Deathstroke # 1 2016 NM-

Deathstroke # 1 (2016), titled "The Professional" part one, is a direct continuation of the Deathstroke: Rebirth #1 prologue, focusing on a complex contract in Africa and the unraveling of a conspiracy against Slade Wilson. The issue further explores Slade's troubled past and family life through non-linear storytelling. 

Deathstroke is on a new contract in a war-torn African nation. He was hired by Matthew Bland, a ruthless "president," to protect him from a deadly super-villain, the Clock King (William Tockman). However, it is revealed that Bland is secretly financing the hiring of Deathstroke to kill himself, using his victims' money so the trail wouldn't lead back to him. 

• Double Crosses: Slade navigates a web of deceit, involving multiple double and triple crosses. He discovers his old friend and ally Wintergreen is alive and being held by Clock King.
• Family Flashbacks: Throughout the mission, flashbacks provide glimpses into Slade's harsh military past and his strained relationship with his young sons, Grant and Joey, years before they were trained as assassins. This highlights his cold parenting style and the idea that he effectively "killed" his sons when he made the choice to become Deathstroke.
• The New Suit: Deathstroke acquires and dons a prototype Ikon suit, a new, more advanced armor developed by another former colleague, Dr. Ikon.
• The Cliffhanger: The issue ends with the revelation that an unseen manipulator, later heavily implied to be his ex-wife Adeline Kane, orchestrated the entire elaborate scenario as a long con to force Deathstroke back into the Ikon suit and confront his past. 

The main characters featured in the issue include: 

• Deathstroke (Slade Wilson): The world's deadliest assassin, wrestling with his violent nature and past mistakes.
• Wintergreen: Deathstroke's long-time ally and confidant.
• Matthew Bland: A genocidal leader who orchestrates his own "assassination" in a convoluted plan.
• Clock King (William Tockman): The super-villain whom Deathstroke is contracted to fight.
• Grant and Joey Wilson: Slade's sons, seen only in non-linear flashbacks that establish his dysfunctional family history.