Deathstroke Forms His Own Teen Titans in July

This summer, Deathstroke the Terminator becomes Deathstroke the Hero as Christopher Priest's dangerous mercenary comic brings together a group of young superheroes to pursue justice at his side.

Following the events of "The Lazarus Contract" and a trip to the Speed Force, Deathstroke has dedicated himself to a new lifestyle -- which means a new direction for the series.

Among his allies are the post-Flashpoint Wally West, Power Girl, and his own kids, Rose and Jericho. Deathstroke, however, doesn't have the trust of teh superhero community or the world at large. Does he deserve it?

In spite of a cold, calculating Slade dominating the acclaimed series, the superhero team won't be the first time we've seen a more introspective take on the character. In February, Priest and Denys Cowan did an issue where Deathstroke had to deal with the fallout of gun violence.

"It gets into the realm of reality when you start dealing with violence and the consequences of violence, and the consequences of gun ownership, and the consequences of what happens in all those circumstances. That took us into a different realm," Cowan explained. "So, now we're talking about a meditation and asking questions about the very nature of this stuff. That's what separated this story for me from the stuff that we normally do in comics. This is much closer to what we would do at Milestone, frankly, than what we usually do in main stream comics. This comic is almost like a milestone prototype in terms of the approach and the talent involved. And, even the way it looks, and the way it feels, and the way it reads. It's much closer to those kinds of elements than normal comics."

You can check out the full cover in the attached image gallery, and the official synopsis below, via Newsarama, with a hat tip to Bleeding Cool, who noticed the direction change.

DEATHSTROKE #21
Written by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST—Art by DIOGENES NEVES—Cover by RYAN SOOK—Variant cover by SHANE DAVIS
*Includes a code for a free digital download of this issue.

"DEFIANCE" part one! A new day has dawned for Deathstroke. Having emerged from the Speed Force a changed man, Slade Wilson takes aim at living a better life—a life in service of justice. But when the world refuses to accept the new Deathstroke, Slade recruits a group of young heroes to join him including including former Teen Titans, Kid Flash and Power Girl, his children, Rose and Jericho, and the bombastic Terra! But has Slade truly shed his villainous past? And what other shadowy forces are working against him? Find out as Deathstroke's bold new direction begins here!

On sale JULY 5 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+