Runner Up: Deathstroke: R.I.P. #44 – Christopher Priest, Fernando Pasarin, Ryan Winn, Jeremy Cox and Willie Schubert
Slade Wilson is dead.
With a large crowd of mourners, we get an idea of how respected and reviled the Terminator was in the larger DC Universe, or at the very least, in the realm of villainous circles. Talia al Ghul bids him farewell and says that he will be welcomed in hell. Red Lion, Priests pastiche of Black Panther, pays his respects to “de ultimate wheelon.” Raptor, Killer Frost and Deadshot all show up to pay respects, with Deadshot saying that he always thought he’d be the one to take Wilson out and how he feels cheated.
Dr. Ikon, who was put into a coma by Jericho and subsequently hunted by Slade for daring to have a relationship with his son shows up and wishes Slade had at least given him his eye back. Even his ex-wife, Adeline Kane cries as she views the funeral, damming him for dying even after all of mess they’ve put each other through.
The Legion of Doom appears and tries to assert their dominance over the crowd, but remain calm as Sinestro remarks that Deathstroke was one of the few that could legitimately stand with the group as he analyzes the body.
Superman, who Deathstroke fought all the way back in issue #8, appears above the proceedings to make sure that everything stays cordial amongst the many attendees. Meanwhile, Jericho, angry that his father’s even getting a funeral, tries to goad Superman into bringing all of the villains in attendance down, but Superman disagrees. He says that no one is committing and crime and the boy just gets angrier.
At the Titan’s base, Red Arrow tries to comfort Damian, telling him that Deathstroke’s death wasn’t his fault and that even though Damian wanted him dead, Emiko had to be the one to loose the arrow. Unbeknownst to either, Jericho takes over Emiko’s body and attacks Damian, cursing them for killing Deathstroke before taking over Kid Flash’s body soon after.
For the entirety of this run, we’ve seen how negative Slade and Jericho’s relationship is. Jericho hates his father and that has poisoned his entire life. Knowing he’s being mourned pisses off the former Titan, but hearing that another Titan was the one that killed him sends him into a rage. It’s similar to his heel turn in Geoff Johns spectacular Teen Titans run in the mid 2000s where he didn’t want more kids to suffer, but this time he’s the one suffering.
At the same time, Rose Wilson attacks people dressing up as her father as his face is shown all over screens in a city and Detective Gordon tells her that Slade wouldn’t have wanted her to follow in his footsteps as he was told by Wintergreen, echoing the most early issues of Deathstroke, like #4 – #5, I believe.
Jericho continues his rage, in Kid Flash’s body, and attacks Sinestro, who uses his Ultraviolet ring to tap into Jericho’s repressed emotions and fires upon the crowd. Doctor Light reveals that Superman was just a projection and disables Jericho and the Legion ponders what to do with the boy. With Deathstroke dead, the Legion makes their first Offer for Year of the Villain and gives him a chance to join them and with his current mental state, who’s to say that he won’t?
Deathstroke has been a weird and convoluted ride at times, but the character work herein has been phenomenal. We’ve seen the root causes of what makes Deathstroke himself so poisonous and how that’s affected his children.
Jericho wears the mask of a hero, but underneath, he’s scarred. He nearly kills a man he loves on the off chance that he may tell Slade of it, causing Slade to hunt him and now he himself is falling to the dark side.
Rose has always straddled the line, but her father kept her on the side of good at least by discouraging her from being him. Her anger at his death may drag her into the same pit as Jericho, especially after trying to solve the mental break she had, thinking she was overcome with the Spirit of a Hmong warrior.
There’s going to be a war to determine who the next Deathstroke will be and if that doesn’t excite everyone, I don’t know what to say other than High recommend.
Ty Talks Comics 