Priest's Pastiches Part Two: Death Masque

Death Masque (with a "q)
Art by Fernando Pasarin
& Carlo Pagulayan 

Christopher Priest's current run on Deathstroke (2016) is easily one of the finest that the character has ever had. The most recent story arc, "Arkham," could be accurately described as equal parts action adventure and gaslit head trip. But Priest's "Arkham" introduced a pretty cool, yet familiar (and I mean really familiar) new addition to the Deathstroke supporting cast in the form of Death Masque ("with a 'q'").

To set the stage for Death Masque's debut without spoilers, I'll just say that Slade found himself a patient/inmate at Arkham Asylum after being declared criminally insane. Once inside, Slade is drugged to the extent that his reflexes and rapid healing abilities are compromised, In addition, even though Slade can still hear Wintergreen's simulated voice via an implant containing his Ikon Suit AI, he was told repeatedly by Arkham staff that the implant doesn't exist and instead the voices that he hears are nothing more than hallucinations. During a holographic virtual group therapy session with some of Arkham's most notorious residents (Mr. Freeze, Dr. Destiny, Prof. Hugo Strange, Victor Zsasz, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum), session leader, Dr. Candace Evans, asked Slade if he could hear Wintergreen at that moment. Slade replied that his combat AI implant was not compatible with the group therapy system, making it appear that he was making excuses with his sanity looking to be further in question. But one member of the therapy group appeared to be more than a little out of place amongst Gotham's murderous elite, was a young man known only as Devon.

Devon began the session having a bit of fun (at least unwelcomed by Dr. Evans) by assuming the virtual form of Harley Quinn. Devon assumes a his "true" form and claims to the group that he has been in hiding inside Arkham for 87 years, with the exception of his recent "zapping" to the planet, Pulor where he was the subject of, what one must assume was unwanted experimentation. Later in the session when Slade asked the group that if given the chance, would anyone not kill him, only Devon raised his hand in the affirmative. Later when trying to escape, Slade encountered Devon, who was also keen to escape. Upon reaching the asylum grounds, both Slade and Devon were caught in an apparent Zeta beam and transported to who knows where.

Death Masque after accidentally
scaring an old man to death.
Art by Fernando Pasarin

When we next see Slade, he is laying on the floor of his cell dazed from the drugs used to pacify him. Dr. Evans visits his cell to check up on him. Slade asked the doctor how he got back to Arkham, but she informed him that not only had he not left Arkham, but that he had been there for 23 straight days. Slade told Dr. Evans that he had been gone to two weeks fighting the Pulorians with Dev, only for her to ask, "Who's Dev?" To prove he is not insane, Slade guided Dr. Evans and a security force along the route he used to escape, only this time there was a brick wall blocking the way. At this point, Slade was questioning his own sanity. But Dev...well...

Dev is next seen very much on the outside of Arkham Asylum searching for Deathstroke, but he is wearing a strange black and white amalgamation of Deathstroke's costume with a suspiciously looking ill-fitting cowl, not unlike that of Marvel's own resident #*&%@$$, Deadpool, and is calling himself Death Masque ("with a 'q'"). Death Masque next locates Slade's son-in-law, Hosun, (but not before he inadvertently triggered an old man's heart attack by appearing full costume in his bedroom due to breaking in a house at the wrong address) to aid in his search for him and the rest of the story can be found in Priest's recently completed "Arkham" story arc.

Death Masque is definitely the most "meta" character that Priest has introduced into Deathstroke's mythos. With his quick quips and his propensity to break the fourth wall, Death Masque is an obvious parody of Marvel Comics' Deathstroke rip-off, Deadpool. But Priest's use of Death Masque works at the story-level and at the meta-commentary level as well. Priest uses his own Marvel past to reference his stints on both Deadpool and Black Panther to really great comedic effect, which a title like Deathstroke needs from time-to-time. One particular battle scene, pictured below, is such an overt meta-reference to Priest's own Deadpool writing debut, that Death Masque himself ponders the possibility of a Marvel lawsuit just for mentioning it. Other meta-zingers include declaring"Wakanda forever," after calling Dr. Evans "hot," addressing Deathstroke, "Mr. Liefold," as an obvious nod to Deadpool's "creator" Rob Liefeld, and even while criticizing Slade himself after they both got caught in a Zeta beam by declaring that, "This is why you'll never get a movie!" I won't spoil the remainder of Death Masque's misadventures with Deathstroke as "Arkham" concluded, but let's just say I can't wait for more of Death Masque's brand of...heroics? We'll go with heroics.

Death Masque channeling Christopher Priest and his Marvel past.
Art by Fernando Pasarin & Carlo Pagulayan

Priest's Pastiches Part One: The Red Lion

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.

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).