(Grant) New Teen Titans #1 (November 1980) (unknown) Batman #440 (October 1989) (Walsh) Tales of the Teen Titans #44 (July 1984) (as Ravager) Deathstroke the Terminator #1 (August 1991) (LaFarge) Deathstroke, the Hunted #0 (October 1994)
Ravager is an alias used by multiple fictional characters appearing incomic books published byDC Comics. Most appear in series featuring theTeen Titans and have a connection to the villainSlade Wilson / Deathstroke. The name has also been used by the unrelated super-hero teamThe Ravagers.
The first Ravager wasGrant Wilson, the eldest son of Deathstroke. The Ravager alias was subsequently used by an unnamed assassin working forHarvey Dent / Two-Face, Deathstroke's rivalBill Walsh, and Deathstroke's half-brotherWade LaFarge. The most recent and current Ravager isRose Wilson, Deathstroke's daughter, who is the only heroic character to adopt the alias.[1]
Grant Wilson as Ravager, inBooster Gold #22 (July 2009). Art by Michael Norton (pencils) andDan Jurgens, Guy Major, Hi-Fi Design,Norm Rapmund (inks and colors).
The first Ravager is Deathstroke's older sonGrant Wilson. While living in New York City, Grant's apartment is wrecked by the sudden arrival of the alien princessStarfire and theGordanians following her. Grant blames the Teen Titans for the events and takes a contract fromH.I.V.E. to kill them. H.I.V.E. gives Grant a serum that allows him to imitate his father's abilities and enhanced reflexes, but the flawed procedure soon kills Grant, causing Deathstroke to hold the Titans responsible for his death.[2]
In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Grant's history was changed. He appears to have been beaten and killed in an explosion byMidnighter, but returns after a few years trying to kill his father. Grant surreptitiously manipulates Deathstroke, by allying himself with the fathers of one of Slade's victims and sending a number of villains called Legacy to weaken the mercenary before facing him. Despite having a chance to kill Deathstroke, Grant hesitates and walks away.[5] Grant is later killed by Deathstroke in his attempt to killJericho (Joseph Wilson), Deathstroke's son.[6]
Grant's backstory is expanded upon inDeathstroke: Rebirth. In his younger years as a child, he had a strained relationship with his father Slade, who was hard on him, and was distant from his younger brother Joseph. His strained family life provokes him to run away as a teenager, unknowingly encountering young members of H.I.V.E who have been spying on his family and take the chance to recruit him. Grant established a relationship with one of the young women and came to join H.I.V.E in his adult life. In the storyline "The Lazarus Contract", Deathstroke attempts to resurrect Grant by stealingWally West andAce West's super-speed to travel back in time and change the past, but is unsuccessful.[7][8]
The second Ravager is an unnamed assassin who is hired byTwo-Face to eliminateBatman. Ravager lures Batman into a trap by building up his reputation as a dangerous serial killer. During a confrontation at the top of a dam, Ravager is defeated and falls to the water below, never to be seen again.[9]
Bill Walsh battling Deathstroke, inDeathstroke, the Terminator #4. Art byMike Zeck
The third Ravager isBill Walsh, a former rival of Deathstroke's who takes up the title to lure Deathstroke into battle. Years before assuming the name Ravager, Walsh was known as theJackal and was hired by Wade LaFarge to kidnap Slade's younger son Joseph, which resulted in Joseph's throat being slit and him being rendered mute.[10] As Ravager, Walsh attempts to kill Slade with a bomb. Slade instead kills Walsh and defuses the bomb.[11]
The fourth Ravager isWade LaFarge, a small-time hitman and Slade Wilson's half-brother who uses the Ravager name in mockery of him. A former lover of Slade's wifeAdeline Kane, LaFarge becomes obsessed with destroying Slade and Adeline's relationship.[12] Years later, Ravager is offered $100,000 by an anonymous source to perform ahit on Rose Wilson, Slade's daughter. He murders Rose's foster parents, but is killed by Rose, who has become Slade's apprentice.[13]
In theTeen Titans tie-in to theBlackest Night crossover, Wade LaFarge is resurrected as a Black Lantern and attacks Rose and Slade.[4]
The fifth Ravager is Rose Wilson, Slade's illegitimate daughter. At one period, Deathstroke manipulates and brainwashes her into becoming his apprentice.[13] After a brief stint training withNightwing in an attempt to make theSecret Society of Super Villains leaveBlüdhaven alone, Rose realizes that Deathstroke does not have her best interests at heart and leaves him.One year after the events ofInfinite Crisis, Rose joins the Teen Titans.[14]
"The Ravagers (comics)" redirects here. For the Ravagers of Marvel Comics, seeRavagers (Marvel Comics).
The Ravagers (rather than Ravager) also exist as the name of a team in DC comics. In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the Ravagers are introduced as a group of super-powered teens who escaped the plans of Harvest inthe Culling.[15]The Ravagers title first appeared as part of The New 52's Second Wave in 2012. The team was formed after theTeen Titans and theLegionnaires stuck in the present day were abducted by Harvest, and then later stopped the villain and escaped.[16]The team includesBeast Boy,Terra,Thunder and Lightning, Ridge, andCaitlin Fairchild.[17]
A possible future version of Rose Wilson appears in the "Titans Tomorrow" storyline. This version is a member ofTitans East and is in a relationship withBart Allen.[18]
A possible future version ofGrant Wilson /Deathstroke from the year 2046 appears in theLegends of Tomorrow episode "Star City 2046", portrayed by Jaime Andrew Cutler.[22] By this time period, he has taken up the mantle of Deathstroke from his fatherSlade Wilson and taken over Star City before he is defeated by his versions of theGreen Arrow andJohn Diggle Jr. as well as the time-traveling Legends.
The present day version of Grant Wilson / Deathstroke appears in theArrow episode "Present Tense", portrayed again by Jaime Andrew Cutler. He forms and leads the Deathstroke Gang in an attempt to destroy Star City, only to be foiled by the Green Arrow and his allies, arrested by the authorities, and incarcerated at Blackgate Penitentiary.
The Rose Wilson incarnation of Ravager makes cameo appearances inDC Super Hero Girls as a student of Super Hero High.
Isabel Rochev and Wade DeFarge appear in theArrow tie-in novelArrow: Vengeance. The latter is stated to be Slade Wilson's commanding officer in theASIS and half-brother ofBilly Wintergreen. After Slade abuses government resources to locateOliver Queen, DeFarge confronts Slade, who eventually kills him.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe.DK Publishing. p. 242.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.