Several of the plots hatched by Joshua Williamson over the last year will come to a head next March in Shadow War, a DC Comics event that will run through issues of Batman, Deathstroke Inc. and Robin.
The crossover will begin in Shadow War Alpha #1, by Williamson and Viktor Bogdanovic. The 48-page issue will set up the story, which finds Deathstroke committing “an unthinkable act” that angers Talia al Ghul and the League of Shadows. As Deathstroke, Inc. and the League of Shadows go to war, Batman and Robin seek to bring Deathstroke to justice.
But before the event begins, March brings two issues that will set up the conflict:
Robin #12 by Williamson and artist Roger Cruz, features “a changed Damian Wayne returning to Gotham after the end of the Lazarus Tournament, only to have one more opponent to battle to the death: Damian Wayne!” Viktor Bogdanovic provides the cover, while Francis Manapul is doing the variant.
Deathstroke Inc. #7 also arrives in March and features some of the fallout from the Lazarus Tournament from Robin. Williamson and artist Stephen Segovia bring in Deathsrtroke’s daughter, Rose Wilson, a.k.a. Ravager, along with Respawn, the mysterious character who debuted during the tournament — and dresses a lot like Deathstroke. Are we thinking Deathstroke’s son Grant is back from the dead? That’s where my money’s going. I mean, the guy’s died and come back on multiple occasions now; the name “Respawn” would fit.
But I digress … covers for that issue, shown above, are by Howard Porter, Ivan Tao and Acky Bright. And here’s a look at the variant covers for Shadow War Alpha, by Dan Mora and Bogdanovic:
The Shadow War continues in April with Batman #122, Deathstroke Inc. #8 and Robin #13 and concludes in May with Batman #123, Shadow War Zone #1, Deathstroke Inc. #9, Robin #14 and finally Shadow War Omega #1.