Titans #22 is a major issue for the DC All In direction. That is due to it finally bringing the returning Deathstroke out of the shadows. Well, at least that is what is being teased after the Titans found out their greatest nemesis is behind all the recent villain attacks they’ve been dealing with. Given that the last time we saw Deathstroke he barely survived his fight against the entire superhero community of the DC Universe we still don’t know if this is Slade Wilson. There is a history of others wearing the Deathstroke disguise. Let’s find out what’s revealed in Titans #22
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Daniel Bayliss
Letterer: Wes Abbott
TITANS #22 SOLICITATION
“DEATHSTROKE, BACK FROM THE DEAD?! He’s the world’s deadliest mercenary and the Titans’ oldest and most dangerous enemy. He’s also dead… or at least we thought he was dead.
Yeah, we’re talkin’ about Slade Wilson, Deathstroke, now back from the dead, building a new team of villains, and ready to take on the Titans. How did he do it? Find out in this can’t-miss issue!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Titans #22 delivers on exactly what it needed to do in explaining how Deathstroke is back. To his credit, John Layman handles the return by making the right choices on how to use the events in Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths and Absolute Power to explain the return.
To be honest, the explanation for Slade Wilson’s return to form as Deathstroke is kept relatively simple. Layman avoids not complicating things by going into all the details of why Slade was in a near death state at the end of Dark Crisis. The same goes for how and why Terra is the one responsible for Slade’s return. Simply making it that Terra wants to use Slade for her greater revenge plan is all the explanation that was needed.
But while Layman teams them back up it is made clear that the history between Deathstroke and Terra isn’t being forgotten. Terra makes it clear that she will not hesitate to kill Deathstroke if he goes against her goals. That at least level sets the whole the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” angle that Terra is returning with.
It also helps to define what makes Deathstroke such a major threat. Yes, he is one of the most skilled fighters in the DCU. But it is his ability to recruit and lead a group of villains that is his deadliest asset.
This is something we see with how Nightwing analyzes the crime scene Deathstroke’s Crime Syndicate left behind. Having Nightwing go full detective mode made for a more unique experience having a large part of Titans #22 take place as a flashback. The motives for the Crime Syndicate as Deathstroke recruits Killer Frost and leaves Psycho Pirate behind is made clear. This is a group of villains and they will be doing villain things. It sets things up for the Titans vs Crime Syndicate to be a long term storyline to hit on classic superhero elements.
With Deathstroke and Terra’s return it is smart to have Beast Boy get more of a focus in this first stage of Deathstroke’s return. Beast Boy has the most invested in this battle given his history with Deathstroke and Terra. Layman sets him up to be the biggest wild card in this story. And it is done in a manner that will really test Beast Boy at this stage in his life.
The one aspect of Titans #22 that didn’t work was the brief focus Donna Troy and Arsenal’s reigniting their chemistry. The few moments they get together feels forced. Which has been the case with anytime we’ve seen Donna and Roy’s relationship be highlighted in this run thus far. It just feels like Layman trying to force another romance into this series when Donna’s arc should be about further establishing her leadership and Roy being regaining his credibility working in a team.
Luckily, we have another character focus angle with Cyborg choice to help Vanadia. It is cool to see Cyborg using his knowledge and being in the same position to help Vanadia. There is a lot of potential in Cyborg possibly mentoring Vanadia as she gets used to her life as an android. The mentor role is something he excelled in before during Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans run and think he will do well here if that’s the direction.
Daniel Bayliss artwork throughout Titans #22 was solid. Terra’s expression matched what her goals are when talking with Deathstroke. The same goes for how Deathstroke makes his authority known when Clock King questions not freeing Psycho Pirate. The action we do get also show that Bayliss has skill but that didn’t last long so we didn’t get to fully see his choreography ability in action.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Titans #22 delivers exactly what it needed to be in explaining the return of Deathstroke and leading the new Crime Syndicate. Bringing back Terra in the fold helps work in more Teen Titans history into the series. Everything else that is developed establishes a strong potential for the Titans vs Crime Syndicate storylife.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
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