The Good

Deathstroke is back! As great of a character he is, it was unfortunate when his previous series had to end. Tony Daniel is taking the writing and artistic reigns in the hopes of delivering the series fans have been wanting.

From the opening pages, you get a feel for who Deathstroke is and how much respect Daniel must have for him. There’s an immediate sense of what he is capable of. Deathstroke is a mercenary. He will do whatever the job requires. Seeing him in, what we can assume, is just one of his many lairs, the little details of an inordinate number of weapons and masks is great to see. Deathstroke is a an of means. Instead of just throwing readers into a big and crazy mission (that comes in just a few pages), we get to see more of the operation side of Deathstroke’s business. It gives a little more humanity to what some may perceive as a monster. Seeing he requires some assistance in setting things up makes it feel more realistic.

Once the mission begins, it’s a blood-fest. While there is plenty of hacking and shooting, it’s not necessarily as gratuitous as we saw in the first issue. There is a fine line between showcasing violence and his abilities. We see plenty of dead bodies and even decapitated heads but it doesn’t feel like it’s done just for shock value.

One of the interesting twists (just wait, there’s a huge one later), is the fact that Deathstroke went on a mission in the past and it was wiped from his memory. This is something Daniel mentioned when we interviewed him at NYCC. This obviously opens up a new can of worms. For him, or readers, to not know what happened amps up our excitement. The end of the story will cause some confusion and most likely some anger. With this being the first issue, obviously we need to wait and see what’s going on before getting outraged.

Daniel’s art is great here. More and more, you can see the attention to little details and form he’s adding. Daniel doesn’t skimp on the backgrounds and seeing the changes in his outfit makes Deathstroke look fresh but absolutely familiar. You can tell Daniel is pouring himself into his work. I look forward to seeing his pencils more and more with each published work that comes out.

The Bad

I mentioned one of the twists that’s bound to confuse many. It’s a cliffhanger ending. It’s something that will get people talking. We can assume there is obviously a bigger picture involved. I can't say I'm completely overjoyed with what appears to happen but I am definitely intrigued and hooked.

The Verdict

Deathstroke is back and is making up for lost time. Tony Daniel delivers a smart and violent first issue for the deadly mercenary. We see a little on how Deathstroke operates and gains intel on his missions. Once the action begins, it’s pretty much exactly what you’d want to see. Daniel gives us plenty of over the top action scenes with plenty of violence but it never feels too gratuitous. It’s not all action shots and blood as we learn there is something coming out of Deathstroke’s past he was unaware of. We also get a pretty crazy ending that will definitely make people’s attention perk up. It’s great having an action book with substance and plenty of detail. The hard part will be waiting for the next issue.

You have no idea how happy this has made me!

@the_stegman: The review or the issue itself?

@dagmar_merrill: The review, it's got me excited to read the series!

This review just got me so hype!

Time to go back to the comic book store ;)

Looking forward to it

I want to know what happened to Slade at the end also. Its intriguing to say the least. Nice review.

Very interesting, I know many were concerned that Daniel would not be up to the task as far as writing is concerned. I may have to pick this up now.

It's ya boy!

Gawd damn this issue kicked some serious butt, it made me so happy

*Added to pull list*

this issue was cool. good start

Wow a five! I gotta pick it up now. I was honestly expecting a 2

I haven't read the previous run of deathstroke, will i have any trouble reading this

Never liked DS much but bought this anyway and really enjoyed it. Didn't get anything about a previous mission, though.

I couldnt stop smiling while reading this issue. Bravo Tony Daniel. Bravo

Someone spoil what the ending cliffhanger/twist is for me please

@jayc1324:

I will definitely check this out. I reallyed liked the previous series which was straight up action and just Deathstroke steam rolling everybody. Tony's Art is to die for. I really like him as an artist and I am glad to hear that his writing is equally as good.

Cool beans. Now of Tony Daniel gives us a Deathstroke vs. Batman in one of the issues...

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT??!?!

MAYBE IT WAS ALL THE BLOOD THAT I WAS FOCUSED ON INSTEAD OF HIS FACE!!!

WOW!! NOW IM REALLY REALLY INTO THIS!!!!!!

@the_tree:

Can't blame you.

Does this actually deal with the Titans or his family in any way? or is it just violence?

Can't wait to read, this review made me very happy :)

@captainmarvel4ever: not this issue but Tony S. Daniel did say the titans will be showing up later.

"Or is it just violence"

Well how else are they going to show how deadly Deathstroke is :P

Same here.

@micah said:

Show him manipulating teens into joining his twisted army.

Read this comic today, I think its a very good start to the series, the ending is interesting and I can honestly say that I am excited to read the next few. I am hoping they spend time highlighting the character's motivations like they said they would, so far that is not totally evident.

I would say this is easily worth the cover price.

Could happen down the road. Harley Quinn is crossing over in a few issues, craziness is bound to ensue.

@micah: That's not what I want to hear (especially since I hate Harley).

I don't like her that much either, but it should be a one and done. Plus her personality could be a funny foil to Deathstroke. Could make for some interesting comedy.

@micah: That's not really what I want from this series, I want this series to get the character back on track. Make him the sick twisted guy who wants to make his own army, and try to erase the Titans. Sinestro's new series is doing a great job of being entertaining, showing how twisted he is, while still connecting to the other lantern series, and that's what I want from this book.

Well lets see where it goes. I find it hard to believe we won't see him crossover with the Titans at some point. I enjoyed his previous series as it really displays why he is DC's best assassin. I hope to see more feats further displaying that, and an emphasize on his intelligence.

@micah: Same here, I just want him to stop being this guy that DC uses "Because he looks cool" and I want him to be a great villain again.

I hope this series is glorious

@sealife: thanks, I just got around to reading it.

I liked the ending.

I think DC is just beginning to realize they're sitting on a gold mine with Slade. I believe he's a great character if not one of the best these days. There is so much untapped potential in the character beyond hunting children or getting his ass kicked 20 different ways by Batmans pre teen protege and his best bros. Daniel is going to pin Slade up against threats that rival Darkseid and bring the mercenary to the forefront of some of the biggest names around. That sounds quite on track to me. The Terminator is big league. So maybe he isn't going to try to manipulate teenagers for the 78th time and sink into the same old routine and obscurity once again. I think given time the character is going to go so much further than he already has in the past couple of years. Which is an impressively long way.

While a characters roots are important and should never be forgotten, I think the child play should be left in the past. Sure cross paths with the Titans here and there but never make it all that slade is about. Just my opinion.

i hope deathstroke encounters bronze tiger, Adrian Chase(vigilante), Prometheus, Midnighter and David Cain. Also Slade vs Grifter would be epic

@bluefox170 said:

If that's how you see him then you don't truly know Deathstroke.

5 STARS!?

IT'S GOOD!!!?

At long last. A good Deathstroke book worth reading.

Great review, to a great first issue. I couldn't be more excited that it lived up to my hype.

I'm loving the new costume design. It really makes him look like the badass assassin that he's supposed to be.

On the contrary. I'm just not clinging to the past. Slade hasn't had a serious reason to go after kids for a long time. Especially in the new 52. The Titans didn't kill Grant. Slade did. Rivalries are born, and rivalries end.

See Deathstroke and the Titans.

See Deathstroke and Nightwing

See Deathstroke and Green Arrow

All just a part of the chain that has brought Slade to who he is today.

Deathstroke is no longer the Antagonist monster in the closet from the 80's. He's a protagonist, with his own life, his own missions, and he can fight it out with the best of them.

In this day in age. THIS decade. Anchoring him to where he was in the beginning is only embarrassing to the character. Some people STILL won't let the character live down how he "can't even beat a group of kids" even though he has put plenty to the blade in recent years. It's been done to death and it's just so dated.

I say let him be the worlds deadliest assassin, "Deathstroke the Terminator". Not forever shackled to "Deathstroke the tactfully frustrated father."

It all boils down to story progression.

Look at where Deadpool is today. In his inception he hunted down the new mutants. Is he still doing that? Not so much. He's all over the place.

Just because I don't think a character should be doing what he was doing 34 years ago doesn't mean I don't know a character.

@bluefox170 said:

He's not meant to be a protagonist, he's only really interesting as a foil for the Titans. Also, this is comics, the whole point is legacy, if anchoring characters to their roots was embarrassing, then there would be no point to reading comics. Also I don't like how you call the Titans "Kids" in such a disrespectful way, especially since they have had some of the greatest comics of all time, and have been one of the greatest teams in all of comics.

That may be how you find him interesting and you may think he shouldn't be a protagonist. I understand that. It doesn't change what is though. And what is just so happens to be Deathstroke as the protagonist in his own book without Titans.

I'm not being disrespectful. The Titans are kids. One of the greatest teams of all time or not.