Deathstroke Gets His Own Unkillable Robin in Tribute to Iconic X-Men Art

As DC Comics is gearing up to conclude its epic crossover event ‘Shadow War’, the publisher offers a perfect tribute to an iconic X-Men comic cover featuring Deathstroke and his own unkillable Robin. Little is known about the Deathstroke look-alike Respawn aside from his deadly fighting skills, the fact that he has used the Lazarus Pit to elongate his life, and that his appearance is strikingly similar to Deathstroke. Now, Deathstroke and his own mini-me take a trip to days of future past in this X-Men cover tribute. 

DC Comics’ crossover event ‘Shadow War’ has spanned three separate comic titles including Batman, Robin, and Deathstroke Inc. and will conclude in the upcoming one-shot Shadow War Omega #1. However, there will also be one more comic book included in this crossover comic lineup with Shadow War Zone #1 which will be written by Joshua Williamson. While his storyline will assuredly be integral to the overall event, it is one particular variant cover for this issue by Howard Porter that has grabbed not only DC readers’ attention but that of Marvel fans as well. 

In a Tweet by Shadow War Zone #1 writer Joshua Williamson, the writer shared the variant cover for the book done by artist Howard Porter, one which X-Men fans will immediately recognize. The cover depicts Deathstroke and Respawn positioned defensively in front of a poster with a number of DC characters’ faces pictured on it with tags marking each one either ‘Slain’ or ‘At Large’. This cover is a clear tribute to Uncanny X-Men #141 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne which is the first chapter of the Days of Future Past storyline. On the original cover, Wolverine and Kate Pryde are standing together just as Deathstroke and Respawn replicated in front of a poster that is identical to that of DC Comics’ tribute cover. 

While this is the latest tribute DC Comics has paid to iconic Marvel covers, it certainly wasn’t the first. Just a few months ago, comic artist Viktor Bogdanovic debuted their variant cover for Batman #118 which was a clear tribute to Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man #1. On that cover, Batman is in a similar pose to Spider-Man from his original artwork. Though instead of being engulfed by webs, Batman is drenched by the rain falling around him which only adds to the more brooding nature of the character while staying true to the original piece that inspired the cover. 

Like Batman striking a pose that was previously done by Spider-Man, Deathstroke and Respawn find themselves in a hostile world surrounded by those that would have them dead, which is not unlike the storyline behind this artwork. Deathstroke gets his own unkillable Robin in a tribute cover to iconic X-Men art that perfectly captures the intrigue and excitement of the original.

Source: Joshua Williamson

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