Random cool facts that deal with the titans.

I had a long response prepared, but whatever. All I can say is that if you need a character to stay dead to feel an emotional connection to a good story, then I don't know what to say. You were right to get out, because comics and other fictional stories aren't for you. But that doesn't mean I don't find the notion ridiculous or even see how resurrection suddenly means soap opera.

The only thing I'm going to address is the point you tried to make about resurrection causing comics not to be taken seriously. That's not the issue. The issue is that comics have always had the stigma of being "kids stuff". A stigma that they've always had a hard time shedding. It's been a slow ride out of it. But resurrection has little to do with it; most of the non-comic reading populace aren't even aware of it. The folks who have a problem with the deaths and resurrections are mostly people already reading comics.

Azrael wrote:I had a long response prepared, but whatever. All I can say is that if you need a character to stay dead to feel an emotional connection to a good story, then I don't know what to say. You were right to get out, because comics and other fictional stories aren't for you. But that doesn't mean I don't find the notion ridiculous or even see how resurrection suddenly means soap opera.

The only thing I'm going to address is the point you tried to make about resurrection causing comics not to be taken seriously. That's not the issue. The issue is that comics have always had the stigma of being "kids stuff". A stigma that they've always had a hard time shedding. It's been a slow ride out of it. But resurrection has little to do with it; most of the non-comic reading populace aren't even aware of it. The folks who have a problem with the deaths and resurrections are mostly people already reading comics.

Ah-ha! At last someone who gets it!

If your character dies, and then you just bring him back, enough times where the audience begins to expect you do bring your deceased characters back than it ruins the purpose of their deaths. It completely removes the effect and completely disavows the purpose. If you're going to kill a character, than you should have a reason for that character to have died. Whether it's to show the intensity or strength or conviction of another character, or to simply show that character's commitment to a cause or their own ideals, than the character should stay dead.

Two shows jump to mind with this, neither of them Teen Titans but let's ignore that for a moment while I make my point shall we?

The first of which is Dragon Ball Z. This show suffers horribly from 'resurrection mania' so much that half the time the characters in the show go into fights Expecting to die and be brought back. What kind of a show is that?! I mean when your characters know that their deaths will be completely and utterly meaningless? When they have to actually pull something out of their hat to have the characters stay dead, when Staying Dead is the abnormality, something is seriously wrong.

The second is Code Geass. However due to discussion of this title's end I'm going to hide it inside a spoiler tag for those of you who haven't seen it.

Spoiler:

And That is why people need to Stay Dead.

I think you’re all being a bit melodramatic. Just a bit. Little, little bit. So don't snap at me. XD

It seems to me that when a character dies in comics, there’s a reason they died. And when a character comes back, then it’s by some weird event if intentional or maybe because the current writer liked a certain character and maybe didn’t brush up on that character’s history, so a completely halfassed explanation for the character’s sudden arrival has to be scrounged together. Yes there’s the whole “comic book death” where no one really stays dead, but honestly, so what? It’s a fictional story. It may lessen a character’s death in some fashion, but it’s still affect anyone who loves that character, even with the slightly humorous undertones of thinking “well, they’ll probably be back one of these days.” You have to think that that kind of premonition will probably keep that reader reading comics instead of dropping out since their favorite character died because, hey, there’s a good chance that they’ll be back for some reason or another.

I really don’t think it’s that much of a big deal. But that’s just me. I’m just getting in to this stuff, after all.

Ah-ha! At last someone who gets it!

I'm having trouble seeing the correlation between what you posted and what I posted that you quoted.

If you're going to kill a character, than you should have a reason for that character to have died.

Depends on what you're shooting for. If you're looking for the sort of impact you described, that's a different story. For instance, Blue Beetle Ted Kord shouldn't come back; though the JLI fans would disagree with me.

But shock value deaths that end up resurrected don't bother me, because a lot of the time the characters are killed to show how badass a villain is, which is not a good reason. They definitely don't bother me when they're unclear. Many deaths amount to the old fashioned way things were done. You know the Golden Rule; no blood, no body, the guys alive. A good portion of the time the resurrections can tell a good story as well; maybe I just take too much of a long view, but to me, great stories are all that really matter.

Comics have had several of these over the past couple of years and I wouldn't trade them just to stick so some notion that fiction can't break rules that were never in place for it to begin with.

If you want to blame someone, blame fellow fans. Most of the resurrections happen because they're demanded.

I really don’t think it’s that much of a big deal.

I don't either. I used to hold a similar belief on deaths and resurrections as Cylor. Eventually I just let go.

I'd say not to bother trying to argue against it; experience tells me the conversation never goes anywhere.

Short answer, Comics aren't for kids.

Or at least shouldn't be treated as if they're just for children, and even those that are aimed toward children deserve to have enough thought and purpose put into their stories to make them stand up to adult scrutiny, within reason.

The same should, ideally, be true of Cartoons. Never have I met a more irritating person than the one who believes that all cartoons, or all comics are for children, or the immature.
That's why I like this thread so well. The cartoon versions of the Titans are soo washed out and dumbed down, you'd think none of them had any demons.

TheDeceiverGod wrote:Short answer, Comics aren't for kids.

Or at least shouldn't be treated as if they're just for children, and even those that are aimed toward children deserve to have enough thought and purpose put into their stories to make them stand up to adult scrutiny, within reason.

I like you; lets be friends.

The same should, ideally, be true of Cartoons. Never have I met a more irritating person than the one who believes that all cartoons, or all comics are for children, or the immature.

I agree completely. Some of the best cartoons in history saddled the line between being for kids and being for adults too. Look at some of the best cartoons of yesteryear; they were cleverly written to be kid friendly while still having in jokes and things adults could enjoy too, which has helped them remain timeless.

The "just for kids" stigma has always pissed me off.

That's why I like this thread so well. The cartoon versions of the Titans are soo washed out and dumbed down, you'd think none of them had any demons.

... It's... it's like looking into a mirror image of myself...

TheDeceiverGod wrote:If your character dies, and then you just bring him back, enough times where the audience begins to expect you do bring your deceased characters back than it ruins the purpose of their deaths. It completely removes the effect and completely disavows the purpose. If you're going to kill a character, than you should have a reason for that character to have died. Whether it's to show the intensity or strength or conviction of another character, or to simply show that character's commitment to a cause or their own ideals, than the character should stay dead.

Two shows jump to mind with this, neither of them Teen Titans but let's ignore that for a moment while I make my point shall we?

The first of which is Dragon Ball Z. This show suffers horribly from 'resurrection mania' so much that half the time the characters in the show go into fights Expecting to die and be brought back. What kind of a show is that?! I mean when your characters know that their deaths will be completely and utterly meaningless? When they have to actually pull something out of their hat to have the characters stay dead, when Staying Dead is the abnormality, something is seriously wrong.

And That is why people need to Stay Dead.

That's pretty much exactly my point.

TheDeceiverGod wrote:The cartoon versions of the Titans are soo washed out and dumbed down, you'd think none of them had any demons.

If that were true, they would never have caught my interest and this discussion wouldn't be occurring.

Another thing. The two of you (Azrael and TheDeceiverGod) obviously feel perfectly justified trashing and completely dismissing the TT animated series in totality because of the ways it differed from the comic books. Which I understand is your personal opinion, to which you're entitled, and so I just leave it at that. As does everyone else here, from what I've seen.

But the second I criticize any aspect of the comics, you accuse me of being ridiculous, impossibly uptight, melodramatic, misinformed, and so on and so forth. And when I outline why, in my opinion, the entire concept of the "comic book death" (and I don't believe it was me who coined that well-known term) is, nine times out of ten, a cheap, piss-poor plot device usually resulting from laziness, indecision, ineptitude or editorial/marketing interference in the plotting stage, you say that I "take things too seriously" and imply that I must not be able to enjoy ANY form of fiction whatsoever. Which is funny, because I'm a fiction writer...but you've done this repeatedly.

I don't appreciate it.

I don't think I ever said I didn't like the show. If I didn't than why would I be here I wonder?

I just don't like how in 90% of cartoon shows today the characters don't get to play the full depth of field. I mean in the comics characters die, get stalk, get addicted to drugs, get raped, tortured, tormented, shot, crippled, maimed, etc etc.

And in the shows the worst thing that happens to them is more often than not they scrape their face. Half the time they don't even bleed.

You show me a cartoon that has their teenaged masked vigilante superhero boy get addicted to heroin, and I'll show you a show about to go off the air.

And That's what bugs me. That there has to be this schism between Comic & Cartoon, that people thing that because Superheros come from comics, nothing 'adult' will ever happen. I mean check out JLU for example, they had villains, and some heroes attempt to swear, but Superman would always cut them off. Why?! Why can't Hawk Girl say 'kick ass'? Why can't the male villains appreciate the sex idol that is Wonder Woman? etc etc

That's what I don't like, not the show itself.

You know, I've thought once or twice that DC should try doing a Batman series full bore and have it on Adult Swim. You know, blood, swearing and deaths. I mean, anime does it all the time; which is one of the good things anime does.

Batman would fit perfect into this mold. It would allow some of the more ruthless villains usable to their full potential. Black Mask is one example. Mr. Zsasz is another. A chief reason we never really see him in cartoons or anything is that it's kind of impossible to do a vicious, deadly serial killer on a kids show without him being taken out almost immediately since we can't see him actually kill anyone.

I'm thinking kind of like Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (the uncut version) - where we saw him murder a henchman, have a satellite destroy half of downtown and a torture scene of Tim Drake - or basically with the kids gloves off. It would probably do real well with the teenage audience and the adults too. There's definitely an audience for it.

Or, now that I've thought of it, a cartoon allowed to do the sort of things the Arkham Asylum game did.

If I didn't than why would I be here I wonder?

Entertainment?

I'm not a fan of the show, but I chill here myself, so I don't think it's a necessity.

But the second I criticize any aspect of the comics, you accuse me of being ridiculous, impossibly uptight, melodramatic, misinformed, and so on and so forth.

On the misinformation, you yourself say you haven't been in comics for a while. I keep my hands so far in the comics pie that I pretty much know what's going on in a lot of regards. I pretty much know what's going on from different angles. So I correct you, or inform you, or however you wish to see it. That tends to be how discussions work.

And for the record, it's not just you; I've long since lost tolerance for the "blah blah blah death" argument because some people seem to hinge their entire enjoyment of comics based on whether someone lives, dies or a story stays in continuity. I do find it ridiculous; and when I say that it's not meant to offend, but I've never been good at sugarcoating what I say. I could tell you of eight or nine comics divorced from the big two off the top of my head that are fantastic, two of them off the top of my head involving superheroes, where people stay dead, etc. But you left it entirely; that was your choice and you're fully entitled to it - and hell. I respect that, because I know of several people who can't stand certain hobbies but continue out of pure habit or whatever - but that doesn't mean I'm not going to find it ridiculous.

Azrael wrote:You know, I've thought once or twice that DC should try doing a Batman series full bore and have it on Adult Swim. You know, blood, swearing and deaths. I mean, anime does it all the time; which is one of the good things anime does.

Batman would fit perfect into this mold. It would allow some of the more ruthless villains usable to their full potential. Black Mask is one example. Mr. Zsasz is another. A chief reason we never really see him in cartoons or anything is that it's kind of impossible to do a vicious, deadly serial killer on a kids show without him being taken out almost immediately since we can't see him actually kill anyone.

I'm thinking kind of like Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (the uncut version) - where we saw him murder a henchman, have a satellite destroy half of downtown and a torture scene of Tim Drake - or basically with the kids gloves off. It would probably do real well with the teenage audience and the adults too. There's definitely an audience for it.

Or, now that I've thought of it, a cartoon allowed to do the sort of things the Arkham Asylum game did.

Az, you're amazing. Have I ever told you that? Well, you are. Really. A true Batman cartoon on Adult Swim would be one of the most epic things ever.

SylverBluTitan wrote:

Azrael wrote:You know, I've thought once or twice that DC should try doing a Batman series full bore and have it on Adult Swim. You know, blood, swearing and deaths. I mean, anime does it all the time; which is one of the good things anime does.

Batman would fit perfect into this mold. It would allow some of the more ruthless villains usable to their full potential. Black Mask is one example. Mr. Zsasz is another. A chief reason we never really see him in cartoons or anything is that it's kind of impossible to do a vicious, deadly serial killer on a kids show without him being taken out almost immediately since we can't see him actually kill anyone.

I'm thinking kind of like Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (the uncut version) - where we saw him murder a henchman, have a satellite destroy half of downtown and a torture scene of Tim Drake - or basically with the kids gloves off. It would probably do real well with the teenage audience and the adults too. There's definitely an audience for it.

Or, now that I've thought of it, a cartoon allowed to do the sort of things the Arkham Asylum game did.

Az, you're amazing. Have I ever told you that? Well, you are. Really. A true Batman cartoon on Adult Swim would be one of the most epic things ever.

You may have mentioned it once or twice.

Azrael wrote:

SylverBluTitan wrote:

Azrael wrote:You know, I've thought once or twice that DC should try doing a Batman series full bore and have it on Adult Swim. You know, blood, swearing and deaths. I mean, anime does it all the time; which is one of the good things anime does.

Batman would fit perfect into this mold. It would allow some of the more ruthless villains usable to their full potential. Black Mask is one example. Mr. Zsasz is another. A chief reason we never really see him in cartoons or anything is that it's kind of impossible to do a vicious, deadly serial killer on a kids show without him being taken out almost immediately since we can't see him actually kill anyone.

I'm thinking kind of like Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (the uncut version) - where we saw him murder a henchman, have a satellite destroy half of downtown and a torture scene of Tim Drake - or basically with the kids gloves off. It would probably do real well with the teenage audience and the adults too. There's definitely an audience for it.

Or, now that I've thought of it, a cartoon allowed to do the sort of things the Arkham Asylum game did.

Az, you're amazing. Have I ever told you that? Well, you are. Really. A true Batman cartoon on Adult Swim would be one of the most epic things ever.

You may have mentioned it once or twice.

Ah, now don't go getting a big head about it, you.

It's a cool thing, thinking about Bats in all his dark glory where the villains are uninhibited. Talk about a real Batman experience. Something like that could have a good chance of surpassing The Dark Knight, I think.

This really makes me want to see what the new DC branch of entertainment has in store.

SylverBluTitan wrote:It's a cool thing, thinking about Bats in all his dark glory where the villains are uninhibited. Talk about a real Batman experience. Something like that could have a good chance of surpassing The Dark Knight, I think.

Might I suggest Paul Dini be one of the writers?

Seriously, that man gets Batman and his world. He's done wondrous things in the comics since he jumped in several years ago. Take his work with The Joker, for example. Issue #826 of Detective Comics, or "Slay Ride", was just fantastic and exactly the kind of Joker I'd want in an adult Batman cartoon. I couldn't read that issue without hearing Mark Hammil's Joker voice in my head; it was so spot on and basically an unrestricted version of the AS's Joker.

Considering what he does in the comics - where things aren't as restricted - I'd LOVE to see what he could do in a teen aimed cartoon.

This really makes me want to see what the new DC branch of entertainment has in store.

We might not get any real announcements until next years SDCC. The restructuring is a slow burn; it's not just throwing everything into chaos and fitting things as it see's fit in the aftermath. So I suspect they haven't really looked at many projects yet.

Azrael wrote:
Might I suggest Paul Dini be one of the writers?

Most certainly, sir. I've heard his name before, and nothing but praise follows it. He was a writer for Arkham Aslyum, wasn't he?

There's nothing like a well-written Joker, I can tell you that.

We might not get any real announcements until next years SDCC. The restructuring is a slow burn; it's not just throwing everything into chaos and fitting things as it see's fit in the aftermath. So I suspect they haven't really looked at many projects yet.

Hey, I'm fine with that. If it requires some time and patience to get some darn good productions on the way, then I'll wait rather than get something thrown together that's only ok as far as standards go.

Paul Dini was one of the main writers for Batman: The Animated Series, also known as the greatest cartoon ever made in the history of anything ever. Yes, he also wrote Arkham Asylum. Plus he writes comics.

Paul Dini is awesome.

Azrael wrote:Paul Dini was one of the main writers for Batman: The Animated Series, also known as the greatest cartoon ever made in the history of anything ever. Yes, he also wrote Arkham Asylum. Plus he writes comics.

Paul Dini is awesome.

I couldn't agree more

Negromancer wrote:

Azrael wrote:Paul Dini was one of the main writers for Batman: The Animated Series, also known as the greatest cartoon ever made in the history of anything ever. Yes, he also wrote Arkham Asylum. Plus he writes comics.

Paul Dini is awesome.

I couldn't agree more

Me. Too.

Rianna Lauren wrote:

Negromancer wrote:

Azrael wrote:Paul Dini was one of the main writers for Batman: The Animated Series, also known as the greatest cartoon ever made in the history of anything ever. Yes, he also wrote Arkham Asylum. Plus he writes comics.

Paul Dini is awesome.

I couldn't agree more

Me. Too.

We should just have a one option poll on this.

Mercy wrote:

Rianna Lauren wrote:

Negromancer wrote:

Azrael wrote:Paul Dini was one of the main writers for Batman: The Animated Series, also known as the greatest cartoon ever made in the history of anything ever. Yes, he also wrote Arkham Asylum. Plus he writes comics.

Paul Dini is awesome.

I couldn't agree more

Me. Too.

We should just have a one option poll on this.

xDDD

Here's a fun/interesting fact.

The original Green Lantern, was not part of the Green Lantern Corps.
Yet he did have a green lantern & ring.

TheDeceiverGod wrote:Here's a fun/interesting fact.

The original Green Lantern, was not part of the Green Lantern Corps.
Yet he did have a green lantern & ring.

Wait... Which one IS the original? o.o

The dorkiest looking one of course.



Alan Scott!

Yeah, he does look kind of dorky. That's impossible to get around. Still, Alan can be quite the badass.

TheDeceiverGod wrote:The dorkiest looking one of course.



Alan Scott!

:lol!:

I never heard of Alan Scott before, only Hal Jordan... and John Stewart... and Kyle Rayner... and Guy Gardner...

...xDDDDDDDDDD

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, I present to you

The Untold History of Slade Joesph Wilson!

Taken form the DC Comics Database.


Having lied about his age, Slade Wilson was sixteen-years-old when he first enlisted in the United States Army. After serving a stint in Korea, he was later assigned to Camp Washington where he had been promoted to the rank of Major. In the early 1960s, he met Captain Adeline Kane who was tasked with training young soldiers in new fighting techniques in anticipation of brewing troubles taking place in Vietnam. Kane was amazed at how skilled Slade was and how quickly he adapted to modern conventions of warfare. She immediately fell in love with him, and realized that he was without a doubt the most able-bodied combatant she had ever encountered. She offered to privately train Slade in guerrilla warfare. In less than a year, Slade mastered every fighting form presented to him and was soon promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Six months later, Adeline and he were married and she became pregnant with their first child. It was at this time that the war in Vietnam began to escalate and Slade was shipped overseas. At home, Adeline gave birth to their son Grant.

Some time later, Wilson volunteered for a medical experiment designed to stimulate his adrenal gland in the hopes of increasing a soldier's ability to resist truth serums. The experiment did not go as expected, and Slade fell into a coma. When he awakened however, he discovered that was now capable of using 90% of his brain capacity, and his strength, durability and agility were increased to near superhuman levels. He applied for re-assignment with the army, but they refused him. Although his condition was now stabilized, depression took hold of him and he was desperate to serve his country. At this time, Adeline became pregnant with their second child, Joseph. Unable to further his career in the military, Slade turned towards hunting. He became a world famous safari hunter and great wealth followed soon after. Adeline always suspected however that Slade felt unfulfilled.

A few years later, a group of hired mercenaries broke into the Wilsons' mansion and kidnapped young Joey. Adeline attempted to fight them off, but a gas grenade prevented her from saving her son. When Slade discovered what had happened, he knew he could not keep the truth from his wife any longer. Slade was not only a world famous safari hunter, he was also one of the world's deadliest and most highly sought after assassins - Deathstroke the Terminator. He promised Adeline that he would save their son. Together, they flew to Tangiers and squared off against a rival mercenary known as the Jackal. The Jackal wanted Slade to reveal important information relating to a client or else he would have his men kill Joey. Slade gambled on the idea that he could save his son before the Jackal could give the order. Unfortunately, Joseph's throat was slashed by one of the criminals before Slade could prevent it, destroying his vocal cords and rendering him mute. After taking Joseph to the hospital, Slade's wife, enraged at his endangerment of her son, tried to kill Slade by shooting him, but only managed to destroy his right eye. Afterward, his confidence in his physical abilities was such that he made no secret of his impaired vision, marked by his mask which has a black featureless half covering his lost eye.

---

Slade has a long history as an enemy of the Teen Titans, beginning when his other son, Grant, became an early Titans foe called the Ravager who was physically enhanced to fulfill a contract to kill or capture the Teen Titans. However, those enhancements proved fatal and Slade agreed to complete the contract. As a result, he attacked the Titans continually and finally succeeded in capturing them by introducing Terra (whom he shared an intimate relationship with, despite her being barely sixteen years old) into the team as a spy.

Later Slade was defeated and captured with the help of Joseph, who joined the team as Jericho, using his father's body to free the Titans (although it is important to note that Slade didn't actually try to fight his son's control). Slade was put on trial for his crimes, but the trial was deliberately sabotaged by Garfield Logan, aka Beast Boy so that he could kill Slade himself, believing he was responsible for Terra's betrayal of the Titans. However, when the two confronted each other, Beast Boy found himself unable to kill Slade. Feeling some empathy for his grief, Slade explained his past with Terra, and Beast Boy realized he was not to blame for the choices Terra had made. The two men parted on peaceful terms afterward.

Months later, Slade encountered the Titans again while they were investigating a mysterious plague linked to a group of biologically engineered beastmen, one of whom was a target of an assassination by Slade himself. When Troia and Raven were both stricken by the plague, he aided them in destroying the beastmen and finding a cure for the contagion. Shortly after this, he came to the Titan's assistance again when most of their members were abducted by the Wildebeest Society, and proved instrumental in tracking them down, only to discover their leader was none other than Jericho himself.

It was revealed that Jericho had been possessed by the corrupted souls of Azarath, who were using him to capture the Titans and use them as physical hosts in order to survive. During the transfer process, Jericho's true self resurfaced briefly, begging his father to kill him. To spare his son any more pain and save the remaining Titans, Slade was forced to drive a sword through Jericho's heart, seemingly killing him. This act still haunts him to this day, though Jericho later turned out to have survived death by transferring his mind into his father's body seconds before his death.

Afterward, Slade continued his life as a mercenary, but also acted as an occasional hero, aiding the Titans or acting on his own to help others, most notably when the Teen Titans arrived in the 20th Century to assassinate Donna Troy before she could give birth to her son, who in their timeline had grown up into the tyrannical despot, Lord Chaos. His relationship with Garfield Logan had also changed around this time to the point where they became friends as well. Slade also met Pat Trayce, a tough former cop who would become the new costumed Vigilante. Pat Trayce and Slade quickly became lovers, and began a tumultuous on again/off again relationship.

---

After Slade thwarted an assassination attempt on the President of the United States, he was subsequently framed for the murder of a U.S. Senator. The man responsible had taken on the identity of the Ravager and was hunting down Slade's friends and loved ones. Eventually with the help of the Titans and Sarge Steel, Slade was able to prove his innocence, and the true culprit was revealed to be Steve Dayton, under the alias of the Crimelord, who had again succumbed to mental instability caused by his Mento helmet.

Meanwhile, his relationship with his estranged wife Adeline took a tragic turn as Slade underwent a process to gain regeneration power, allowing him to survive any wound so long as his brain is intact (this power is limited, as Slade cannot regenerate his lost eye since that injury happened before he gained his healing factor) . After gaining this power, Slade was forced to give his wife a blood transfusion to save her life, resulting in her gaining a similar healing factor which manifested itself as a form of immortality. This alteration of her DNA drove Adeline insane, shaming Deathstroke into going into a semi-retirement state.

Later Deathstroke teamed up with the Titans to face his wife Adeline, who in her insane state, had revived The H.I.V.E. and sought to rid the world of all superhumans, blaming them for Jericho's death. During the battle, interrupted by Vandal Savage and a band of villains that he had organized from recent Titan battles, Adeline's throat was slit. In a brief return of sanity, she begged Slade to kill her, requesting him to reunite her with "my... our children... " since her version of the healing factor wouldn't heal the wound but only allow her to live in spite of it. Deathstroke refused, but Starfire shocked her teammates and Deathstroke by using her starbolt blast to disintegrate her completely, per Adeline's wishes. This was a turning point, as Deathstroke renounced all ties with the Titans as a result of this act of mercy on Starfire's part.

Recently, it was revealed that Jericho managed to transfer his consciousness into Deathstroke in the instant before his death. Taking control of his father, Jericho forced Deathstroke to murder his longtime butler, mentor, and companion Wintergreen. He then launched a series of attacks against the current Teen Titans, most notably shattering Impulse's knee with a shotgun blast, before leaving his father's body. Deathstroke has since manipulated his one remaining child, Rose Wilson, into the mercenary business as the new Ravager, in order to find and kill Jericho, using a specially-designed serum to heighten her hostility and push her over the edge; unfortunately, the process also resulted in her being driven at least partially insane, to the extent that she cut out her own left eye in an attempt to prove to her father that she was just like him.

In Identity Crisis, Deathstroke was enlisted as a bodyguard for Doctor Light, who was being chased by the Justice League. In the ensuing battle, Deathstroke nearly beat the team of Elongated Man, the Flash (Wally West), Zatanna, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, the Atom, and Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner). He systematically took out every member except for Rayner, whom he had the potential to disable through trying to usurp his ring's energies using his own formidable willpower. Fortunately, before the outcome of this conflict with Rayner ended, Green Arrow stuck an arrow in Deathstroke's right eye socket, enraging him. Slade went ballistic and began to beat Green Arrow, but was stopped when the majority of the team tackled Deathstroke to the ground. Dr. Light used his powers, and the two escaped. Near the end of Identity Crisis, Deathstroke confronts Green Arrow on a rooftop. Arrow sees his reflection in the windows of a nearby building, but when he turns to confront Slade, Deathstroke is gone. Instead Green Arrow finds Slade's cowl and a note stuck to the wall by the very arrow he stabbed in Slade's eye socket. The note reads, "This is yours - We're not done."

---

Deathstroke was a founding member of Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super Villains. He was seen hiding in a warehouse south of Metropolis waiting to ambush the Freedom Fighters with several other members. The battle didn't last long, and by the end, Deathstroke had impaled Phantom Lady through the chest, calling his action "just business".

He was the employer of an undercover Dick Grayson, whom he hired to train his daughter Rose. However, after the two had a confrontation with Superman, Deathstroke discovered that Nightwing had been teaching Rose the values of heroism. He could not kill Grayson in front of his daughter because doing so would undo all of Slade's teachings. Nightwing offered a deal: he would stay away from Rose if Slade would keep the metahuman villains out of Blüdhaven. The deal held for 34 hours when Slade, under the orders of Alexander Luthor, Jr., the real leader of the Society, went with several villains- who included old Titans and Doom Patrol foes and Brotherhood of Evil members Monsieur Mallah and Brain- to drop Chemo, another fellow villain who appeared to be a nearly brainless monster made of pure energy and radioactive chemicals, on Blüdhaven, killing thousands. Slade gave the explanation to the Brotherhood that Nightwing should be made to believe that he can never go home again.

Grayson took the first of his revenge by bursting in on Deathstroke and Rose's training session, revealing to the latter that the Kryptonite that Deathstroke had implanted in place of her missing eye was radioactive and deadly to humans as well as to Kryptonians (though slower in its effects on humans, as revealed by Lex Luthor's old possession of a Kryptonite ring that forced him to transfer his brain to a cloned body). Angered, Slade went after Nightwing with a grenade, only to have Rose try to stop him. Amid the smoke of the resulting explosion, Rose fled, telling her father that she hated him. Dick disappeared as well, but not before leaving a note for Slade warning him that he'd be back to make him pay for Blüdhaven.

At the climactic Battle of Metropolis at the conclusion of Infinite Crisis, Slade was confronted by Batman, Robin, and Nightwing. During the struggle, he was questioned regarding his motives for aiding the Secret Society. His claims of monetary motivation were deemed unsatisfactory, and he was told to take responsibility before being rendered unconscious.

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One Year Later

Slade appears after the one year jump. Apparently in hiding, he nearly murders a crony of several Star City businessmen who want to hire him for a murder. Before finishing his violent refusal, he asks the name of the target; when informed that it was to be the mayor of Star City, Oliver Queen (whom Deathstroke knows is secretly Green Arrow), he spares the lackey and decides to take the job.

However, things don't quite go according to plan, with Green Arrow using the resources of both his identities, then trapping him within a ring of armed National Guardsmen. The fight ends with Deathstroke's arrest and subsequent conviction and incarceration; however, this is revealed as a ploy to gain access to another jailed foe of Green Arrow's who has information on the hero's activities in the "lost year", which include Green Arrow studying under an assassin who once trained Deathstroke himself.

Deathstroke is also active behind the scenes in Teen Titans, currently in the process of organizing a counter-team of teen superhumans that will be known as Titans East. The current Titans team included Ravager, who now wanted nothing to do with her father. Deathstroke seemingly intended to "reclaim" Ravager and a recently resurrected Jericho from the Titans or, if that failed, to crush them along with the rest of the team. For these reasons, he specially selected each member of Titans East, believing that, overall, each member would successfully counteract every member of the current Teen Titans line-up.

Deathstroke was manipulating every member of his new team in one way or another. He had blackmailed former Titan Risk while at the same time offering him an outlet for his rage, was drugging Cassandra Cain with the same serum he'd used on Rose, and supplied Inertia with a formula which granted superhuman speed to compensate for the loss of the Speed Force following the initial battle with Superboy-Prime. His team, however, slowly fell apart over the course of the attack, as Robin/Tim Drake managed to free Batgirl(Cassandra Cain) of his mind control serum and Raven convinced Duela Dent to switch sides. Slade and his remaining Titans subsequently faced off against both the current Titans and a group of old Titans led by Nightwing. Although he was defeated, he still manages to escape with the aid of Inertia. In the end, however, it was revealed to the readers that Slade's real mission to was provide his children with something he could never offer them - a real family, in the form of the Teen Titans. By attacking the Titans, he insured that Rose and Jericho would become more trusted by their associates, and thus grow closer to the team.

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Recently, Deathstroke took credit for somehow twisting (through unknown means) the powers of Brion Markov, the half-brother of the original Terra, into the same powers as his traitorous sister's. Using this leverage, Deathstroke offered to reverse the process only if Geo-Force became his own personal spy within the Justice League. Unfortunately for Deathstroke, Geo-Force alerted Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman of Deathstroke's scheme which culminated in Geo-Force alerting the League that Deathstroke (who's rivalry with Green Arrow has reached vendetta-level proportions) planned on using an army of super-villains to crash Green Arrow and Black Canary's wedding. Weeks later, Geo-Force was tortured by Gorilla Grodd after the League was kidnapped by the Injustice League and ultimately transferred to Batman's newest incarnation of the "Outsiders" afterwords, robbing Deathstroke of his potential pawn.

He was one of the few villains significantly not deported to the Hell Planet during the events of Salvation Run.
Deathstroke was, however, seen amongst the ranks of the reformed Secret Society of Super-Villains under the leadership of Libra during the events of Final Crisis, although he does not appear to play as substantial a role in it as he did in the previous incarnation. Also during the Crisis, he is gravely injured with his own sword by Geo-Force, whom he had been attempting to use as a weapon against the world's heroes the same way he had used Terra to infiltrate the Titans.