Deathstroke Inc. #6 Review

King Deathstroke is here. And he has zero f@cks to give.

Deathstroke Inc. #6: King Deathstroke 

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Paolo Pantalena

Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr. 

Letterer: Steve Wands 

Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover: Howard Porter and Hi-FI

Already one of my favorite covers ever 

Non spoilers section

Slade looks tired of everything, he feels like is time to step his game. The why is easy to understand, as a comic book reader, makes sense for a character to get tired of how repetitive his existence can be. Definitely interesting to see this type o thing. As the character takes this new direction I'm reminded of one thing Christopher Priest said about Deathstroke once, about how DC does not let him be the best, or worst, version of himself. I wonder if that change, today's issue brings some hope about this. 

Spoilers

We're getting more and more about how Slase is current feeling about the world, I think he feels insignificant, small in a way. And that's fascinating to me. I mean, imagine living in a world like that. With people flying and aliens and gods. Really dig the character thinking about this. He definitely wants to be a bigger player, the king of all super villains, but he's showing some level of caring about the world as well. Wonder how this will be relevant later. He's killing a lot of minor villains too. I have to update that list of characters he has killed now, heh. Wasn't expecting the Justice League to show up, a nice surprise but it was the weakest part of the whole comic. And it looks like this comic original premise, Slade hunting other villains, is going to continue. Anyway, excited to see what the future brings. 

Shadow War Zone X-Men tribute cover

 As the upcoming crossover event Shadow War gets bigger and bigger a new tie-in issue was announced this week(Feb 7,2022). I decided to wait to talk about the event, figured that it would be better to discuss it as it gets going, this way I can be more precise and informative about it. As you know, comic book covers and synopsis can be deceiving most of the time. However, we need to talk about this variant cover due to how unique and special it is.

The main subject here, by Howard Porter

I love when comics books do stuff like this, this is one of the most attractive things about comics, the sense of myths and icons. The reference here is Uncanny X-Men #141, part of the Days of Future Past storyline, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. 

Also, really great to see artists getting this excited 

I love how Slade is put at the same spot as Wolverine in the original, since I find the two somewhat similar. Even Christopher Priest, Deathstroke Rebirth writer, talked about how Slade should be DC's equivalent to Marvel's Logan. 

And since Slade and Respawn are going to be on the run, this reference feels natural too. 

Now, I've been trying to figure out all the characters there, I do have a list of suspects, but this is just my speculation. Anyway, here we go. Batman(Bruce Wayne), Robin(Damian Wayne), Deathstroke(Slade Wilson), Talia Al Ghul, Ra's Al Ghul, Silencer, Deadline, Sharpnel, Warp, Calculator, Count Vertigo, Monocle, Prometheus, Flamingo, Libra. Dr. Destiny, Fobia and Respawn. Again, this is just my personal speculation and I might be wrong. 

And, of course, it's worth remembering that Deathstroke has crossed paths with the X-men in the past.

 

Expect a full post dedicated to this crossover in the future. 

About the contents of the issue, here's the official synopsis. 

SHADOW WAR ZONE #1
Written by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON, ED BRISSON,
STEPHANIE PHILLIPS, and NADIA SHAMMAS
Art by TREVOR HAIRSINE, ANN MAULINA,
MIKE BOWDEN, and others

A special issue that showcases the spread and impact of the Shadow War on the DCU! Talia al Ghul has put out a hit on anyone who has ever worked with Deathstroke—and that includes Black Canary! Where has Luke Fox been? Talia is sick of watching from the sidelines and joins the battle herself! Also featuring the new villain Angel Breaker! What is her connection to Ghost-Maker?

We also have the official look on this new character called Angel Breaker. 

variant cover by Leirix

And to wrap this up, the main cover by Jonboy Meyers

As the time goes on it feels like there is more and more to unpack about Shadow War. When it starts you can expect this blog to be more active about it, the goal here is to cover this event. Until then, i'll try to not talk too much about it since I would hate to speculate a bunch of stuff and be wrong with the risk of spreading some level of misinformation. That's it for now, have a good one. 

Is it fair to call Deathstroke a Batman villain?

 For some years now it has become common to see people claiming that Slade is a Batman villain or that he can be one. Definitely an interesting topic to discuss, but i find most of the arguments fallacious at best. So, today, i'll be talking about the history of such claim and some of the most used arguments. 

When did it started?

I started following comics during the time Geoff Johns Titans run was at its infancy and i have zero recollection of people during that time stating that Slade was a Batman villain. Of course, that does not mean it didn't happen, but shows that this argument wasn't popular back then. What I do remember is people putting Slade under a certain category called "Anti-Batman", an anti-batman is a character that in a way represents the opposite of Batman(to no ones surprise). Batman was a kid who lost his parents and became a superhero. Slade was a mercenary who lost his son and became a villain. Both are smart, full of resources, masters of martial arts, disguises, strategists, detectives and so on. So no debate about that I suppose. 

So, when?  

Yep, it is time. We have to talk about Arkham Origins. 

Back in 2013, the third main title of the Arkham Series was released and if featured Slade as one of its villains. However, the character had almost zero relevance to the actual game. Only being there to set up a Suicide Squad game that was cancelled. He did have one of the most memorable boss battles of the game, but in terms of actual relevance to that story he is one of the least important characters there. So, why? As you can already tell, the trailer. 

The first actual trailer for Arkham Origins focused on Deathstroke fighting Batman. Why? Tim Miller, who directed the trailer also directed DCUO main cutscene/trailer and in his commentary about the cinematic he talks about how he wanted to do a longer fight between the two characters. So... Yeah. That's pretty much it. One trailer that not even shows the actual game. After that the infamous "Deathstroke is a Batman villain" claim was born or at least put at full force. Funny to think about this since Slade is only there to set up another project, not to solidify him as one of Batman's enemies. 

But what about the comics?

Ok, now we get to the more fascinating part of this topic. Slade and Batman live in the same universe, so they are bound to cross paths from time to time. Does that mean Slade is one of Bats rogues? No. When it comes to the two, in a Deathstroke solo comic, if Batman shows up, its present as a special appearance, a "guest of the week", and the same for a Batman comic when Slade shows up. When we look at Deathstroke City of Assassins for instance, Batman 100% is a special guest there. Even tho the story takes place in his city, the comic going there feels like something different from the norm. Not two rivals or enemies meeting. Now, looking at a more recent Batman comic, Their Dark Designs. Slade is there and he does not feel like one of Batman's villains there at all. He and the other assassins have a certain sense of something out of the ordinary, Slade motivation there is also linked to Dick Grayson, not Batman. And he's not the main villain there. Again, they simply live in the same universe. They will meet and fight and work together here and there. Saying that Slade is a "Bat foe" due to this is the same as saying Lex Luthor is a Batman villain and Joker is a Superman villain. 

But, there is one, and only one, comic that can be used to back this claim. 

Detective Comics #1027, the big anniversary issue. This comic does put Slade alongside Batman's villain gallery. But, some counter arguments can be made here. First, some of the others represented there are no longer villains. Like Catwoman and Harley Quinn. So you can totally put into question how much this is worth as an argument in favor of the idea of Slade as a Batman villain. 

Addressing some of the most common arguments briefly.

I just wanted to go over how fallacious some of the arguments claiming that Deathstroke is a Batman villain can be. Most of them go back to the idea that Slade is a mercenary, so he can be anyone's villain. There are some holes here. This only justifies things as special appearances the character makes from time to time. Not an actual rivalry between him and others. Slade has showed up in many many comics but as a special guest, not a main villain. And many characters have show up in his comics, as, you guess it, the guest of the week. Also, Slade has fought Superman just as many if not more times then Batman yet we don't see people arguing that he's a Superman villain. People just started saying this due to Arkham Origins and tried to back up this claim with random things from random comics with no understanding about what's happening in such comics. Other argument is that Slade was Arrow season 2 main foe and no one complained. And that's just false. I was there as Arrow was going and people did complain about it. And, Deathstroke is a Green Arrow villain. 

During DC's One Year Later Slade was build up as the main antagonist for Oliver to face off. Using the events of Identity Crisis as a starting point and tieing the two together as Oliver seeks one of Slade's masters to teach him how to be a better fighter. Deathstroke was Green Arrow's final boss during that time. And continued to be a little bit after too. So Arrow had a good basis for the character choice as the main villain for season 2. Slade did not became Arrow's villain out of nowhere, they did take time to get there so it feels natural. But, when it comes to Batman, 95% of the time it feels forced. When you're creating a character you can just say "this guy is this other guy enemy" but when you have characters that existed for years you have to build up to it. And, with time and good writing the readers will accept the idea. Slade has yet to go under such journey with Batman for people to accept the concept of today's topic. Slade was used as a Batman villain in some cartoons and most comic book fans did not enjoy it at all. And the choice of using him always come back to trying to grab the attention of people who liked Origins. 

The side effects of Slade as a Batman villain.

Now, the real issue here is that when you choose to use Slade as Batman villain  you're taking away other character chance of getting a spotlight. Slade has had multiple solo comics, even an animated movie. Some of Batman's actual enemies don't have this. They need to be used in a Batman story to continue existing. Foes like Wrath, Prometheus, Gunhawk, Catman, Lady Shiva, KGBeast, Deadshot, Bane and many others can and would do the same Slade would as a Batman regular villain. Even though some are doing well in team books, not all are that lucky. 

What actually kills a comic character is being forgotten(Final Crisis talks about that). Bane and Deadshot will not be forgotten but others can be. And that would be a big shame. Slade is definitely not going anywhere. He can hold his own or just be a Titans, Nightwing and Green Arrow villain to justify his existence. 

In conclusion.

For now, no, you should not try making Slade look like a Batman villain. It's unnecessary and a shallow view about how comics work. One video game trailer was popular and people want more of that, this sums up the subject here. I agree that it is cool to see Batman and Deathstroke together but that's a disservice for the two. One thing is for them to meet up from time to time, that's fine and fun, but to tie one to the other with no build up to it is lazy and shallow. I must say, the two could be like Daredevil and Punisher, the potential is definitely there, however DC is showing zero interest into putting work and good writing on this. 

But who knows, maybe this changes in the future. Deathstroke vs Batman by Christopher Priest tried to make some level of history with Bruce and Slade. 

Anyway, that's it for today, have a good one.