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Deathstroke Reading Order

Deathstroke is DC Comics’ deadliest assassin, one of the most iconic enemies of the Teen Titans, the inspiration for Deadpool, and a horrible father! Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, he is an implacable mercenary driven by logic and a code, providing a dark contrast to the bright, heroic Teen Titans.

Slade Wilson is the man behind the mask. He is an older, hardened military veteran and a decorated soldier. He is also the ex-husband of Adeline Kane and the father of Grant Wilson, Joseph Wilson (Jericho), and Rose Wilson. He is the epitome of professionalism, driven to be the best at what he does, which is generally being a mercenary for hire. As you can imagine, he has a high body count.

Deathstroke is a villain with a code. He is a great strategist and manipulator who has sometimes leaned towards the good side as an anti-hero, helping the heroes of the DC Universe.

As DC’s greatest assassin, Slade Wilson has naturally appeared in other media. He has been portrayed on television by Michael Hogan in Smallville, Manu Bennett in Arrow and Esai Morales in Titans. He has also been voiced, among others, by Ron Perlman in animations and video games.

Let’s now explore Slade Wilson’s comic book history with our Complete Deathstroke reading guide, from his first appearance in New Teen Titans to the present with his new solo series…

The Complete Deathstroke Reading Order, a Killer Guide

Explore Deathstroke’s complete history from the start or jump into the era of your choice to discover his several mercenary exploits at different times in the DC continuity:

Deathstroke by Marv Wolfman: From New Teen Titans to The Terminor (1980-1996)

Deathstroke, Enemy of the Teen Titans. Deathstroke first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2 in December 1980, when H.I.V.E. hired him as a professional assassin. His vendetta against the Titans began when he swore revenge for the death of his eldest son, Grant, which launched him as one of the Teen Titans’ most iconic archenemies. Although Deathstroke fought the team on several occasions, he also came to their assistance a few times during the classic Teen Titans era.

  • New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 1
    Collects New Teen Titans #1-20, Best of DC (Blue Ribbon Digest) #18, and Tales of the New Teen Titans #1-4.

    • Deathstroke made his first appearance in The New Teen Titans #2 in December 1980
    • The character reappears next in #9-10.
    • Crisis on Infinite Earths happens between New Teen Titans #12 and #13
  • New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 2
    Collects New Teen Titans #21-40, Tales Of The New Teen Titans #41, New Teen Titans Annual #1-2 And Batman And The Outsiders #5.

    • Deathstroke is targeting a strokboker in #34 and make an offer to the team.
    • The Terminator’s plan do defeat the Titans is shaping up nicely in #39.
  • New Teen Titans Omnibus Vol. 3
    Collects Tales Of The Teen Titans #42-68, The New Teen Titans (Second Series) #1-9 And Tales Of The Teen Titans Annual #3.

    • Deathstroke’s next appearance is in the classic Judas Contract story arc from Tales of the Teen Titans #42-44 and Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3, also collected in DC Finest: Teen Titans The Judas Contract
    • The aftermath is dealt with in the Trial of Deathstroke, which takes place in Tales of the Teen Titans #51-55.
  • The New Titans Omnibus Vol. 1 [2026]
    Collects The New Titans #50-70, The New Titans Annual #5-6, Batman #436-442, Hawk & Dove #11-12, Hawk & Dove Annual #1, Secret Origins Annual #3, Wonder Woman #47-48, a story from Secret Origins #46, and pages from Wonder Woman #22-23.

    • Slade encountered the Titans again during the Titans Plague storyline, from New Titans #62-65
  • Titans Hunt (#71-84) is uncollected at the moment, but those issues are available on Kindle or DC Universe Infinite.
    Once again, Deathstroke came to the Titans’ assistance when most of their members were abducted by the Wildebeest Society in this multi-part story arc.
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Deathstroke Icon - Reading Order Comic Book TreasuryIf you must only read one story from this era, be it The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, the brutal culmination of Slade’s contract to deliver the Titans to the H.I.V.E. and a classic DC Comics story that has been reprinted in a Deluxe Edition.

Deathstroke: The Terminator. Deathstroke became quite a popular character, worthy of his own series, which launched at the beginning of the ’90s by Teen Titans writer Marv Wolfman and Steve Erwin (until issue #34).

The 1991 Deathstroke comic is a great place to start if you want to find out more about the character. The series revisits Slade’s traumatic past and reconnects him with his right-hand man, Wintergreen. Deathstroke is also put on the trail of the Ravager, the man who tried to kill his ex-wife, and finds himself crossing paths with Batman, becoming the most wanted man in America and much more.

Starting with issue #40, the comic was renamed Deathstroke the Hunted for a few issues, then only Deathstroke for #46-60. This part of the series has never been collected in any collection.

During this period, Deathstroke also appears in other DC titles, such as…

  • The New Titans #86 – Nightwing battles Deathstroke for the right to lead in.
  • The Total Chaos Event – This crossover story takes place around Deathstroke #14-15 (see just below for the reading guide)
  • The Chain Gang War #1-12 (uncollected)- uncollected story in which Deathstroke appears in eight issues.
  • Superman: Panic in the Sky – Big Blue recruits Slade Wilson as a tactical leader to fight Brainiac.
  • Green Lantern #41-42 (uncollected) – A mysterious client hires Deathstroke to take Carol Ferris to him.
  • Green Arrow #84-85 (uncollected) – Ollie goes to Las Vegas when he’s targeted by a group of assassins and encounters Deathstroke.
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Titans: Total Chaos, a crossover event
An issue-by-issue reading Order

A threat from the future has come to the present to destroy the Titans: Donna Troy’s son, Lord Chaos! However, when the battle becomes too much for even these super-teams, will they be able to turn to their greatest foe, Deathstroke, for assistance? Discover it in this 9-part event written by Marv Wolfman that has been collected in the trade paperback Titans: Total Chaos.

Deathstroke #14 | New Titans #90 | Team Titans #1 | Deathstroke #15 | New Titans #91 | Team Titans #2 | Deathstroke #16 | New Titans #92 | Team Titans #3

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Guest starring Deathstroke: From Identity Crisis to Titans Leader (1997-2010)

Deathstroke was cancelled in 1996 and the world’s greatest assassin would not headline his own comic series again for fifteen years. This doesn’t mean that Slade Wilson has disappeared from the DC Universe. Instead, he has appeared in multiple titles, fighting against the Titans, Batman and Nightwing:

  • Detective Comics #708-710 – a vengeful mob boss puts out contracts on several enemies, with Deathstroke taking on the job, collected in Batman: Knight Out
  • Nightwing #17-18 – Deathstroke moves into Dick Grayson’s building, collected in Nightwing: A Knight in Blüdhaven Compendium Book 1.
  • Azrael #45-46 (uncollected) – It’s Azrael versus Deathstroke for the life of a stranger.
  • The Titans #9-12 (uncollected) – The Immortal Coil storyline featuring a newly formed super-villain team Tartarus taking on the H.I.V.E.
  • Superman: Critical Condition (crossover event) – Deathstroke is hired to target Superman while he is incapacitated during this story taking place in Superman #158, Adventures of Superman #580, Superman: The Man of Steel #102 and Action Comics #767 and collected in Superman: The City of Tomorrow Compendium.
  • Birds of Prey: The Hostage Heart (#22-25) (uncollected) – Black Canary Lady Vic, and Deathstroke must get a gorilla heart to save Blockbuster’s life!
  • Titans #21-22 (uncollected) – Roy Harper fights Deathstroke in a desperate bid to save the life of Cheshire.
  • Birds of Prey #43-46 (uncollected) – Deathstroke works with Black Canary to solve the riddle of a mysterious island floating in and out of time
  • Teen Titans (2003)#2-12 – Deathstroke is causing trouble for the new Teen Titans team, collected in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Compendium One

Following a series of optional guest appearances, the situation for Deathstroke starts to change with Identity Crisis, in which he is hired as a bodyguard by Doctor Light. He kicks ass in this DC event, fighting and almost defeating the entire Justice League.

Although the mercenary doesn’t appear in every issue of the event, it’s an important story for the character as it establishes his rivalry with Green Arrow.

Then, Deathstroke became a founding member of Lex Luthor’s Secret Society of Super Villains in the Infinite Crisis event. During that time, he also hired Nightwing to train his daughter Rose, which naturally doesn’t end well.

One Year after Infinite Crisis, Oliver Queen is now mayor of Star City, and Deathstroke is aiming for an assassination! He has also formed his own team of Teen Titans to take on the original group, recruiting Match, Risk, Kid Crusader, Duela Dent, Enigma, Sungirl, Inertia, and Batgirl (Cassandra Cain).

Geo-Force confronts Deathstroke in DC Universe: Last Will and Testament #1, that is supposely part of Final Crisis taking place the night before the last battle. which is supposedly part of Final Crisis and takes place the night before the final battle. However, this has nothing to do with the event and can be read independently. The aftermath of their confrontation is explored in another one-shot:

When the dead are coming back to life in Blackest Night, Deathstroke and his daughter Rose are reunited and are forced to fight side-by-side against their dead friends and relatives in two Teen Titans issues:

In the aftermath of Blackest Night, the villains took over the Titans! More precisely, Deathstroke founded a new team of mercenaries bursting out from Brightest Day, including Jericho, Cheshire, the Tattooed Man, and the new villain Cinder.

Flash Barry Allen - Flashpoint Reading OrderThis is Flashpoint! Barry Allen will radically altered the status quo and put an end to the New Earth continuity, leading to the relaunch of the New 52. Before that, DC Comics explored the new timeline that he had created during the Flashpoint event. This includes Deathstroke’s new situation as the captain of a pirate ship in search of his daughter. This story is completely optional.

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Deathstroke New 52 by Kyle Higgins, Rob Liefield, Tony S. Daniel and more (2011-2016)

It’s a grittier, darker DC Universe, it’s the New 52 era, in which Deathstroke is known as a top mercenary around the world. To folllow his exploits, DC Comics finally launched a new ongoing Deathstroke series, written by Kyle Higgins (#1-8), Rob Liefield (#9-14, 0) and Justin Jordan (#15-20). Unfortunately, the series doesn’t have a great reputation beyond Higgins’ work.

The Crime Syndicate of Earth-3 has come to take over this world and will face off against Lex Luthor and his Injustice League in the Forever Evil event. Can you guess which side Deathstroke is on?

Amanda Waller was removed as leader of the Suicide Squad and Vic Sage took over, determined to make some changes. Among his team members is Deathstroke, but the professional assassin will not be around for long, as he will soon be the star of his own ongoing series, a more popular, action-packed run written by Tony S. Daniel.

In parallel to his solo adventures, Deathstroke made a few optional appearances in other titles:

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Deathstroke Rebirth by Christopher Priest (2016-2021)

Following Tony S. Daniel’s action-packed series, DC Comics launched a new Deathstroke series in the Rebirth era. Christopher Priest was the main writer, focusing more on family tragedy. While it was a celebrated run, be warned that if you have never read any of Priest’s stories before, he uses a lot of non-linear storytelling and flashbacks, which can make the story confusing at times. It’s still a great read overall (especially the first part) and is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed series of the Rebirth era.

Before jumping in, you may want to read The War of Jokes and Riddles storyline from Batman, in which Deathstroke plays a supporting role. Set during Batman’s second year, this story depicts a time when Deathstroke was still a rising assassin.

  • Deathstroke by Christopher Priest Omnibus [2026 Edition]
    Collects Deathstroke: Rebirth #1; Deathstroke (2016) #1-50; Deathstroke Annual #1; DC Holiday Special 2017 #1; Teen Titans (2016) #8, 28-30; Titans (2016) #11; and Teen Titans: The Lazarus Contract Special #1.

The run was previously collected in the following trade paperbacks (with a few more stories):

In one of the oddest pairings in the DC universe, Aquaman and Deathstroke join forces in Dark Nights: Metal (#4-6). This event leads to Year of the Villain, in which issues #45–50 of Deathstroke are considered tie-ins. This is also the end of Christopher Priest’s run.

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Deathstroke Inc by Joshua Williamson and Ed Brisson (2021-2023)

Following the reconstruction of the Infinite Multiverse, a new era for DC begins: the Infinite Frontier. This is not a reboot, but rather a world in which almost everything is considered canon.

Under the pen of Joshua Williamson, DC’s deadliest assassin joins a secret organization called T.R.U.S.T. and finds himself working with Black Canary, before becoming the target of Talia al Ghul in the Batman: Shadow War event.

Deathstroke was one of the main antagonists in the Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, an event which famously began with the death of the Justice League. He became the leader of a ‘Dark Army’ of villains who worked to destroy the remaining heroes, specifically Nightwing and the Titans. The conclusion of this story led to the Dawn of the DC era, which Slade Wilson did not take part in.

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Deathstroke Icon - Reading Order Comic Book TreasurySlade Wilson wasn’t present in DC’s main continuity but appeared in some successful titles taking place in alternate realities and other Elseworlds, such as:

  • DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War – A companion series to DC vs. Vampires featuring Deathstroke leading a group in a world infested with vampires. This can be read independently from the main series.
  • DCeased: Unkillables – DCeased spin-off depicting the apocalypse from the point of view of anti-heroes and villains, including Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, and Deathstroke.
  • Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter – A six-issue Dark Knights of Steel spin-off reimagining the assassin Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, as a Norse Viking.

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Deathstroke Next Level: The Terminator’s return by Tony Fleecs and Carmine Di Giandomenico (2026-Present)

DC’s contract killing bogeyman is back and bloodier than ever! That’s what promises DC Comics at least with a new Deathstroke series, part of their Next Level initiative, during the second act of the All In era, after the events of DC K.O.

The story continues…

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4 thoughts on “Deathstroke Reading Order”

    1. Carole
      Reply

      Hi Birdy!

      Thank you for your comment. As for the Elseworlds story… Yes and no! It changes depending on the guide. Initially, we didn’t include them, but we’re trying to include them more and more. I will try to add the story in my next update!

  3. randomanonymousacc
    Reply

    Hello I noticed that this list was recently updated and was wondering if it would be possible to do a reading guide for his daughter Rose Wilson.

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