Batman is cool and I like him!
3. No Batman, no Deathstroke. The line of logic goes as follows.
• Batman created in 1939.
• Batman gets Robin as a partner in 1940.
• Robin joins original Teen Titans in 1964.
• Marv Wolfman and George Pérez reunite Robin with former Teen Titans teammates and some newcomers to form the New Teen Titans in 1980.
• With Robin/the future Nightwing specifically in mind, Wolfman and Pérez create Deathstroke the Terminator as an "evil Batman" figure to be a major adversary for the New Teen Titans. The rest is history.

So, thank you Batman for being so awesome that Ben Affleck and Geoff Johns wanted a total badass character like Deathstroke to fight you in your movie.

Why Pick Deathstroke For Affleck's Batman Movie? Because This!

I was talking to a young comics fan the other day who didn't understand why the internet was quote, "crapping their pants about Deathstroke," after the now famous Affleck Tweet. "That old guy from Arrow, right?" he asked. "That's pretty weak bro," he said. He hadn't played Arkham Origins, but had played Arkham Knight, which left him less than impressed with Mr. Wilson. I then showed him the same five images that I'm posting below from Deathstroke the Terminator (1991) #7, which he had never read before. After a literal double take, the young man simply responded with, "Dog, that's sick!" I don't know for sure, but I think that I (like Deathstroke) won.

Deathstroke in Lego's DC Comics Super Heroes: The Batboat Harbor Pursuit Playset

In Legoland, everything is awesome because Deathstroke is the featured villain in the Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Batboat Harbor Pursuit playset. This set retails for around $29.00  and features three figures, two vehicles, and one heck of a good time. All photos and product details and descriptions below are from Lego.com.

Divide the Batboat to ambush Deathstroke!

Deathstroke has stolen diamonds from the bank and is escaping with the loot on his heavily-armored jetboat. Place Batman™ and Robin in the cockpits of the Batboat at Gotham City harbor and set off in high-speed pursuit. Open up the secret radar tower and examine the control screens to track the jetboat. Evade the jetboat’s flick missiles and swerve to avoid Deathstroke’s super-jumping attempts to knock down the radar. Then activate the split function to launch the super heroes’ hoverboats, ambush the villain and reclaim the safe with the jewels. Includes 3 minifigures with accessories: Batman, Deathstroke and Robin.

• Batboat features 2 split-function hoverboats each with opening cockpits and a stud shooter, 2 flick missiles, secret radar tower with explode function, minifigure seat and control screens, giant batwings, Batman emblem logo and translucent elements
• Deathstroke’s jetboat features a saddle, integrated Super Jumper, 2 flick torpedo missiles, 2 weapon holders with a gun and sword, and a safe with a chain and 2 diamond elements
• Accessories include capes for Batman and Robin
• Fold out the secret radar tower to track Deathstroke
• Evade the jetboat’s flick torpedo missiles!
• Stop super-jumping Deathstroke taking out the radar tower
• Launch Batman and Robin in the split-function hover boats!
• Reclaim the stolen diamonds from the safe!
• Batboat (with hover boats attached) measures over 6” (16cm) high, 9” (23cm) long and 5” (13cm) wide
• Deathstroke’s jetboat measures over 1” (3cm) high, 3” (10cm) long and 2”(7cm) wide
• Hover boats each measure over 1” (4cm) high, 3” (9cm) long and 1” (5cm) wide

Deathstroke's Arkham Origins GCPD Bulletin and Other Goodies

The Collector's Edition of Batman: Arkham Origins had some pretty neat extras. In addition to the Deathstroke Challenge Pack there were a number of artifacts included that shed some light on different aspects of the game, such as a GCPD wanted poster for Batman, a technical schematic for the Batwing, a map of Gotham that glows in the dark, a photo of the Wayne family in happier times, etc. But some of the cooler items included pertained to Black Mask hiring the eight assassins to kill Batman. Deathstroke was one of the killers hired (and probably the hardest one to deal with in the game) and the Collectors Edition featured a GCPD Bulletin for Deathstroke as well as a copy of assassination contract offered by Black Mask, both of which are pictured below in addition to other goodies. As always, to see the full-sized image, open it in a new tab.

GCPD Bulletin for Deathstroke

The contract envelope

An unsigned copy of the contract

A personal message from Black Mask