Wintergreen—arguably Slade’s only real friend—guilt trips him about Damian, telling him the boy is...grandson of Ra’s Al Ghul—raised by the League of Assassins...his own mother had him killed once, Slade...this is a severely damaged young boy. We don’t see Slade react, not immediately, but artist Ed Benes soon illustrates a closeup of Slade’s concerned face, his head on a pillow with a gun beneath it as young Damian intones rhetoric about being a warrior, sounding both traumatized and borderline insane (standard for Damian, but still…).

There’s a clear implication: Slade is recalling past kids who’ve been damaged in his care, as far back as his first fight with the Teen Titans (which is in continuity again?). Protecting children—or failing to—has been central to Deathstroke from his start, and so Priest logically centers this run on the deaths, losses, disillusionment, all of which is traumatizing, even for one as hardened as Slade.

Change, however, does occur. When Damian is nearly lost in a magical shadow realm that causes insanity (yay for superhero comics!), Slade hears echoes of Wintergreen’s words—this is a severely damaged young boy—and saves Damian. Got you! After so many failures—some due to selfishness, others to circumstance—it’s a powerful moment of growth. It’s also expert storytelling patiently executed by Priest. So, with that in mind, let’s look now at the narrative tools that helped build this payoff.

Man vs. Self: Slade Wilson’s Efforts to Deflect Emotional Damage

The simplest tool Priest uses is depicting Deathstroke as removed from the pain he has suffered. Essentially, Slade Wilson’s constant insistence that young people in his life mean less than nothing is an invincible Ikon suit for his feelings. Whereas the actual suit protects his body, his repeated insistence he doesn’t care protects his psyche, also distancing him from past regrets.

Slade is a cold person, to be sure. He kills for money, etc. Being emotionally removed is obvious. To flesh Slade out, however, Priest also cracks his exterior, putting hesitation or clumsiness near his worst moments, including when he alienates his young hero team Defiance (a who’s who of kids he’s failed), or when he contracts a hit to get closer to his estranged daughter. Priest puts in work to build a compelling dichotomy within Slade, showing rather than telling us he is conflicted by peppering subtle but consistent moments throughout this lengthy run.

The Kids in Deathstroke’s Care

Those aforementioned moments are best examined via the other kids involved with Slade before Damian, specifically by looking at how Deathstroke fails them each. They are..