Slade Wilson's Dangerous Family Tree From Deathstroke Comics

Despite starting as an assassin out to get the Teen Titans during the 1980s, Slade Wilson’s instant popularity as Deathstroke the Terminator propelled him to immense heights, to the point where he’s considered one of the most recognizable anti-heroes/villains of both the Teen Titans’ mythos and the entire DC universe.

This has allowed the notorious mercenary to evolve into a complex and dynamic character with a rich history behind him. Slade Wilson has an interesting family tree, though Deathstroke isn’t what anyone would call a family man. Members of the Wilson family like Rose Wilson/Ravager and Joseph Wilson/Jericho have been able to garner success in their own right while remaining deeply routed in Slade’s mythos. While some are more recognizable than others, each member of Deathstroke’s family has played a fundamental role in shaping him into the legendary character he is today.

9 Slade Wilson

Deathstroke the Terminator

Slade Wilson was formerly a member of the United States Army until he volunteered for an experimental medical program that granted him enhanced strength, speed, durability and a healing factor. With these abilities, Slade took up the moniker of Deathstroke and quickly became the world’s greatest assassin, earning the respect of every single criminal organization and martial arts master; even members superhero community have had to credit his immense prowess.

Unfortunately, such success proved to be fatal, as his career led to the maiming of his youngest son Joseph Wilson at the hands of the Jackal and the death of his eldest son Grant Wilson while fighting the Teen Titans. These moments have fueled a raging fire in Deathstroke’s heart that propelled him to become increasingly more violent and deadly with every year of his forty-plus years of mercenary life within the DC Universe.

8 Charles Wilson

Odysseus

Key to the childhood development of Deathstroke, Charles Wilson (also known as Odysseus) was once the League of Assassins’ greatest asset. He boasted greater importance than such League members as the White Ghost, Sin Tzu or Ubu during the height of his career. While not much is known about his days of being a parent to Slade, it’s clear his career as one of the deadliest assassins in the world had a remarkable impact on Slade’s ambitions later in life. He attempted — and ultimately succeeded — to usurp his father as the greatest assassin in the world.

After Odysseus’ death, the League of Assassins uses the powers of Slade’s son Joseph to resurrect the old assassin, something that ultimately leads Deathstroke to hunt down his father and put him back into his grave. In the end, after chasing him through Russia and the United States, Deathstroke impaled his father and regained his status as DC’s top assassin.

7 Frannie LeFarge

While the woman who conceived Deathstroke remains a mystery to this very day, his stern but loyal stepmother Frannie LeFarge played a far more vital role as Slade’s maternal figure. After Deathstroke’s biological mother died and his father essentially abandoned him, Frannie was the one who looked after and raised Slade alongside her other son Wade LeFarge, nurturing them as a mother while also teaching them both numerous skills that would aid Slade and Wade during their later military and mercenary careers.

Later in life, Frannie and her second husband Max Giger started an espionage business. They often employed Deathstroke for difficult operations and were close advisors and confidantes well into his adult years. Unfortunately, the ever jealous runt of the family, Wade LeFarge, would ultimately grow so resentful of his mother’s supposed special treatment of Slade that he killed her in Deathstroke: The Hunted #41 (by Marv Wolfman, Sergio Cariello, Will Blyberg, Chris Matthys and John Costanza), destroying one of Deathstroke’s most loving relationships.

6 Wade LeFarge

Ravager III

The son of Charles Wilson and Frannie LeFarge, Wade LeFarge always played second best to his step-brother Slade Wilson. When it came to the love of his mother, she preferred Slade. Wilson always outperformed him during their military careers. When it came to his first love, Adeline Kane, Slade wooed her first.

The seething jealousy that developed within Wade because of this led him to take on the Ravager identity and begin a killing spree that targeted everyone close to Deathstroke, including his own mother Frannie. In Geoff Johns’ 2003 Teen Titans comic run, Deathstroke finally had enough of his jealous step-brother and ordered his daughter to kill him and usurp his identity. Wade LaFarge briefly returned to torment his family as a zombified Black Lantern in the Blackest Night event.

5 Adeline Kane

H.I.V.E. Mistress II/Vigilante IV

Slade Wilson’s first true love and only wife, Adeline Kane, was once the rock that kept Deathstroke from going too far in his military and mercenary ventures. However, after their second-born son Joseph Wilson had his voice permanently damaged by a group of kidnappers, she wanted revenge against Deathstroke. Adeline was driven into a state of pure rage and shot her husband in his left eye, vowing she’d get revenge for Slade putting her son at risk with his career. This threat would become the central goal of her character for many years, leading to several attempts at killing him while working for the terrorist organization H.I.V.E.

She also took on the Vigilante costumed alter ego after she received the same serum that gave Deathstroke his enhanced abilities. As of the New 52 reboot of the DC Universe, Adeline was rewritten as much more reserved, divorcing Deathstroke after the death of their other son, Grant Wilson. She even ended up joining his vigilante team Project Defiance in Chris Priest’s Deathstroke run, bringing the two far closer together than their pre-reboot counterparts.

4 Grant Wilson

Ravager I

Of all Deathstroke’s children, his eldest son Grant Wilson was the most like his father. Because of this, he was undeniably the master assassin’s favorite. Wanting nothing more than to become like his father, Grant trained himself to become a deadly assassin, taking on the name Ravager and becoming a favorite hire for H.I.V.E. under the watchful eye of his mother Adeline.

Unfortunately, his desire to become more like his father proved to be his undoing. While attempting to best the Teen Titans, Grant had himself imbued with the powers of his father; unfortunately, he didn’t have the constitution to weather the negative effects and died. Because of this, Grant became the catalyst for Deathstroke’s nearly forty-year feud with the Teen Titans, blaming them for the death of his favorite son and making it his life mission to bring them pain and misery.

3 Joseph ‘Joey’ Wilson/Jericho

The great antithesis to Grant Wilson, Joey Wilson has the metahuman ability to possess people and electronics. Unlike his brother, Joey ended up joining the Teen Titans under the superhero moniker of Jericho. While initially joining the team under false pretenses as a spy for his mother, Jericho ended up becoming the heart and soul of the ’80s Teen Titans, with his silent charisma and caring nature lifting up those around him.

Unfortunately, during Marv Wolfman’s New Titans: The Hunt maxiseries, Jericho was killed by his father after the demon Azarath took control of the young metahuman, pushing the kind-hearted Jericho to beg Deathstroke to kill him so he wouldn’t commit heinous acts for the demon. Fortunately, thanks to his possession abilities, Jericho survived this encounter. He has remained a consistent Teen Titan member and has even become a reserve member of the Justice League. He also briefly joined his father’s Project Defiance team as well.

2 Rose Wilson/Ravager IV

Perhaps the child with the most difficult journey, Rose Wilson’s life has been constantly affected by the mistakes of her father. Her mother (Sweet Lili Worth) was killed by Deathstroke’s enemies and her foster parents were killed by Deathstroke’s brother Wade. She developed temporary psychosis after Deathstroke injected her with the same serum that gave him powers and killed her half-brother Grant. Despite all this, early on in her teenage life, she idolized her father, becoming his sidekick during Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans series and even cutting her left eye as a sign of loyalty to Deathstroke.

However, much like with brother Jericho, Rose eventually came to terms with Deathstroke’s malignant nature and left him to join the Teen Titans. Using her Ravager moniker, Rose has acted as an anti-hero leaning slightly more to the heroic side, becoming a member of the superhero team Stormwatch and even the ally (and casual lover) of Batman’s ward, Jason Todd/Red Hood, with whom Rose has shared many vigilante escapades with over the last few years.

1 Respawn

In an attempt to recreate the success of Slade Wilson’s father Odysseus and Batman’s son Damian Wayne/Robin, the League of Assassins merged the DNA of Talia al Ghul and Deathstroke to create the theoretical perfect assassin. He would grow up to be known as Respawn and join the Lazarus Tournament in Joshua Williamson’s Robin comic run. While initially a complete mystery to Deathstroke, Respawn gains the notice of his biological father after Rose Wilson deduces his identity.

After former superhero Brian Markov/Geo-Force impersonated Deathstroke to assassinate Ra’s al Ghul, Respawn and Deathstroke were finally united. Talia al Ghul sent assassins to kill them both, resulting in the two becoming a dynamic duo against the likes of Talia, Batman, Angel Breaker and even Rose Wilson. Respawn was seemingly killed off during 2022’s Shadow War event and Deathstroke mourned the loss of another son, the conclusion of Joshua Williamson’s Robin series hinted that the cloned son of Deathstroke may yet live.