DC Officially Names Its New Deathstroke, All Details

Published Oct 20, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words. Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II. Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno. A longtime enemy of Batman and the Teen Titans, Deathstroke is DC's deadliest and most popular antihero, despite a long career of stalled attempts to get the metahuman mercenary on the silver screen. A super-soldier capable of taking down Superman, Deathstroke is Slade Wilson - a professional killer who even Batman considers an equal, and the father of several DC antiheroes including Rose Wilson's Ravager and Joseph Wilson's Jericho. Or at least, that's the way it's been since the character's debut in 1980. Now, more than forty years later, there's a new Deathstroke in town, and not only are they on a mission to replace Slade, but they may be much, much more powerful... DC's New Deathstroke Is Adeline Kane The new Deathstroke has debuted as part of the recently launched Deathstroke: The Terminator series from Tony Fleecs and Carmine Di Giandomenico. In recent issues, their identity was revealed as Adeline Kane - Deathstroke's ex-wife and fellow mercenary, and the mother of his sons Joseph and Grant. Adeline hates Deathstroke for causing Grant's death and Joseph's severe injury, blaming him for setting them on a violent path and bringing them to the attention of his enemies. Across the series, Adeline has been dismantling Deathstroke's life in an apparent bid for revenge. Adeline killed Deathstroke's closest friend and ally William Randolph Wintergreen, framing him for the crime. She also shot Slade's daughter Rose Wilson, aka Ravager, and set the mercenary syndicate known as the Merchants of Death on him. Now, Adeline makes it clear that her mission isn't just to destroy Deathstroke - it's to become him. Adeline Is Replacing Deathstroke In Some Unexpected Ways In a recent preview for Deathstroke: The Terminator #8, Adeline contacts the Merchants of Death and declares herself the new Deathstroke. She explains that as far as the world is concerned, she has totally replaced Slade, and is entitled to all his contracts and alliances. Unfortunately for Adeline, the Merchants of Death agree, with the assassin duo known as the Body Doubles opening up on her, seeking revenge for Slade Wilson defeating them earlier in the series. Adeline is truly the new Deathstroke, including all the grudges he's accumulated over his career. However, it looks like she has something Slade doesn't... The New Deathstroke Has Mysterious Superpowers In recent issues, it was revealed that Adeline's revenge started after she reached out to Professor Ivo and was seemingly exposed to his experimental procedure for activating dormant superpowers. It's unclear exactly what abilities Adeline has as Deathstroke, but Ivo promised "This will make you unbreakable." While Slade's Deathstroke traditionally has superpowers, they're relatively minor - his mind and physiology exist at the limits of human potential, and he has incredible reaction times and accelerated healing, but he still takes his life in his hands with every mission. The comic has hinted that Adeline's Deathstroke is far more powerful, and it's likely the Body Doubles' attack will expose her unique abilities. However, those powers may also explain why Adeline is targeting Deathstroke. While her desire for revenge is justified, Deathstroke's biggest trespasses against her were a long time ago. The two have clashed over this and then allied again multiple times since. The intensity of her mission to replace Deathstroke is suspicious in context, and could indicate her mind has been warped (or is being controlled) by Ivo's process. Adeline's powers and the true reasons behind her vendetta will be revealed as Deathstroke: The Terminator continues, with the war between Slade Wilson and Adeline Kane deciding which version of Deathstroke will remain. Deathstroke: The Terminator #8 is available October 21 from DC Comics.