Batman: The Animated Series Pits Deathstroke Against Murder Hornets

Batman: The Animated Series added popular DC Comics villain Deathstroke to its universe two weeks ago. Now it's pitted the master assassin against a real-world terror: murder hornets. The story of Batman: The Animated Series continues in the digital-first comics series Batman: The Adventures Continue. Its previous installment brought Deathstroke to the show's version of Gotham for the first time. Slade made overtures toward recruiting Batman's sidekicks out from under the Dark Knight's cape. In the latest issue, Deathstroke teams with Batman's new Robin, Tim Drake in battling the villain Firefly and his new minions, a swarm of Asian giant hornets.

The adventure begins with Batman sending Tim home because it's a school night. Batman heads off to battle the Royal Flush Gang while Tim gets distracted when he notices Deathstroke heading into a museum. Robin catches up with Deathstroke, who explains he's after Firefly, the pyromaniac mercenary who also has a thing for bugs. It's around then that they hear the low buzzing sound the precedes the murder hornets' arrival.

Robin comes up with a plan to stop the hornets. He gathers them into his cape then blasts them with a fire extinguisher, making them too heavy to fly. Deathstroke then chastises Tim for not taking a lethal approach to such deadly opponents.

The series' creative team has discussed introducing Deathstroke to DC's animated universe in the past. Ty Templeton draws the issue. In an interview, he said, "Deathstroke is one of DC's enduring hero/villains. I've always loved his design and his history with the Titans, which makes him part of Dick Grayson's history, which makes him part of the Bat-World. Slade is kind of a 'Batman-but-with-guns' type of character, only with a very different moral code. That kind of tension, where characters have different approaches to similar problems, is always a fun undercurrent to play with."

Writer Paul Dini added, "It was fun to come up with a first encounter between him and Batman and rework his character and motivations in a way that made sense of the animated series at that time. We've also given him someone new to interact with, a female protégée named Sunny—yes, her name is ironic. She's sort of a Batgirl gone way wrong. "

Batman: The Adventures Continue Chapter Three is available now on Comixology. It will go on sale in print as part of Batman: The Adventure Continues #2 in June.

Batman: The Adventures Continues #2
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(W) Paul Dini, Alan Burnett (A) Ty Templeton (CA) Dave Johnson
Slade Wilson has come to Gotham City, and his arrival is making the Dark Knight very suspicious. Robin, on the other hand, thinks the swashbuckling mercenary is just here to help. Is Deathstroke a friend or foe...and what are his plans for Batman?

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SRP: $3.99