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President Matthew Bland of Buredunia
Art by Carlo Pagulayan |
After a celebrated tenure at Marvel Comics, writer, Christopher Priest, came aboard the re-launched Deathstroke title in 2016. In his first issue,
Deathstroke Rebirth (2016) #1, Priest (with penciler, Carlo Pagulayan) introduced a new on-again, off-again ally/client for Slade in the form of the despotic President-for-Life of the small African nation of Buredunia, Matthew Bland, aka "
Ja Zaki," aka the Red Lion.
At first, it seemed that the Red Lion was simply Priest taking a good-natured shot at his former employer and the character with whom he was so closely associated: The Black Panther. The similarities were obvious; intelligent leaders of African nations that wished to avoid wider global contact, who also took on alter egos inspired by predatory big cats, and donned suits of armor derived from super metals with extraordinary properties. But the similarities end there as the Black Panther and The Red Lion are entirely different characters.
When we first see Bland, he had hired Deathstroke to rig a Congressional election in favor of the incumbent, Dennis Hargrove, as Hargrove regularly worked to block US intervention in African nations like Buredunia. Without US interference, Bland was free to further consolidate his presidential power by orchestrating the ethnic genocide of Islamic rebels.
Another reason for Deathstroke's presence in Buredunia was to fulfill a contract on the life of the Clock King, who was under Bland's protection. Once Bland was assured of Slade's compliance in the Hargrove election, he then allowed Deathstroke to pursue the Clock King, but not without his hand-picked escorts. As Deathstroke and the escorts reach the Clock King's location, Bland's men begged for their lives and the lives of their sons because
Ja Zaki could not have any witnesses that he broke his promise to protect the Clock King nor could he allow their sons to grow up to one day seek revenge. An unsympathetic Deathstroke told his escorts that they had killed their sons the second they put on their uniforms to serve their president.
Slade entered the building Where the Clock King was held, but just as Slade was about to land the literal death stroke, Clock King bought himself some valuable time when he uttered the word "Kenilworth," which was a code word that meant that someone that Slade cared for was in mortal danger and needed to be rescued. Clock King informed Deathstroke that this "loved one" was being held close by.
Slade left the Clock King and demanded all the cash the men had as payment on a contract to protect the escorts and their families from Bland. With further intel from the Clock King himself, Slade made his way to the rebel camp that was holding his "loved one." The rebels were aware that Bland had often hired Deathstroke, so Slade removed his Promethium armor and placed it on a corpse so that his escorts (and new clients) could prove that they had turned their backs on
Ja Zaki because they claimed that Bland had their sons killed, thereby gaining entry to the rebel camp. Deathstroke, without his armor, would infiltrate the camp and rescue a rather perturbed Wintergreen.
Wintergreen told Slade that when he was captured, those responsible also took his old weapons locker. At the bottom of this locker was the prototype Ikon Suit. After Slade donned the suit, Wintergreen shot him to charge the suit, showed him to a motorcycle in storage, and the two old friends made their escape. When they met up with Slade's escorts, the corpse they had used to fool the guards was gone. The escorts told Slade that they threw the corpse into the river bed, along with Slade's Promethium armor to throw the rebels off their trail. Deducing that the Clock King would next move on
Ja Zaki, Deathstroke, Wintergreen, and the escorts raced back to the presidential palace.
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The Red Lion in the Promethium armor
Art by Cary Nord |
Slade's contract with the escorts required him to save Bland from the Clock King as his death would further destabilize Buredunia, putting the escorts' families in danger. Deathstroke killed the Clock King, fulfilling that contract and threatened Bland that he would be back to deal with him if any harm came to the escorts or to their families, thus fulfilling that contract. Bland was furious with Slade as Congressman Hargrove had committed suicide (after Slade had mailed him evidence of his homosexuality, which would have ended his political career). Deathstroke pointed out that his contract was for Hargrove's re-election, not his continued existence, and thus that contract was also fulfilled.
Despite the coming US intervention to his country, Bland had accomplished his real objective for which he was handsomely paid; forcing Slade to operate in the Ikon Suit. Furthermore,
Ja Zaki recovered the lost Promethium armor and customized it to better suit his Red Lion persona. Adding new features to the armor (such as rocket boots based upon the designs of Steel) the Red Lion has accomplished some impressive feats including rescuing Deathstroke from Federal custody, acquiring an aircraft carrier formerly owned by a drug lord, defeating the Justice Leaguer, Cyborg, in combat, and manipulating the League into looking like a belligerent, aggressor to the entire world for "attacking" his small African nation.
The Red Lion freely admits that he and Deathstroke are not friends, but one has to admit that things sure get interesting when these two get together (professionally, of course).
