After 46 Years, Deathstroke Has An Unexpected New Role In DC Lore

Published Oct 31, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT

Mark has been a comic book journalist for over 15 years and has interviewed comic book creators like Gail Simone and Caspar Wijngaard. And when he's not writing, he's working on beating his record of 1,200 comics read in a year.

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DC Comics’ Deathstroke: The Terminator began with Slade Wilson losing his best, and maybe only, friend Wintergreen. As the series continued, WIlson’s life got worse. His ex-wife took his wealth, reputation, and shot his daughter (Rose Wilson, Ravager). Now, he's at his lowest. However, it’s said that a person is most dangerous when they have nothing to lose. In this case, they’re at their pettiest.

At the beginning of Deathstroke: The Terminator No. 8, Slade is at a gas station. As he’s about to pay for his stuff, someone cuts in front of him and a few others. Rather than let this rudeness go, Wilson calls a mysterious person to help him track the line-cutter down. The person on the line calls it petty and says that this is Slade using this as a way to compensate for not killing his ex-wife in Deathstroke: The Terminator No. 6.

Eventually, Deathstroke gets annoyed with his “partner” and gives him an ultimatum. Slade says to help him, or he’ll tell the Justice League that they’re working together. That was enough for the person to get in line and track the target down.

When Slade finds the offender, the Justice League member says that he’s getting a strange reading coming from the location. Not only that, going after a nobody may be more trouble than it’s worth. He was right. After Wilson kills the guy, he opens the trunk and sees an unknown dead Green Lantern. Then it’s revealed that Deathstroke’s secret helper is none other than the Atom, Ray Palmer, and he can't believe what he's seeing.

Why Is The Atom Working With Deathstroke?

During Justice League Unlimited No. 17, Ray Palmer starts to get annoyed with the League’s amnesty project. He tells Batman that many of their teammates are also frustrated and have left the team because of it. Being the stubborn person he is, the Dark Knight dismisses this and says he can fix the problem. Ray doesn’t believe this because he thinks that the Justice League is under the influence of Darkseid’s Omega Energy.

At the end of Justice League Unlimited No. 24, Ray and Green Arrow visit Dreamer, whose mission is to help the League prepare for Darkseid. To do that, she has to decipher the visions many of the heroes got after DC K.O. One of the visions could be why Ray has decided to work with someone like Slade Wilson.

There’s no love lost between the Justice League and Deathstroke: The Terminator. Slade has tried to kill them and has ruthlessly gone after the Teen Titans (not to mention the creepy stuff with Terra). That means it must be crucial for Ray Palmer to work with him. Maybe whatever Dreamer reveals will show that he has to make an alliance with someone he clearly hates.

Is Deathstroke On A Redemption Tour?

Slade Wilson isn’t a likable person. However, he is a beloved comic book character. He’s deadly, smooth, and has enough skills to take on every member of the Justice League. Because he’s liked, DC Comics may be working on turning Deathstroke into an antihero. Or, at the very least, someone put him on the path to being more than just a killer.

So far, writer Tony Fleecs has done an amazing job at making Slade Wilson someone to root for. It’s difficult to forget the things he’s done, but this story arc has made him sympathetic. Even if Deathstroke is an awful person, it's easy to root for him since he lost their best friend and watched someone attempt to kill their daughter. Who knows? Maybe this is how Deathstroke becomes a member of the Justice League.