Deathstroke Inc., Vol. 1: King of the Super-Villains

Deathstroke Inc.

by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter (Illustrator)

DC’s deadliest assassin gets a major upgrade, a new mission, and a new partner…Black Canary? Slade Wilson joins a secret organization to take down the biggest villain!

After suffering too many losses, Slade Wilson decides it’s time for a change. When he’s enlisted to work with an ages-old secret organization called T.R.U.S.T. who want to take down the heavy-hitter villains, he’s all in. They’ll supply him with an all-new team and resources for his new mission into the depths of the weirdest parts of the DCU, including a new partner…Black Canary! Wait, what?!
 
What kind of missions does T.R.U.S.T. have in mind for Slade? How about heading into deep space and stop Cyborg Superman from spreading his consciousness to every machine in the Multiverse! But as they battle the dangers of space, Black Canary begins to uncover the truth about T.R.U.S.T and exactly why they want to control Deathstroke… Maybe T.R.U.S.T. isn’t so trustworthy after all.
 
This volume collects Deathstroke Inc. #1-7 and a story from Urban Legends #6.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

208 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2023

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really good OMG!

So it starts off with Canary being recruited into TRUST after a mission assigned to her by Batgirl and there she meets SLADE and their mission: Defeat the supervillains roaming around and well their mission takes them to battle with Hive Queen and whatever plans she has and then Cyborg superman in space and I kinda liked that one, its fast-paced and double page spreads and also hinting at things to come and finally Cheetah in that make shift world and that was an ehh story but which leads to an interesting confrontation between the two as they learn what Trust really is!

I love the whole reveal and the sequence of events and the bringing together of previous continuity i such a brilliant manner and then revealing Libra, Prometheus and other secret society members and how they both fight nightmare dreams and what Slade does next changes everything between the two and a new status quo for him and leading into Dark crisis really well!

I love the whole sequence of events and then revealing Respawn's origin and how it ties with Robin and Shadow war, like wow, Williamson handling so many subplots and just doing it so well.. just brilliant writing!

Its an amazing book and does well to acknowledge continuity of before and tying into the larger stories but still giving Slade his moments and a new status quo and sort of elevating him into this echoleon of DC pantheon of villains and its awesome. As for the art its potter and its always been a hit or miss for me, but its okay, some might not like it though but then again the writing is way better for you to read it!

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It is a fast paced action packed book that just seemed to fly by. I am not sure who managed to steal the main character status Deathstroke or Black Canary.

Both Black Canary and Deathstroke have taken a mission yo infiltration T.R.U.S.T a new organisation claiming that they are working for the good of the world. Despite the name trust is in short supply. Can these two work together or will they kill each other. What secrets will be unleashed?

This book will have ramifications for two upcoming DC crossovers. Great artwork and I really like both Black Canary and Deathstroke. Lot of action I bit lighter on the story but the setups make up for that. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery with each issue cover taking up a full page. There are a couple of character sketches as well.

[Corey Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5: Deathstroke is a pretty new character to me. But I've liked some of the stuff I've seen him in, so I thought I would give it a shot. And is it good? Well... sorta. To be honest this wasn't what I was expecting at all, so that might be what's hurting this book for me. Let's just get into the story, shall we?

The story- Black Canary is tasked to go undercover and figure out what T.R.U.S.T. is hiding. To do this she must join the team. And, guess who else is on the team. Yep, the one and only Deadpool!

You sure your not Deadpool? Because I'm pretty sure Deathstroke doesn't ride unicorns.

I mean, I don't really know the character that well, but last time I checked he is not this goofy. I mean, it's not off the walls, like Deadpool. But it's something that the hard core Deathstroke fans would get angry about. And I'm not really angry about it, but it just wasn't something I was expecting. Maybe that's what hurting this book for me. I mean, most of this book feels like a black canary comic. And I just wasn't expecting that.

I feel like what really made this book for me was the ending. It actually felt like what I imagine a Deathstroke comic. Now, I'm very exited to see where this series goes.

Overall, It's a fun book. But I think, it deserves a re read so I can put my expectation in check.

[Vinicius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como o próprio nome do encadernado já diz, o Exterminador irá criar uma Corporação, da qual ele será o líder e comandará os membros envolvidos, mas como ele chegou até esse patamar de poder? É isso que vamos acompanhar nessa edição com pouco mais de 200 páginas, repleta de ação que permite uma leitura bem rápida.

Na trama, vamos acompanhar uma organização antiga que está realizando atividades suspeitas, sendo uma delas a aquisição de tecnologia do Batman e esconda-las por trás de diversas contas de fachada. Assim, a Oráculo pede para que a Canario -Negro se infiltre e investigue essa organização. Porém, o que ela não contava é que seu parceiro de campo, para realizar as missões, seria o Exterminador.

Mesmo com rusgas no começo, os 2 personagens se entendem e realizam as missões que lhes são ordenadas com êxito. E conforme as missões vão acontecendo, eles acabam tendo diálogos e interações mais humanas, a respeito de família e relacionamento, mas sem perder o profissionalismo.

Em uma dessas missões de campo, eles acabam descobrindo alguns segredos da organização, fazendo com que ambos confrontem sua chefe, resultando em revelações bem interessantes, fazendo com que o conflito e o clima de conspiração seja ainda maior.

Mesmo com todo esse foco na ações e investigação, surgem alguns indícios de que o exterminador se tornaria uma pessoa melhor, e parte de ter aceitado essa missão foi uma forma de buscar redenção, mas ele acaba se corrompendo e criando essa Corporação Exterminador.

Ademais, ressalvo que esse nome não tem ligação com Corporação Batman, e o encadernado também serve como um preludio para a Guerra das Sombras que irá acontecer na revista do Batman. Além disso, é legal ter lido a minissérie do Robin, que saiu aqui em duas partes, pois coisas que ocorreram naquela revista são mencionadas aqui.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eu estava bastante animado para essa nova série do Exterminador, principalmente depois de ter visto o trabalho incrível de Christopher Priest no anti-herói durante o Renascimento DC. Também me animei ao ver o trabalho de Joshua Williamson no Robin, isso porque as duas séries têm ligações. Mas, infleizmente, mais uma vez Joshua Williamson foi o Joshua Williamson raiz, aquele que eu não gosto e que faz quadrinhos no piloto automático, sem graça, só cumprindo tabela. Os desenhos da série por Trevo Hairsine e Howard Porter também são bastante decepcionantes. A coisa só mehora mesmo na última história, agora desenhada pelo Steve Segovia, em que temos revelações sobre a família Al Ghul envolvendo o Exteminador e que vão levar ao crossover Guerra das Sombras, entre Robin, Batman e Exterminador, a ser publicado na série mensal do Batman. Levando tudo em conta, essa nova série do Exterminador Slade Wilson fica extremamente aquém do run de Christopher Priest durante o Renascimento DC...

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dumb fun.

Sometimes that's all I want from comics.

When Deathstroke and Black Canary are forced to team up you know shits about to go down. Some crazy missions, lots of set up for Shadow Wars and Justice League event, but still remains fast paced and fun. Highlighted when Black Canary is on the page. The sudden art switch ups could be jarring though.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Average start, but boy do they hit the gas towards the end....all in preparation for Shadow War and Dark Crisis.

We have Deathstroke, Black Canary, and Toyman (Hiro Okamura) getting hired by T.R.U.S.T. for a TON of money. Looks like the organization also bought up some of the Batman tech that has now flooded the market. They're tasked with grabbing villains and bringing them back to headquarters. What happens after that? Nobody knows. Just have faith and it'll all balance out.

Why are they REALLY here?
* Deathstroke? He needs to prove himself. He's been bad and he's been good. He feels the need to pick a side and go 'all out'. You don't win by sitting on the sidelines.
* Canary was brought in (by Oracle) to check out this new organization named T.R.U.S.T. They convinced Canary to join by mentioning all the good her mother (also a Black Canary) had done with the JSA.

Nothing is quite as it seems. Every shadow organization has secrets. Sometimes their secrets have secrets. With a world that's been in so many catastrophic Crisis, it's no wonder that things have gone down this path.

Bonus: Respawn cameo? I appreciate the ties to Damian AND the ties to Deathstroke...but seriously...
Bonus: DC officially has too many 'secret' organizations. T.R.U.S.T., H.I.V.E., Legion of Doom, Checkmate, the Secret Society (of Super Villains), A.R.G.U.S., Leviathan, etc etc

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read this because I really enjoyed Williamson's work on the Robin series, which this ties into. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much, even though I really like Deathstroke as a character. I kept wondering about the title of the book, "Deathstroke, Inc.", not really getting the connection until the sixth or seventh issue. Prior to this, Deathstroke, joined inextricably by Black Canary, must uncover what's behind the new organization T.R.U.S.T. Of course, nothing is as it seems, especially when we get some very minor villains show up near the end. This is while the Year of the Villain is going on and there is a tie-in to that event as well.

I didn't think Deathstroke was really portrayed true to character here. His personality was off and his rationalization for his action rather muddled. The reveal of the identity of Respawn (from the Robin series) was interesting, but Deathstroke's reaction was strange, very strange.

Howard Porter's art is also muddy and hard to look at. His art has really changed from his days on JLA with Grant Morrison.

From this book, the reader should go to the Batman: Shadow War series, because Deathstroke, Inc. Vol 2 is a Year One story, so lots of loose ends must tie up there.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

DC really like the whole 'give a supervillain a solo title and then tell their story from another person's point of view' lately. First there was The Joker, which is basically a Jim Gordon book, and now Deathstroke Inc., which is Black Canary in disguise, at least to start with. Also, that makes it sound like a bad thing, which it's really not.

The opening few issues here do the whole 'set up a long term plot and give you some crumbs about how it's going to play out' thing, with basically one-and-done stories featuring Deathstroke stabbing things and Black Canary telling him not to. They're great fun though, and varied as hell - one's set in space, another in a Queen Of Fables-esque storyland, for example, which is just pure comic book craziness. But then it feels like we rush to the finish line, with all the secrets coming to a head at the same time just as you're getting settled into the status quo.

I feel like if this was a 90s or early 2000s book, it'd have dragged that first feeling of unease out for over a year before playing all of its cards. I'm not sure if I like it, or not, but it is what it is. It could just be that Williamson needed to get Deathstroke into Shadow War and then Dark Crisis so he didn't have enough issues to really play with the whole TRUST set-up. It's fine, just a little disappointing.

On artwork we have Howard Porter for the first four issues, before Paolo Pantalena steps in and does a great Porter impression for two. Pantalena also did a great Kenneth Rocafort impression over on Red Hood & The Outlaws; he's fast becoming DC's chameleon fill-in artist, which is always a good place to be. Oh, and Stephen Segovia shows up for the final issue.

Deathstroke Inc does a lot in a short space of time, for better or worse. It looks good doing it, and even though Deathstroke's a bit of a supporting character in his own book for the first half or so, this is still a rollicking good time.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not at all what I expected. I guess I expected a new Deathstroke series, focused on the assassin being an ass and kicking some at the same time. And while there was a lot of that, I was surprised by the fact that it’s more of an unlikely team-up story between Black Canary and Deathstroke, as they both get hired by a mysterious organization to go on increasingly wacky adventures and be superheroes. But things are obviously not what they seem and both characters have their own reasons for being there. Also, I love the idea that after the Joker War, Batman’s gear gets auctioned to the highest bidder and there’s a bunch of Bat-tech being used by random people. The first issue here was fantastic, but it’s never holds up that quality as the issues move along. But it does end well, in surprising ways, that lead right up to Batman: Shadow War.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oracle discovers a new organization, T.R.U.S.T. who has bought up all of Batman's tech after all of the Joker War craziness. She sends Black Canary in undercover to find out if these guys are on the up and up or not. There she has to team up with Deathstroke and go on a few one-off issues. The book changes direction drastically in the back half of this. It's an interesting turn. Also, the last issue spoils the first 2 volumes of Robin so you may want to wait for the 2nd volume to be released before reading this.

[Tetiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favourite DC characters since "Teen Titans" cartoon... what else can I say? 5+ stars for the unicorn XD

[Arianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I probably only liked this volume so much because it's Deathstroke. It was a pretty mediocre showing.
For starters it's written by Joshua Williamson, who is consistently just okay and always missing the spark that would make his works great. Alongside Deathstroke we have Dinah Lance, a character I certainly don't dislike but I don't particularly love either. The volume also features a lot of absurd scenarios that would be more appropriate for a comedic title.

The themes of this book are handled with the subtlety of someone suddenly and violently punching you on the face. That might actually work in its favor. I mean, my favorite thing about Deathstroke as a character is the absolute transparency of his twisted psychology. In this volume, he decides to raise his own clone as his kid because Respawn vaguely reminds him of his dead son Grant, as he abandons his living children yet again. Slade's obvious preference for Grant (and even Damian!) over his female or gay kids was already hinted at in previous titles but it becomes blatant here. Raising your own clone to try and heal not just your childhood trauma but also your parenting fuckups? Superman could never.

[Alek Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay... So I didnt like it. And I really had high hopes from that "Urban Legends" lead in issue.

It starts off kind of slow and kooky in the first 3 issues. With Black Canary working along side Deathstroke with a secret organization called T.R.U.S.T. who want to hunt down supervillains and bring them to justice. Canary is motivated to investigate the organization's motives and Deathstroke is looking to do some good to make up for all his bad.

Then issue 4 happens and we learn that T.R.U.S.T. can't be trusted. Things set up for a Deathstroke v. Canary show down but then they decide to work together to find out what exactly is going on. Only for a huge Legion of Doom battle to happen that turns out just to be a dream so the villain can reveal she knew all along that Black Canary didn't trust her.

Now issue 5 did peak my interest with the evil villains plan. A bunch of C-list and one hit wonder villains have teamed up to form a Secret Society; not to take over the world or kill all the heroes. But to prevent other A-list villains, like Luthor and his Legion of Doom, from trying to unleash cosmic space gods and killing the universe. I really enjoyed the concept of villains banning together to keep other villains in check; on the reality that in all these new world orders or cosmic take overs their money doesn't matter.

But then issue 6 comes along and Deathstroke has an idea. Apparently due to a haunted house alternate timeline dream sequence, Deathstroke feels he doesn't deserve to be a hero. So instead he decides to take over the Secret Society and kill of all the villains that had the original idea. His new plan is to create an army of villains, train them to fight, upgrade all of Batman's stolen tech, and prepare for the next crisis.

I really just didn't understand Deathstrokes character progression or why Black Canary was even necessary for this story. And above all I hated the art.

The final issue with Respawns origin was a very convoluted and disappointing flop. I hope that this stories quality as a prelude doesn't hinder "Shaow War" or "Dark Crisis"

[Ozan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished the Deathstroke Inc. vol. 1 HC.

I didn't know Green Arrow has a dislike for Batman. He was target practicing with Black Canary and using Batman's picture for target practice. lol While complaning about Batman to Black Canary.

The Title of the book is Deathstroke Inc., but the most of the book was just a Deathstroke and Black Canary team up. Even if a Deathstroke and Black Canary team up is a nice idea, it was like ''Oh Deathstroke died and in the the next issue, oh he didn't die... and then oh, Deatstroke tries to kill Black Canary and oh no he didn't, Deathstroke betrayed Black Canary and then oh, no he didn't...'' lol Let down after let down... lol The small and obscure villians' reason and plan to come together and create their own little legion of doomesque super villain team was just ridiculous... lol

The art was inconsistent and mostly not that good. And i didn't like how the volume ended with a giant ''it will continue in Dark Crisis'' note... I don't want to read the damn Dark Crisis, i just came here to read Deathstroke, why can't these books be self contained !?!?! This is one of the lame parts of a shared universe, they always try to make you read the big event at the time... Or referencing to some other title to try to make you read it... Annoying.

Deathstroke Inc. issue 8-9 was not collected in the Deathstroke Inc. Hard Covers, but it was collected in the Batman: Shadow War HC. A little Deathstroke centered Batman Event. I got Batman: Shadow War HC as well, so i will read it next.

Edit: Oh, Deathstroke felt guilty and sorry about how he treated his family and decided to be a good guy now in the Book. A sudden change of heart... lol

[Jadyn❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deathstroke Inc. volume 1 was way better than I thought it would be, which is silly on my part because it’s by Joshua Williamson, who almost never misses. Those who know me will know I hate Deathstroke and do not enjoy when this character is the lead in a book, because they so often try to make him the hero, or ask us to sympathize with him. I don’t, and I don’t think I ever will. This book is up front about that. The only times it wants you to believe Slade might want to be a hero, he’s trying to manipulate Black Canary. Black Canary is probably a big contributor to why I liked this book.
Much of the book is actually set up for the title “Deathstroke Inc”, so for the first 5 or 6 issues the title doesn’t really seem to fit. It all makes sense by the end of the volume, though.
Why do you read all this Deathstroke if you hate him, you ask? Because I love Rose Wilson, and Joshua Williamson’s work is probably the nicest any writer has been to her. Thanks to him for that, I should’ve told him that when I met him in Ravager cosplay (instead he asked me if I thought she and Red Hood were secretly in love… a story for another day). At the very end of this volume, Ravager and Respawn appear to tie up some loose ends from Robin (2021) (my favorite series), which sets up Shadow War. I’m biased, but that was the best part for me. Slade’s family drama is unfortunately compelling to me. So much of what he does is motivated by his grief over his eldest, Grant. He seems to have genuinely cared about Grant, and yet he lets Joseph and Rose down again and again and again, even actively hurts them, in pursuit of his never-ending self-serving exploits. I read these books for them, and I pray on this man’s downfall. He’s never framed as in the right here, so that’s a win in my book.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I saw it would be part of the Shadow War event that the Batman series is build towards. That's barely evident in King of the Super-Villains, though. Instead, we get Black Canary and Deathstroke teaming up in a new organization, TRUST, that certainly isn't evil! No, of course not! How could it be!

Deathstroke is trying to go good (two guesses how that turns out), and by the end is set up as the leader of a new society of D-list super-villains. It's predictable. Worse, there are so many minor misadventures in this volume - it's barely a narrative. Space! Fantasy kingdoms! Wherever you can think of, Deathstroke and Black Canary will track down a villain there.

Worse worse, the tragic art by Howard Porter. Thick lines and busy artwork do not mix. It's barely intelligible. Hopefully Shadow Wars does nothing with any of this.

[Dexter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auf eine seltsame Art hat das viel Spaß gemacht. Slade Wilson ist eigentlich ein B-Liga-Schurke mit Selbstheilungskräften & einer ungesunden Waffenvernarrtheit - der allerdings in den vergangenen Jahren immer mal wieder auch als Anti-Held in Erscheinung getreten ist. In dem Beginn einer sehr langen Story, von der das Band 1 ist, werden er und Black Canary in eine Geheimorganisation eingeschleust, bei der nicht so ganz klar ist, was sie eigentlich erreichen will. Autor Joshua Williamson tobt sich aus, greift auf allerlei Nebenfiguren zurück, die für ein paar Momente durch die Seiten springen und für Wiedersehensfreude sorgen. Dabei behält er aber die Hauptstory nicht aus den Augen. Weil das aber nur der Auftakt ist, hoffe ich auf noch mehr Verrücktheiten und Spaß und Chaos. Es gibt also noch Luft nach oben in der bevorstehenden Hauptstory “Shadow War”.

[Luke Malone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this story was okay. Not bad by any means, but nothing phenomenal. This is the first solo Deathstroke story I've read, and there wasn't too much in the way of character development that helped me get to know the character that much. Which is fine, because the bits that were there were interesting and I'm definitely sticking around for the next volume/event. It's mostly set up for shadow War and dark crisis, which both seem great. Overall, I did have fun reading this, as the first few issues are fun action one-in-done romps. Art's enjoyable for the most part, but seems rushed and messy in some parts. I do recommend if you're looking for a start into Deathstroke, want a fun action comic, or trying to catch up on the DC Universe.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The clash of different personalities in this unique new team makes added depth to the new direction that the writers are taking Deathstroke as a character. The exploration of Slade as a person and how he defines himself really did a great job of showcasing the fight for his own identity. The determination and ruthless nature of his fighting skills paired well with Black Canary’s own skills, and yet the clash of her optimism and morality with his “do whatever needs to be done” mindset made for such an interesting character dynamic between them. A definite must-read for longtime Deathstroke fans, and a fresh new direction in the DC Universe.

[عاشور الناجي · Rating 3 out of 5]

هو أنا مش من هواة الأشرار اللي بيتعملهم قصص لوحدهم بس الشخصية دي شفتها في مسلسل The Arrow وكانت بدايتها حلوة ، جندي قوات خاصة ومتساب في جزيرة لوحده سنين طويلة ، يمكن مفهمتش أو مجمعتش قوي خرج من الجزيرة ازاي ولا ليه دخل في كل العداوات دي مع شخصية السهم الأخضر وقتها بس الشخصية نفسها كان تصميمها كويس قوي
القصة هنا عن انضمامه لمنظمة بتبان من بره خير وبتواجه الشر بس بيكتشف تدريجي إنهم أشرار عادي وإنه نفذ عمليات لمصلحة شرير تاني ، الرسم حلو وعجبني
مش خارقة يعني ولا تستحق تعليقات ومناقشة كتير بس لطيفة

[Will Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm probably giving this a little high of a review, but it got me- Deathstroke (one of my fave villains) going through an existential crisis, a ton of B-class villains and smaller quests, and Howard Porter artwork.

[Jos Trinidad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was such a cool concept for Deathstroke and it wasn't impeded by the fact that he teamed up with my favorite hero, Black Canary. However, the ending felt unfulfilling as he spends the majority of the comic talking about trying to do the right thing just to turn around on a dime and become the Deathstroke we all know.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deathstroke Inc. Vol. 1

Great book. Deathstroke has always been an interesting character. Like a more mess up Captain America. Just catching up on my comic books reading list I miss out.

[Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the story, too many different artists for one story arc. DC annoys me with that.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, this was....incredibly stupid.

[Andi Chorley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as part of Dark Crisis but it was more fun than I expected and good to see Jim Starlin's The Weird again briefly.

[Rickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half was just meh boarding on goofy. Second half, when the Shadow War plot started was very solid.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Williamson out of control

I finally learned to respect Williamson world building. But there is no ending everything is just growing making me tired. Of course I loved it.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cutting and dicing right from the beginning, eye popping art, moral dilemma's from the start, great adventure and action!