Deathstroke Inc. #11: Toxic Traits

The question is, did the experiment change Slade Wilson or did it bring out what was already bubbling on the inside?

Ed Brisson’s take on Slade Wilson’s backstory and psyche changes is pretty interesting in this book. He presents things as if Slade knows what he should be feeling for his wife and child, but is unable to be the same loving family man that he was before, opting instead for a life of blood and death since being discharged from the Army. There’s an excellent case to be made for his new antisocial leanings to be a byproduct of the trauma suffered from his near death experience and his lust for revenge being his attempt to quell it. 

But as we all know, it won’t be enough. The detachment that we see from Deathstroke towards his family is heartbreaking because, while Slade may not have always been a great man, we do see that his family and friends care for him, but all he cares about is having a mission. Brisson makes this apparent in multiple pages throughout the book through Wilson’s thoughts, especially when he tells himself that he knows he’s only ever been good at killing people. 

One aspect that stuck out during the reading of this book was how Deathstroke acknowledges that killing people makes him a monster, but that “the world needs monsters like him.” This insinuates that Slade originally wanted to be something of a dark hero of sorts, doing what others simply won’t or can’t and it’s going to be interesting to see that changed about this early ethos, especially when the final page of this book shows an actual hero showing up to oppose Slade and his mission.

Dexter Soy is the perfect artist to capture the creeping darkness that follows Slade Wilson as he slides into the shadows. Soy’s facial expressions run the gamut of Slade’s disinterest in loving his wife and the disappointment in having a son that he perceives as weak. It’s powerful in how well Soy is able to capture those emotions and contrast them with later pages where Wilson feels alive with nothing but a scowl and furrowed brows as he slaughters the men that are between him and his quarry. 

Speaking of the killing, the action in the book, though mostly reserved for the final few pages, is very frenetic and violent. Deathstroke finally appears in his element as he mercilessly guns down his opposition with a high angle shot of him walking amongst the bodies and a flat shot that highlights his first real costume as he slaughters his fellow former Soldiers for protecting the doctor. Soy’s linework and inks are particularly strong and give each page extreme detail and deep shadows. It’s a beautiful sight.

But it’s not only the action scenes that tell a story, but the calm moments as well. Soy does a great job of sequential storytelling with each panel following each other excellently while also using a variety of shots for each scene. There are close ups to get an idea of character emotions through their faces, establishing shots to show the transition of locations, wide angles to show the full bodies of characters and their surroundings to make the world feel full and alive, it’s very nice. And there’s also a call back to Priests run in which Deathstroke refuses to console a sad Grant with a hug, something that Wintergreen pointed out in the last series with how Slade was averse to physically and emotionally connecting with any of his kids through hugs and “I love yous.”

Veronica Gandini is a great colorist that elevates the art with clean and vibrant colors. The book is entirely beautiful thanks to Gandini’s use of slightly saturated coloring, from Wintergreen’s almond colored hair to Slade’s distinct white haired look, the book really shines with background coloring and Slade’s costume. When Slade’s first prometheum armor is shown off, it looks very basic, but with Gandini’s colors emphasizing the orange set against the grey, it takes on that iconic feel and looks threatening despite the garish colors. And her backgrounds are absolutely fantastic with the excellent use of blue skies and lighting to thematically show off Deathstroke’s newfound happiness in his garb – and later terror as he stalks his victim in the dark blues of night.

Steve Wands excellently letters this book with unobtrusive word balloons and thought bubbles, usually with half of Deathstroke’s face being used as the corner indicator that they’re his thoughts. He makes great use of the empty space left by Soy to dot the page with dialogue and also uses sound effects to give noise to action. There’s nothing quite like an explosive BLAM to give a scene a sense of impact and instant shock.