Priest Confirms Departure From Deathstroke (2016) After Issue #50

"'Deathstroke: RIP' will, however, have at least one permanent casualty -- me. The story arc will be my last for Rebirth Deathstroke as I take my bow with the double-sized issue #50."

Deathstroke super-scribe, Christopher Priest

The above quote is from current Deathstroke (2016) writer, Christopher Priest, confirming his departure from the series to CBR.com's Tim Adams (Click here to read the full article). Priest killed off Slade Wilson in the final issue of the "Terminus Agenda" story arc setting up "Deathstroke: RIP" in which his children, Rose and Joseph, come into conflict from the ways that they deal with their father's death. Rose wants revenge and to preserve Deathstroke's professional honor while Joseph wishes to distance himself from his villainous father by becoming the best hero he can be.

Undoubtedly, Priest has left the most indelible impact on both Deathstroke and his mythos since his legendary co-creator, Marv Wolfman. The welcome return of Wintergreen, the incredible Ikon Suit, the comingled origins of his trademark sword and his infamous nom de guerre, a Black Panther-reminiscent frenemy in the Red Lion, a Deadpool-adjacent ally in Death Masque (with a "Q"), a genuine "evil twin" variety villain in Doctor Ikon were all welcome additions to the assassin's canon. Most importantly, Priest readjusted the character locus of Deathstroke so that he was first and foremost a villain and not some ersatz anti-hero. Priest's story "Chicago" from Deathstroke #11, which addressed street-level gun violence in America, has been hailed as a modern classic.

Priest took Deathstroke, that many people wrote off as only a full-throttle action villain and wrote the character intelligently, with depth, nuance, sophistication, and dare I say....humanity (admittedly the darker side of humanity). Many writers took the straight action approach with Deathstroke, and it can work for him, but Priest turned the world of Deathstroke into one of international intrigue and mystery, which was more closely related to James Bond adventures than, say, the standard mindless Stallone/Schwarzenegger fare. Priest artfully and adeptly crafted rivetting "cat and mouse" games played with the likes of Batman, Superman, Adeline Kane, Doctor Ikon, the Red Lion, the Justice League, the Secret Society (of Super-Villains), Two-Face, and Hugo Strange. Priest portrayed Deathstroke and a cold-blooded killer, but not an inhuman one. Though he was never comfortable expressing positive emotionality, Preist showed during the "The Professional" and "Defiance" arcs that Slade Wilson was capable of loving Rose and Joseph and caring about other young heroes like Kid-Flash and Power Girl, though he ultimately sabotaged those relationships in an effort to save them all from the pain and suffering that he felt he would inevitably bring them.

All told, Priest's run with Deathstroke is one of the best that the character has ever been honored to have. I'm sad that Priest is moving on as I feel that he has considerably raised Deathstroke's stock as a character and elevated his overall gravitas as one of the most dangerous forces in the DC Universe. The only good news is that Priest has six more issues remaining on Deathstroke (#s 45-50), one of which being double-sized, to which I am eagerly looking forward. Furthermore, Priest is set to begin a run on a new volume of Vampirella (2019) for Dynamite Entertainment this July, which I will definitely be including on my pull list.

Though Priest confirmed his departure from the series, it is unknown at this time if the Deathstroke title itself will end with #50 or if it will continue on with a new creative team. Whatever the case may be, given Deathstroke's involvement with season two of DC Universe's Titans and CW Seed's development of a Deathstroke animated series I think that there is indeed a bright future in store for Deathstroke in DC Comics going forward.

Conflicting Clues Concerning the New Deathstroke.

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.....

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. 

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.

SHADES OF SLADE: Flashpoint's Pirate Deathstroke

Yesterday's post on the Deathstroke Files titled, "DEATHSTROKE COVERED: Joe Bennett and John Dell's Flashpoint: Deathstroke And The Curse of the Ravager (2011) #1," began the spotlight on DC Comics' pirate version of Deathstroke from Flashpoint. Today's SHADES of SLADE post takes a closer look at the alternate Slade Wilson, who was both a scourge of the high seas and a devoted father on a mission.

The Flashpoint Crisis (the fifth of the DC Multiverse's seven official crises), began as the Flash, Barry Allen," in a moment of weakness, attempted to go back in time to prevent his mother from ever being murdered at the hands of Eobard Thawn, aka the Reverse-Flash, aka Professor Zoom. While the Flash succeeded in saving his mother, he also fundamentally changed reality in such a way that while some vestiges of the world he knew where still present, the new status quo had become a nightmare version of Earth-0.

In the new reality of the Flashpoint Crisis, though Barry Allen's mother was alive, Allen himself never acquired superspeed powers thus never became the Flash. Gotham City's Joe Chill did gun down Martha Wayne in Crime Alley, but instead of killing her husband Thomas, Chill murdered her son, Bruce, thus putting Thomas Wayne on the path to becoming a callous and brutal incarnation of Batman. Instead of being raised in the loving arms of a young Kansas farm couple, an infant Kryptonian refugee instead fell into the hands of Gen. Sam Lane who looked at the child as nothing more than a lab specimen ordering experiments to be conducted on the child, depriving him of the humanity necessary for him to become the planet's greatest hero. Wonder Woman and Aquaman were not heroic allies in this reality, but instead were superpowered tyrants engaged in a devastating war, which resulted in the Amazons conquering and annexing the United Kingdon and the cataclysmic sinking of Western Europe into the Atlantic Ocean by Atlantis.

But the global chaos of Arthur and Diana's war brought opportunity to some willing and able to grasp it as a new age of metahuman pirates was unleashed on the high seas. One such metahuman was Deathstroke, Captain of the pirate ship, the Ravager. Deathstroke is an infamous pirate with a well-deserved reputation for brutality, but that reputation is an honorable one. Deathstroke doesn't kill unless it is necessary to do a job and he honors all of his fallen crew members with a dignified burial. Honor is especially important when it comes to his pirate rivals as evidenced from his battles with Travis Morgan, the Warlord to whom he refers as his "esteemed enemy." When he defeated the Warlord on his second ship, the Skartaris, Deathstroke expressed pleasure when Morgan had escaped because he desired a rematch because so he could take the Warlord out on his best ship, the Tara, because "anything less just seems unfair."

Deathstroke, Captain of the Ravager, along with members of his crew,
Clayface, King Shark, Icicle, and Briggs.
Art by Joe Bennett

Though he and his crew were pirates out for loot and plunder, Deathstroke had a more pressing agenda. His daughter Rose had been taken captive and his mission was to recover her. The reason that Deathstroke and his crew engaged the Warlord was that Slade had intel that Morgan was transporting a metahuman female in a containment pod, whom he hoped was Rose. I turned out that the pod did have a young female, but it was not Rose, but a young woman named Jenny Blitz, whom I assume was the Flashpoint reality's iteration of the Wildstorm Universe's Jenny Sparks. I won't spoil the remainder of the story, but suffice it to say that more swashbuckling, mutiny, double-crosses, death, and, yes love are all yet to come in this tale (and no I didn't spoil anything, I simply enumerated the required elements of every single pirate story, including this one).

One interesting tidbit about Flashpoint's pirate Deathstroke is that this version also had some legs to it outside of its initial three-issue miniseries. Pirate Deathstroke has made more than one cosplay appearance at different conventions and even at Halloween since his 2011 debut. He even appeared in a short scene from the animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) voiced by Teen Titans' (2003) Slade voice actor, Ron Perlman. Pirate Deathstroke's look was such a hit that NetherRealm Studios included a Flashpoint Deathstroke skin in a DLC pack. Flashpoint Deathstroke received much love from the fans, and never once had to resort to the worn out "Yar, me maties," shtick. Though, if he wanted to do so, he could have pulled that off too.

Flashpoint Deathstroke skin from the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us.

Ravager (and More) Costume Leak from DC Universe's Titans Season Two

Images from DC Universe's Titans season two have begun to leak. Of particular interest to Deathstroke fans is an image circulating that seems to depict Chelsea Zhang in what appears to be a costume fitting for her Ravager gear. Though the image is from behind and does not show her face, it was leaked on the same day as costume test images for Conor Leslie as Donna Troy and Anna Diop as Starfire.  To be honest, when Geoff Johns said that Titan's would feature a "different" version of Deathstroke, I was a little worried that he would be a "criminal mastermind" type that wore civies, but after seeing Zhang's costume, I'm breathing a bit easier. If the image below is legitimate, Zhang's Ravager design for Titans strongly resembles the character's established look from prior to the New 52. The leaked Titans image and a pre-New 52 Ravager image are posted below for comparison.

Chelsea Zhang being outfitted in her Ravager costume for
Titans season two.

Reference art for Ravager's pre-New 52 look

Also leaked were images for Conor Leslie's Donna Troy costume and Anna Diop's Starfire. Both test images for Leslie and Diop are posted below.

Donna Troy (portrayed by Conor Leslie) costume test image

Starfire (portrayed by Anna Diop) costume test image

Titans season two is set to premiere on DC Universe in late 2019.

DEATHSTROKE BY: ColourOnly85

There are times that I am in awe of the kind of work that can be found on DeviantArt, and the pieces I have posted below qualify as some of that work. A UK artist identified only as ColourOnly85 has produced a large, and I mean a large collection of vector abstracts depicting a plethora of DC Comics characters both heroes and villains. I have posted seven of these inspired pieces below that are in some way related to Deathstroke the Terminator. Be sure to check out ColourOnly85's DeviantArt Gallery at this link for more examples of his work.

84 Deathstroke

169 Ravager

101 Damian Wayne

48 Cheshire

20 Nightwing

12 Green Arrow

15 Deadshot

The Teen Titans Go! Rose Wilson Funko POP! #582 Toys R Us Exclusive Figure

I fully admit that I missed the boat on this bit of Deathstroke-related fun when it came out, but I thought that I would cover it anyway. In 2018, Funko released a set of POP! figures based on the Teen Titans Go! television series airing on Cartoon Network. Figure number 582 is the lethally adorable Rose Wilson. What made some figures like Rose's special was that select ones were sold exclusively at Toys "Я" Us stores. Unfortunately, their exclusivity meant that not many were produced and they have since sold out. But, eagle-eyed collectors can still find some for sale on the secondary market online. Happy (figure) hunting!

DEATHSTROKE BY: Deathstroke The Terminator (1991) Artist, Steve Erwin!

For nearly a decade, from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Steve Erwin was a mainstay artist for DC Comics. After a year working for First Comics, Erwin joined DC in 1987 to pencil the final three issues of Vigilante (1983). Erwin was then chosen to pencil the new series, Checkmate (1987) based upon the clandestine DC spy organization. After doing art for 25 issues of Checkmate, Erwin penciled various fill-in issues, one of which was the 1990 Deathstroke solo adventure in The New Titans (1984) #70, which served as a trial run for a future Deathstroke series. The issue was so well-received by fans that, the following year, Erwin was tabbed to launch Deathstroke the Terminator (1991) with Deathstroke co-creator, the legendary Marv Wolfman. Because of his work in this title, Erwin became the definitive Deathstroke artist for the early-to-mid 1990s penciling the landmark "Full Cycle," "City of Assassins," "Nuclear Winter," and "World Tour" storylines. Posted below are some pencil and ink pieces by Erwin that draw upon his Vigilante, Checkmate, and Deathstroke the Terminator past. As always, for best viewing results, open each image into its own tab.

An unmasked Deathstroke
Art by Steve Erwin

Peacemaker, Deathstroke, the Vigilante, and a Checkmate Knight
Art by Steve Erwin

DC Angels
 The Ravager, Vigilante, and Black Thorn
Art by Steve Erwin

DEATHSTROKE COVERED: Nightwing (1996) #113 by Hester and Parks

To say that Deathstroke's relationship with Nightwing is complicated is an understatement. Originally their relationship was simple as Deathstroke wanted to kill the former Robin and the all of Teen Titans after he assumed the H.I.V.E. contract of the original Ravager (his son, Grant) when he died battling the team. Over time their relationship has ranged from an uneasy alliance to full-on teammates, and then back to being at each other's throats. At one of the more amicable times in their history, Slade arranged for Nightwing to train his daughter, Rose, the fourth Ravager to act in a more heroic/controlled manner than she had to that point. The cover to Nightwing (1996) #113 alludes to this arrangement with the text "Deathstroke's Dark Knight," but the art conveys the notion that something deeper is in play as Deathstroke literally has Nightwing in the palm of his hand. This cover was brought to us by penciler, Phil Hester and inker, Andre Parks. The cover is posted below both with and without title graphics.

Art by Phil Hester and Andre Parks

DC Universe's Titans Gets Their Rose Wilson: Chelsea Zhang

Titans' Chelsea Zhang
Image Source: IMBd

DC Universe's Titans' season two casting has really kicked into high gear. In the past eight days, Titan's has cast Esai Morales as Slade Wilson, Chella Man as Joseph Wilson, and yesterday announced that the role of Rose Wilson will be played by Chelsea Zhang. Zhang has acting credits for Disney Channel's Andi Mack, the made for TV movie The Cheerleader Murders, and the feature films, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Relish.

According to her IMDb page, Zhang "qualified for the US figure skating Junior Nationals" at 12 years of age. "In high school, Chelsea was a varsity cheerleader, VP of the Junior Honors Society, and Dance Committee Director." She entered "college at age 16 on a presidential scholarship," graduating, "from USC with a business administration degree from the Marshall School of Business."

Congratulations to Chelsea Zhang from the Deathstroke Files. I'm sure she will do an outstanding job!

Wilson Family Casting Call for Titans Season Two

It seems that Slade Wilson and his two surviving children are slated to appear in the upcoming season two of DC Universe's Titans. The show's producers have put out casting calls for the following:

The family, Wilson is coming to Titans season two
Image Source: DC Comics

• Jericho: "Male, 21-24, Mixed Latino or Mixed Asian. As a young boy, Max was a kind-hearted soul who never measured up to the expectations of his domineering military father. Bullied by his peers, he retreated even further inward." The description for the part continues that "He’s a misfit who’s always longed for acceptance and love, but never found it, always suffering betrayal by those he dared to believe in most. As a result, he’s grown into a young man who now longs to inflict pain on all those who have caused him pain..." The producers go on to state that, "Because of the context of the role, we would really like to look for actors who are deaf or hard of hearing, and are fluent in ASL."
• Slade Wilson: "Latinx, Asian or Caucasian men between the ages of 40 and 55" to play "a military man with a family but whose demanding nature tore that family apart" and is "a dedicated and patriotic soldier," but at some point was forced to retire from military service. 
• Rose Wilson: "Latino or mixed Asian actress between the ages of 18 and 21" to play “a strong, yet damaged woman looking to put her past behind her and find a new family to replace the one that her father destroyed.”

Titans season two is scheduled to begin filming in February 2019.

DEATHSTROKE COVERED: DC Bombshells Ravager Variant Cover by Emanuela Lupacchino

In August of 2015, DC Comics released a series of variant covers featuring their DC Bombshells characters. For Deathstroke (2014) #9, Emanuela Lupacchino penciled a stunning movie poster-inspired Bombshell version of a pirate Ravager. This outstanding cover is pictured below both with and without title graphics.

Christopher Priest's Out With The New and in With The Old Continuity.

DC's Rebirth initiative is attempting to keep the things about the New 52 that worked, while at the same time returning certain bits of traditional continuity to the DCU that fans had vehemently voiced displeasure with their alteration or outright elimination following Flashpoint. Having returned Wintergreen to the fold in an earlier issue, this week's release of Deathstroke (2016) #3, writer Christopher Priest returned three more classic elements of the pre-Flashpoint continuity to Deathstroke's post Rebirth title by way of a simple, yet powerful two page flashback which is pictured at the end of this post. The three returns to previous continuity are as follows.

1. Joseph Wilson's throat was once again slashed in retaliation for Slade's assassination of a Quraci army colonel. This retcon seems to eliminate the New 52 version of Jericho, who could speak because his throat was never cut.

2. As eluded to in issue #2, issue #3 confirmed that Rose Wilson is once again Slade's daughter with Lilli Worth, not his wife Adeline as had been depicted in numerous issues within the New 52 continuity.

3. Adeline Wilson was again the one that took Slade's eye in a failed attempt to kill him for allowing his secret life as an assassin being responsible for the abduction and attempted murder of Joseph. This effectively negates the North Korea explanation for his missing eye as detailed in Teen Titans (2011) #23.2.

Ravager Secret File From Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files & Origins 2005

Here is the Ravager entry from Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files & Origins 2005.

DEATHSTROKE BY (Ravager Edition): Matthew Skipworth

Here is a dazzling piece of artwork featuring Rose Wilson as the Ravager by UK artist Matthew Skipworth. If you like what you see below and want to check out more of Matthew's work, click/tap your way over to his Deviant Art page at http://crimsonartz.deviantart.com/.

Deathstroke's Man, Wintergreen

Deathstroke's right hand,
Wintergreen

Marv Wolfman stated said on multiple occasions that Deathstroke was envisioned as an evil version of Batman. Given this, it was only appropriate that Slade Wilson should have his version of Alfred in the form of William Randolph Wintergreen. Wintergreen debuted alongside Deathstroke the Terminator in New Teen Titans (1980) #2 as Slade Wilson's butler, though in subsequent appearances his role would expand beyond that of a mere manservant.

In his past, Wintergreen worked both with Britain's MI-5 and in the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS). It was during his time with the British army that he met and befriended a young Slade Wilson. Once, when General Sampson sent Slade on a suicide mission, an angry Wintergreen defied Sampson's orders not to interfere with the mission, going after his friend rescuing Slade from a bomb in the process. Years later, when a vindictive General Sampson sent Wintergreen on a suicide mission resulting in his capture as a prisoner of war in Viet Nam, it was a newly super-powered Slade Wilson that disobeyed orders to rescue his old friend. It was this act of defiance that cost Slade his military career, but gained him a lifelong business partner and friend with Wintergreen even serving as Slade's best man in his wedding to Adeline Kane.

Not the way he wanted to go out,
but not entirely unexpected either.

Over the years, Wintergreen would act as Slade's manservant, client contact, weapon's procurer, intelligence collector, sounding board, confidant, and more. Wintergreen was by Deathstroke's side through Grant's death, and the terrible events of the Judas Contract, and the apparent deaths of both Joseph and Adeline. When Slade seemingly walked away from the Deathstroke role, it was Wintergreen that ran the search and rescue organization Vigilance, Inc. on Slade's behalf. Wintergreen remained a faithful and devoted friend to Slade up until he was killed by Jericho, who was controlling Slade's body at the time. His last words while looking at Slade's face were, "I suppose it was only a matter of time." Jericho, in an act designed to inflict further psychological damage to his father, decapitated Wintergreen and had his head mounted like many of the hunting trophies Slade had collected from his days as a big game hunter. Wintergreen would not rest entirely in peace as he was temporarily resurrected by a black ring as one of the Black Lanterns sent, along with both Grant and Adeline Wilson and Wade DeFarge to attack both Slade and Rose Wilson during the Blackest Night storyline.

After the Flashpoint event, Wintergreen was alive and well and serving alongside Deathstroke as his right-hand man. But, like so many other people in the New 52 reality, he was a bit different than before as he was now a black man and Slade's defiant mission rescued him was from Somalia instead of Viet Nam. How this version of Wintergreen supposedly died was never shown to readers, but to honor his fallen friend, Slade took on Wintergreen's son, Alex Peabody, as his new partner and arms dealer.

Fast-forward to the days of DC Comics Rebirth. On a mission to Africa to kill the Clock King on behalf of a group of family members of his supposed victims, Slade learns that his associate, Jazaki, means to betray him and has someone that he holds dear as a captive. Wanting proof to back up these claims, the Clock King only responds with the word, "Kenilworth." Slade immediately recognizes the word as an emergency codeword he created for his closest family and friends to use if they are in grave danger. Slade, as instructed by the Clock King, makes his way to the compound of Al Lajna, Jazaki's rivals who are willing to do side jobs like guarding Jazaki's prisoners, thinking that his son Grant must be the one being held there. A few "BANGS," and "BATABATABATAs" later, and Deathstroke has saved not a captured Grant, but a captured...Wintergreen! It has yet to be explained how Wintergreen is once again a white guy from Great Britain, but hey, Dr. Manhattan works in mysterious ways. It turns out that Wintergreen wasn't dead, but that Slade had faked his death as a way for Wintergreen to retire. Suffice it to say that Wintergreen is back and that is a good thing for both Deathstroke (Jackass!!) and Deathstroke fans.

Even during a good scolding, there is alway time to teach a lesson.

RAVAGER ROLL CALL: Grant Wilson

The name "Ravager" is an important one in the Deathstroke mythos, but it is also a name with many, many meanings. In a series of features called RAVAGER ROLE CALL, I'll investigate the individuals and groups that have had the audacity to call themselves a "Ravager." 

Grant Wilson, the first Ravager

For our first stop on the roll call, it's only fitting to start at the beginning with the first Ravager, Grant Wilson. However, due to the DC Universe's penchant to restart from scratch every few decades or so, Grant Wilson's story is different depending on whether it was told before or after Flashpoint. Therefore Grant's story will be told in two parts with the first part focussing on the Pre-Flashpoint days.

Grant Wilson made his comics debut in New Teen Titans (1980) #1. He grew up hearing fantastic stories told to him by his father about the world's greatest mercenary, Deathstroke the Terminator. Grant's father, Slade Wilson, somehow neglected to tell young Grant that he actually was the terrible Terminator himself, which would come back to haunt him in time. The elder Wilson's stories had a great impact upon the future of Grant as he revered the legend of Deathstroke so much that he aspired to one day be just like him.

After military schooling, Grant moved into a Manhattan apartment with his girlfriend, Carrol Sladky. The two had long relationship, but not necessarily a good relationship as Grant's wandering eye resulted in some dalliances outside of their relationship. In addition Grant began associating with members of the H.I.V.E. organization and had become more aggressive toward Carol. As a result of Grant's erratic behavior, Carol moved out of their apartment.

Grant's first contact with the Teen Titans came when Starfire's ship destroyed the apartment he used to share with Carol when it crash landed after she escaped from her Gordanian abductors. Grant went to Carol's new place to tried to convince her to mover back in with him. Carol asked him to leave, but Grant would't take "no" for an answer. As he violently grabbed Carol's arm Starfire and Wonder Girl arrived and witnessed the assault. Starfire reacted and unleashed a starbolt, which knocked Grant across the room and into a wall. Grant recovered from the blast and left, swearing vengeance as he did so.

Grant turned to H.I.V.E. who promised to give him powers that would exceed even those of the Terminator, so that he could have his revenge on the Titans. After the procedure, Grant was christened "the Ravager" as he accepted the same H.I.V.E. contract to kill the Teen Titans that Deathstroke had earlier turned down because H.I.V.E. refused to pay him in advance.  The Ravager's first target was Cyborg as he confronted him at S.T.A.R. Labs. The two began to battle with the Ravager enjoying early success. Cyborg, however, gained the upper-hand and had Grant reeling. Only the interference of the Terminator stole the victory from Cyborg. During a verbal confrontation with Grant, the Terminator tried to convince him to let the contract go as he knew that Grant's powers were killing him. Refusing to back down, Grant vowed to get his revenge and made off to confront the Titans. Deathstroke followed after him.

As the Ravager began his assault on the Titans, he was joined by the Terminator and the two assassins fought side-by-side. The Ravager and Deathstroke were dominating the Titans when Starfire began to unleash her starbolts at Grant. Grant became overwhelmed at when dodging the starbolts as his powers were extracting their final tolls on his body. He collapsed during the battle as his body began to rapidly age and become frail. As Grant died he asked the Terminator, "D-Did we do it? D-did we kill the Titans?" Taking mercy upon the dying Ravager, Raven cast an illusion in his mind showing him the bodies of the Titans slain before him. As Slade witnessed his son's final breath, blaming the Titan's for his son's death he collected Grant's body and made his leave. Slade assumed responsibility of Grant's contract to kill the Titans beginning his legendary vendetta with the team.

As he died, Raven showed the Ravager the illusion of his revenge over the Teen Titans.

Unlike his New 52 incarnation, Grant Wilson really did die at this point never to return to life. Though the original Ravager did return in a fashion when he was resurrected by black ring during the Blackest Night storyline attacking his father and sister (and a Ravager in her own right), Rose Wilson. Only the intervention of his brother Jericho saved Rose and Slade from the undead wrath of the Ravager.

SHADES OF SLADE: Tiny Titans' Principal Slade

Within the DC Universe's Multiverse concept, it is not uncommon to see multiple versions of the same basic character be they a vampire Batman, a Soviet Superman, a wild west Wonder Woman, or even an anthropomorphic turtle Flash. Deathstroke is no exception as there are myriad different forms of Slade Wilson active throughout the DC Multiverse. From time-to-time, I will explore these alternate Deathstrokes in a feature called "SHADES OF SLADE." So, to continue the back to school theme of yesterday's post, it's on to our first featured Deathstroke.

You do NOT want to be sent to this
principal's office.

In 2008, DC launched a younger ages title based upon the Teen Titans properties named Tiny Titans. Creators Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani take the Teen Titans back to grade school. Sidekick City Elementary School to be exact. In Tiny Titans (2008) #1, the students returning from summer vacation were given some jarring news. It seems that Sidekick City Elementary has a new principal and that principal's name is Slade...Principal Slade. This bombshell sent chills down the collective spines all of the students, but none more so than Rose Wilson, who apparently had no idea that her father would be the new head of her own school. 

The students had heard that this new principal was strict and mean...and they were right. Principal Slade spent little time imposing his ways on the school as one of his first acts was to hire Mr. Trigon as a substitute teacher, much to the dismay of his own daughter, Raven. Other questionable administrative decisions include having Dr. Light teach science, having Lobo teach P.E. and coach sports teams, and appointing Darkseid to be the Lunch Lady and then allowing him to run the school when Principal Slade took a day off, thus putting in motion the... "Finals Crisis." But on the bright side, he spoke to each students' parents or guardians one-on-one when handing out report cards and he seems to have stable and loving relationships with his children Rose and Jericho. Plus, that is one snazzy plaid jacket.

Deathstroke (2014) Goes Out with a Bang!

Deathstroke (2014) #20 is now available digitally and in print marking the end for the third ongoing series to feature Deathstroke. But, this volume goes out with a bang as James Bonny, Paolo Pantelena, and Arif Prianto bring to you The Ravager, Jericho, Victor Ruiz, the Dead Bastards, the League of Assassins, and a cover teasing a Deathstroke vs. Ra's al Ghul clash to the death. This may be the end for this series, but remember that Deathstroke (2016) Rebirth #1 hits digital outlets and comic shops on August 10, 2016.

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.