Slade Wilson is Deathstroke, also known as Deathstroke the Terminator. He's one of the greatest assassins in the DC Universe, or at least the OLD DC Universe. He had issues...lots of them. Sometimes he's a villain, sometimes an anti-hero. In the NEW DC 52, he is just DEATHSTROKE.
This Deathstroke is well armed, as we see in the opening of the story. In a beautiful two page spread, Deathstroke slices and dices the Moscow bad guys, including beheading someone who looks an awful lot like J. Jonah Jameson. He's the biggest metahuman assassin in the Universe. Following the Moscow event, Deathstroke meets with Christoph who gives him his next assignment as part of a team. Oh yeah-Wilson also kills a buzzing fly with a paper clip.
Damn-he's good.
Wilson gets hooked up with his three person team of inexperienced recruits who call themselves the Alpha Dawgs. The mission is to cap a former German scientist turned arms dealer. Killer the scientist and recover the briefcase with nuclear secrets he's been selling to Iran.With the mission underway, Wilson carves his way into the airplane with a big old sword and runs headlong into the scientist and his biologically engineered creatures, which he disposes of in pretty quick fashion. The scientist, looking as Max Schreck as possible hands Wilson the briefcase, telling him how they went through a lot of trouble to give him what is in the briefcase.
Deathstroke bails and the bombs blows up the plane.
Back home, the Alpha Dawgs celebrate with Cristoph, toasting their victory as the "up and coming" team. Wilson doesn't see up and comers...all he sees is competition and proceeds to kill the Dawgs. Wilson shows Cristoph the contents of the briefcase, which none of us STILL know what it is(think PULP FICTION) and tells the guy who hired him to be "a good dog and clean up".
I was pretty much deadset against buying this book but, figuring I needed to test the waters on all the NEW 52 titles, I dove in. And I think I like it. I mean, the story is pretty well written by Kyle Higgins and the artwork by Joe Bennett and Art Thibert is pretty dynamic. What I still need to wrap my head around is Slade Wilson as crazy mission driven assassin who doesn't care about the cost as long as it isn't him. I'm used to Slade Wilson as anti-hero: defending family and occasionally seeking revenge. I'm used to Slade Wilson as arch villain trying to eliminate superheroes with his guile.
This guy is just one major kick-ass dude with a big-ass sword. Not a rapier, mind you: A BIG FREAKIN' SWORD. Those in charge think he can't cut it anymore. I guess they were wrong. Slade Wilson is cutting into everyone's territory.
Okay, I'll make my way through another issue or two, just to see how this turns out...and what's in the briefcase.
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman is in panel three on page 1, watching the start of the confrontation between the Russians and Deathstroke.
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