Deathstroke #14 - Twilight, part 3

May 2017

8th March 2017

Deathstroke #14

Twilight, part 3
Let's start with the basics. Not really being big into comics back in the 80s, I never read his origins in the Teen Titans. So my first encounter with Slade "Deathstroke the Terminator" Wilson was in the Teen Titans cartoon. And what a better introduction than the dulcet tones of Ron Perlman!

And I guess we need to talk, briefly, about Terra. And no, I'm obviously not excusing the idea that Slade and Terra had a physical relationship when she was only fifteen or so. I don't read it that way, but you are obviously allowed to read it however you want. Either way, them teaming up is not a healthy thing, Slade is not a good man, something that will come up later!

The story is split into Vignettes, helpfully with their own titles, so let's get the others out of the way!

Rookies - We start with Joseph Wilson, Slade's son, and sometimes Jericho. he's involved in a business with some kind of complicated business deal. He's not taking it wel,l engaging in self-harm and taking some kind of pills.

Meanwhile, Slade is counselling him whilst getting ready with her current girlfriend Étienne. Who just happens to be Joseph's fiancée, see what I said about getting back to it later!

Investments - Rose Wilson, Slade's daughter, is trying to connect with her mother's heritage. Lillian, her mother was a Hmong who came to America from Cambodia back what I assume is was the 70s! 

Destiny - She goes to a shop full of Hmong objects, with a mention that a lot of former Cambodian refugees are living in poverty. She doesn't seem to worry about this as she's found herself a sword with Rose inscribed on it!

Fetch - Slade is tasked by the US Army with recovering something. This leads to the next part...

Taxi Driver -  I see what they did there! In the Bronx, we start with a bunch of (carol?) singers, including a very familiar figure in the middle! She sees a Taxi attacked and flees, the driver obviously the target of Mr Wilson.

We get a few pages of the conflict between Slade and the Taxi Driver, until Tanya shows up in a glorious full-page reveal!

The driver flees, chased by both Slade and Tanya, with Slade being injected after a brief sword fight. We learn that the general, Dex, has set them both up, and the man was sent to kill Slade. Slade here even shows some (minor) scruples refusing to sell out a contract, a low bar but y'know.

Tanya comes upon Slade after this has all played out, and Slade collapses thanks to his wound. Though somehow he has time to change back into his civilian clothes.

We have a quick cut to Rose, Destiny, as mentioned above, before returning to Tanay in...

Lights - Here, we find that the writer has remembered that Tanya is a scientific genius. As I've mentioned before, with Power Girl in general, I like it when comics remember that they are wicked smart and skilled in many ways. 

She explains a lot about Slade's healing abilities, and we meet her cute doggo. We get what the man did to him, and how he recovers, except in one way. Currently, Slade is blind in his one (formerly) good eye...

Not knowing anything about this coimic I was pleasantly surprised. Being mostly character-based, it's my bread and butter, and even though I didn't know most of the characters going in, the comic made sure you knew just who was who. The only character not implicitly named is Tanya, and it's not important to the plot that you know her as anything but a New York based superhero. Okay, two if you include the dog!

It has a grounded urban noir, an updated form of the stories of Helena Wayne's Huntress, which I went over back in October. Again, if no one knew, it looks like this was all planned out!

The bigest praise I can give it that I'm looking forward to the next issue!