New Writer Talks DEATHSTROKE & the 'Dark' TITANS

Titans actually gets a lot darker this spring as a team of villains led by Deathstroke take over the title with the brand new creative team of Eric Wallace and Fabrizio Fiorentino. Beginning with the Titans: Villains for Hire Special then spilling into the Titans, the storyline sees characters like Cheshire and Tattooed Man join Deathstroke to form a new team that will be the focus of the title during DC's Brightest Day event.

Newsarama spoke to Wallace about his take on Deathstroke and what brings these characters together for his upcoming run on Titans.

Nrama: What's the motivation for this new Titans team, and how do they start coming together? Is it all Deathstroke's doing, or is there more involved?

Wallace: This team is all Deathstroke’s doing. He’s the mastermind behind it and he, alone, directs their movements. As for their motivations, the title of the book says it all:Titans: Villains for Hire. I mean, they’re villains. And, well... they’re for hire. Having said that, this book is going to be about much more than just the action-oriented missions with which they become involved. It’s also going to be very much about their personal lives and (gasp!) loves. That was something that DC was very keen on, and I totally agreed with that direction.

Nrama: You say they're villains. Will the whole team be villains?

Wallace: Uh... that’s a question I can’t really answer at this time. Sorry!

Nrama: Then let's talk about Deathstroke. What's your take on who this character is?

Wallace: I love Deathstroke because he’s such a huge mass of contradictions. He’s a supreme DCU villain. A total bad guy who, as we’ve seen in the past and will continue to see in this series, is capable of some truly horrific things. He’s also very proud and a bit pompous, as well as being one of the most dangerous men on the planet.

But then there’s the other side to Deathstroke. He’s a parent who loves his children. Yes, he has a funny way of showing it sometimes. But he truly cares about Joseph and Rose. Also, he has a real code of honor that crops up at the strangest of times. So in Deathstroke you have a guy who is both bad and good. The question is, which trait is going to surface in a given situation? It’s this complex combination of good and evil inside Deathstroke that makes him an enjoyable character to write, because he’s all about the “grays,” not the black and whites.

I have to say, I'm not sold on this new direction, although I do applaud a more complex "grey" Deathstroke. But then, I'm also wondering why the heck the team would be called "Titans."

Also, why, exactly was TITANS even relaunched? The book has been directionless since the start!