Lex Luthor and Deathstroke, the history

 

Who does the smartest man in the world call when he needs help?

Lex Luthor, one of the biggest comic book villains of all time, and Deathstroke, who I personally think should also be on that list but that's open for debate. As you can imagine, the two have cross paths in the past and today we will go over the history between the two in preparation for the next issue of Dark Crisis. But only what can be considered main continuity. 

Rude Awakenings

Let's go back a few years, when DC let the bad guys take over. No, not Year of The Villain. And no, not Forever Evil. Before that, before even Flashpoint. Back to Brightest Day era of DC, Deathstroke took over the Titans book, making his own team of Titans. Issue #24 sees Slade accepting a contract to kill Lex Luthor(?). But of course, there was a plot twist. Luthor knew that an assassin had been hired to kill him, in response, he called on whoever he thought was the best in the business to take out the mercenary. Slade Wilson. 

With some complications Slade and his team got the job done. Deathstroke still was the mercenary who never fails during that time.

The Black Ring

One of the most famous storylines for Lex Luthor, where Lex searches for the power he had during Blackest Night. This quest takes him into numerous places, and leads into some interactions with others characters. During part 3 of this adventure, taking place in Action Comics #892, Luthor calls in for a specialist. They end up finding a big dome of black energy, that messes with Slade's emotions making him go berserk. So Luthor suits up as Deathstroke goes after him. 

They fight and Slade wipes the floor with Lex, as he is about to kill him, one of Luthor's scientists managed to send the black energy into a "different type of spacetime", making Slade regain his senses. 

Forever Evil

DC Comics big event that marked the launch of the New 52 line, here, the Crime Syndicate takes over, with some of prime earth's villains at their side. Luthor is the protagonist of this event, taking action against the Syndicate with help from the likes of Bizarro and Batman. In the beginning Slade was working for the Syndicate, but during #5 he has a conversation with Luthor that makes him switch sides. 

(and Deathstroke does nothing for the rest of the story besides getting punched in the face) 

Blood Ties

Ok, not real Lex Luthor. But just so no one think I forgot this. Even tho I wish I  had. Rose got kidnapped and searching for her Slade ends in a Lex Corp building. Naturally he fights a AI of Luthor. 

The robot is too much for Slade, who ends up thrown into a lab with an army of Bizarros. With difficulty, Slade survives and escapes. 

And that's it, if I'm not forgetting anything. Lex and Slade are the best in what they do, if we can learn something from the times the two worked together, is the mutual respect for one another. Now, will any of this get mentioned in Dark Crisis? I highly doubt that. My bet is that Luthor is going to kick Slade's ass while talking about how Deathstroke is the worst person who ever lived(which would be funny since Luthor had a similar role to Slade now during Year of the Villain). But I'm hoping I'm wrong and that something different happens. Regardless, remembering some gems from the past it's always fun. 

That's it for today, as always thanks for your time and have a good one. 

Deathstroke Inc. #12 Review

 

 One of the most beautiful issues i've read

Year One - Part 3 

Writer: Ed Brisson 
Artist: Dexter Soy

Colorist: Veronica Gandini

Letterer: Steve Wands

Editor: Paul Abernathy
Cover: Mikel Janin 

The spotlight goes 100% to the art today, this was truly wonderful to look at. The art style, how every color was used, the pages layout, just beautiful. Easily one of the best looking comics i've read in a while. The story was good too, it had an interesting contrast. If you go back to DC's One Year Later line, where Deathstroke was Oliver's main villain, and compare to this, you can see how things change over the years. Even though this was more action heavy it still founds proper time to character drama. I have to tip my hat to how cohesive this Deathstroke is to Wolfman's and Priest at the same time. But I do have one complaint, even having in mind that this is a younger and inexperienced Slade, the character strategist side is nowhere to be found. This isn't a problem exclusive to this, in every project Slade is in currently they never bring this up, how Deathstroke is supposed to be of DC most brilhant tacticians. Again, I know this is the character's first contract, but he learned the importance of strategy while he was still in the army. Why is DC erasing this side of the character? Anyway, for the art and character drama, this is worth the read. 

Dark Crisis: Young Justice #3 Review

 

Hm... ok 

The Trinity of Trauma 

Writer: Meghan Fitzmartin 
Artist: Laura Braga

Colorist: Luis Guerrero 

Letterer: Pat Brosseali

Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover: Max Dunbar and Luis Guerrero

First things first, wasn't Jericho, using Slade's body, the one who shot Impulse? Or am I remembering it wrong? Anyway. This issue was... something. The face your trauma part felt rushed, forced even. The conflict between our main trio didn't flow naturally, in my opinion. I liked the artwork but sometimes how the characters emote don't fit with what they are saying. Like when Superboy talks about being trapped in other planet. This issue jumps from one place to another so quickly that one can say this is all over the place, every section, every argument, feels like a parody. Maybe this is on purpese and maybe this is a good thing, but I just don't know. Trying to get what this wants to say is somewhat confusing. And it ends like issue 2, with a tease about who the main characters are going to fight next. Let's just hope the next issue utilizes its main threat better. 

DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #2 Review

 

Even vampire hunters need a place to crash

All-out war, Part 2 

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Paknadel
Artist: Pasquale Qualano

Colorist: Nicola Righi

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover: Alan Quah

Today's issue felt more action oriented but the story still progressed  nicely. Showing the strengths of placing your story in an alternate universe, characters can and will die. The humor continues to work really well too, one joke in particular took me out of the story for a moment since it was an "ok boomer" joke but that  ain't a big issue. I'm really curious to see where Azrael journey is going and now I guess we have our main antagonist. This series is shaping up great. This time the surprise was the backup story that felt like an manga, one about vampires of course. Anyway, very fun read. 

Deathstroke Inc. Vol. 1 Overview

 King of wasted potential 

When the 2016 Deathstroke series ended it was said by it's editor that it might have been the last Deathstroke solo series ever. So the announcement of Deathstroke Inc excited me a lot since it was so unexpected to me. The premise, that being Slade and Black Canary hunting super villains for a mysterious organization was nothing short of perfect. I'm still waiting for that comic.

My first issue is how Slade doesn't feel like the protagonist, Black Canary feels more like the focus and Slade is just a side character really for the most of it, and a boring one at that. This isn't the first time the two worked together, years ago back in Birds of Prey the dynamic between the two was established. But since that was Black Canary's book it made sense for Slade to be just a side character. Slade doesn't really do anything "cool" until the very end of the book, and there is a lack of weight when he does. He becomes "the King of Supervillains" so easily, it does not feel earned. The part about hunting super villains isn't put to good use, it's as if the comic had no real interest in it and only existed as a prelude to an upcoming event. It even does the classic and hated "oh these two characters are going to fight, except, not really" sometimes. And of course, the "oh this character died, ops, he's back!". Can we ban these cliches from comics books already? 

It has it's moments, don't get me wrong. It gets the job done, some parts are fun to read, this isn't a horrible comic by any means, but it could have been so much more. I look at the pages and I see good ideas that deserved more time. I see characters that need more development. I see potential, wasted because DC wanted to do a big event. 

Slade Wilson: Contract Journal - Part 4

 Terra, the troublemaker

The Terminator hasn't appeared in a while. what's his next move? 

The story thus far 

Back in issue #26, the character of Tara Markov was introduced, Beast Boy was the first to encounter her and he could tell something was wrong. After managing to bring her to the Titans Tower, she told the group her backstory. Claiming that her parents had been kidnaped by terrorists and that they are forcing her to use her powers to help them by stealing some cash. As you probably already know, Terra has Geokinesis, in other words, she can control earth and its minerals. Now a fun fact, the character of Geo-force and her weren't created together, the two having the same powers was a coincidence. Of course, Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo would work with Wolfman and Perez to connect both characters as brothers after knowing of each others creation. When the situation with the terrorists was deal it, Terra started to work with the Titans, however, something was off about her for sure now. Her way of talking, how she acted... What could it be? Besides that, lately the Titans would be teaming up with a district attorney called Adrian Chase. Another name you probably already know.

The New Teen Titans #34 Endings... and Beginnings!

Writer: Marv Wolfman 
Artist:George Perez

Colorist: Adrianne Roy

Letterer: Todd Klein

Inker: Romeo Tanghal 

Editor: Len Wein 
Cover: George Perez 

Another 10/10 cover by Perez

In what has to be a tradition by now, the issue opens showing Deathstroke first, giving us more information about him but still retaining some level of mystery. As the comic progresses, as always, we get to know the Titans and their day to day routine, how they are feeling, what they are up to and etc. While Terra looks annoyed by all that, Slade contacts the group showing a hostage. Terra rushes in, saying that she wants to prove herself. A fight begins and also as always the action is nothing short of perfectly executed, being easy to see how one move leads to another, what the characters are doing and why. Terra saves the day and... leaves? With the Titans all looking happy to have Terra on their side it's revealed that she was working with Deathstroke since the beginning, planted to spy on the group from the inside. As if that shocking revelation wasn't enough, the comic ends with Adrian Chase "dead", as Robin watches his apartment blowing up. What a fantastic issue, so many character defining events and everything breathes, everything has the space and the attention it deserves. No one feels out of character, a masterful job. 

And you know what is next, the infamous Judas Contract storyline! That's it for now, take care and have a good one. 

6 years ago Deathstroke Rebirth started

 The best Deathstroke solo series?

"I’ve never been more nervous about a new title launch. This is a book most readers will either love or hate because it both reinforces classic history and re­in­ter­prets it. The characters are exactly the same and completely different. Will Deathstroke fans like what we’re doing, or will the Rebirth enrage them?

The answer is yes." - Christopher Priest

Let's go back to 2016, DC's Rebirth initiative looked like heaven with everything fans could ask for. And Deathstroke was there too.

 Announced with Christopher Priest as it's writer and Carlo Pagulayan as the main artist, Deathstroke Rebirth looked... unexpected? Priest had not work in comic books for years by that point, according to himself, editors were always trying to tie him only to black characters and that made him feel like he wasn't taken seriously by big companies. When DC group editor Marie Javins called him and offered Deathstroke, he stopped to try remember who the character was, the idea of making a solo series about a villain intrigued him. 

"If I can write it this way -- in a character-driven, introspective way, and get inside the character and examine him kind of the way we did 'Black Panther' -- that would be a really interesting challenge. If it's just going to be him running around killing people, that's a little less appealing."- Priest 

With editor Alex Antone and Geoff Johns supervision, Deathstroke Rebirth was born. One thing to note, Marv Wolfman was one of Priest's first mentors in comics, Priest has expressed nothing but respect for him. 

 "Deathstroke, is not about violence. It is about a man; an exploration of a lost humanity."

The unique style 

The story was told like a Tarantino movie. Some sections being out of chronological order and with Priest signature mark, the black panels. However, what makes it special to Deathstroke fans is the attention to Slade's mythos. We got the return of Wintergreen, Slade's best friend. Adeline is also back, and the children of Deathstroke of course. 

Slade is actually the main villain of his own series(how genius) with his kids being the true heroes. Both Joseph and Rose were never this well treated. Not to say that Slade doesn't get proper attention, the comic has his name after all, If you want badass Deathstroke who can even make Superman feel challenged, you will find that here. 

But again, the book isn't really about that, what we have at our hands is a character study. We're promised to get inside the mind of a killer and were given just that in a silver platter. But in a very subtle way. Instead of Slade explaining how he feels, the comic asks us to notice that by his facial expressions, his actions and how the rest of the main cast reacts to him. He is, in a way, a silent protagonist. Making him even more menacing since no one really knows what he is about to do next, not even the reader. 

On top of that, we got new characters that became classics when it comes to Deathstroke. The Red Lion, a nod to way back when Priest was writing Black Panther, Dr. Ikon and others.

Sales and Critical reception

Deathstroke was the twelfth best-selling title of August 2016.the sales were pretty good when that run began, however, it cleary was in the decline as the months went on. Now, when it comes to critics it's hard to talk about. Depending where you go the reception will be completely different. Some love it, some hate it, some just don't care. It was nominated for best new series at the Eisner Awards in 2017 and even tho it didn't won that's still a milestone, I never saw a Deathstroke book nominated for any kind of award. 

The best starting point for new Deathstroke fans 

Comic books are complicated, as we all know, so starting to take interest in a new character can be intimidating and even confusing. But when it comes to Deathstroke, Rebirth is the best starting point. Of course, you should go after the classic stuff too however since some of it is not even canon or just hard to get into to, don't worry, you don't have to read every single comic with Slade to be a fan. Rebirth offers everything you need to know to not get lost in a conversation about Slade and his family. You can find it in trade paperback form or even in omnibus format today. 

Besides that, is the most cohesive and complete run about the character. Wolfman's run is great, it's a classic, no debate there. But, after the World Tour storyline, there is a decline in quality and Wolfman is absent from some issues. With Rebirth on the other hand, Priest wrote pretty much everything. Even during the crossovers with Titans and Teen Titans, every single word spoken by Slade was Priest. 

Well, I guess that's it. There is a lot to talk about every single arc, tons and tons of easter eggs, but let's leave that to another day, today, I just wanted to thank everyone involved in Deathstroke Rebirth, every single artist, editor, letterer, inker and so on. This is my favorite comic book series of all time and following it every month was an awesome journey, I'll be forever grateful for this experience. Also, I wanted to invite anyone who hasn't read it to give it a shot. 

"Baudelaire said only three beings are worthy of respect--the priest, the poet and the warrior. To know, to create...to kill. You, my genetically-enhanced friend, are all three: Slade the Deathstroke." - Matthew Bland, the Red Lion 

Thanks for keeping up with me rambling, take care and have a good one!