#w.r. wintergreen

[nerds-yearbook]

Iconic Teen Titan villian Deathstroke the Terminator along with W.R. Wintergreen and Trigon were introduced in The New Teen Titans 2#, cover date December, 1980. They were created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. The issue also marked the final appearance of Ravager (death) and Carol Sladky. ("Today... the Terminator", The New Teen Titans 2#, DC Comic Event)

[ravagersruin]

Okay, so, I never post here but over the past few months I finally sat myself down and read through the full 90s run of Deathstroke the Terminator, which I've come to absolutely adore. Especially Slade's best friend, Wintergreen.

And I'm pretty sure no one's done this before so I figured I'd do it myself. I went through every issue and put together all of Wintergreen's journal entries in google doc form for anyone that cares enough about that sort of thing so.... Enjoy.

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

can you tell us more about headverse deathstroke and family/friends/allies?

Slade's father was Charles Ulysses Wilson, the first modern Prometheus, and his terrorist bombings of Seattle (the same attacks where Roy lost his parents and was maimed himself) eventually led to the creation of Star City under Bobby Queen and his son Oliver. He had a younger brother, Wade, who used their mother Francine's maiden name, LaFarge, to distance himself from their father's legacy. Slade's only other major associate from his time was W.R. Wintergreen, a veteran of the English Civil War on the side of the Raven Alliance. Wintergreen fled to America after the Ravens lost, through many of his surviving compatriots remained and went on to form the basis of the Norsefire Party.

Slade himself was already in the military by the time of the attacks, but the revelation of Prometheus' identity barred him from advancing through any legitimate channels. Instead, he found himself involved with Team 7 and covertly deployed in Kahndaq on the eve of World War 3, where he met his future wife, Adeline Kane. Like many of their contemporaries, Slade and Addie were subjected to metahuman modifications by one Dr. Niles Caulder during their time with Team 7, enhancing their physical and mental capabilities and giving Slade a minor healing factor.

After Team 7's dissolution, Slade and Addie had two children--Grant and Joseph--while Slade had a third child, Rose, with Lillian "Sweet Lili" Worth and fourth, Tallant, with Talia Al Ghul (conceived through artificial means). All four inherited the metagene: Grant, Rose, and Tallant had minor variations on their father's abilities, while Joey underwent a drastic mutation tied to a traumatic childhood incident that left him mute, but able to possess the bodies of others, eventually developing into a range of psychokinetic powers. There's speculation regarding a fifth Wilson child, but their whereabouts exist in a confusion of hypertemporal intersections.

After eventually divorcing, Addie founded Searchers Inc, before finding that venture subsumed by a group her ex-husband was already associated with: the Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Eliminations, known more commonly as the H.I.V.E.. Searchers Inc was restructured into Project Defiance, an attempt to create a team of young metahumans under HIVE control following the disastrous events of "The Culling."

Slade was eventually murdered by Tara Markov in retribution for her past abuse as his protege. His consciousness was resurrected and bound to an artificial body created from the Great Darkness by Trigon, this "King Deathstroke" serving as one of the King of Tears of Sorrow Knights during the Great Crisis Era.

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[panels-of-interest]

First appearance of Rose Wilson.

[from Deathstroke (1991) #15]

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 2

Deathstroke #1, August 1991

"He was the BEST. But he STILL wasn't perfect."

Deathstroke #1, August 1991

"From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."

"Near Kitale, Kenya...I reach the limits of my patience within an hour or so, whereas if necessary he can sit immobile for days. Sitting. Waiting. For his prey."

"I've known Slade Wilson for over two decades yet he constantly confounds me. He ignores the grueling, white heat while I am forced to swim in my sweat, gulping down gallons of iced water and lemonade and damn little else that would make tolerable this drought-stricken place."

"I have been a soldier all of my life. As such I do not FEAR death, but neither do I TEMPT it. Yet HE seems to SHOUT out its name--challenging it--DARING it to take him on one on one. MOST men seeing a wild bull RUN the other way. But he does not hide. He never kills from concealment."

"I sense at times in him a RESPECT for things of nature. A respect that demands a cold, clean and painless kill. So, permitted a choice----he meets his prey FACE to FACE.”

"After a kill he usually retires to his bath, but of late he spends his time alone in his study. Something has been bothering him, but he has not yet confided in me. I am troubled by his silence."

"Slade always understood why Addie had tried to KILL him once. That's why I've always suspected he never stopped loving her."

"He was an American army legend long before the WAR. She was Captain Adeline Kane, trainer for some very special forces. Her training was RIGOROUS. Half the men washed out during the first three weeks."

"Those who remained... Those who LEARNED......became the best FIGHTING MACHINES the army had EVER seen."

"He was the BEST. But he STILL wasn't perfect."

"He was fearless, but his fighting techniques were one-dimensional. She taught him to think three-dimensionally......to peripherally defend himsself on ALL sides at once, in every manner conceivable. She wanted him to lose his reliance on weapons. She taught him to BECOME a weapon. The result: he GRADUATED with HONORS."

"I quietly watched with PRIDE while he received his justly deserved honors. When the ceremony was over, I stepped forward. He introduced me and said, ‘Wintergreen, the captain's A-I--the BEST.’ I believe that's when I knew he was in love."

"They were married before year's end, and I stood by his side as best man. I wonder--would we have been so blissful if we knew what was to come? Perhaps it's best that the good lord did not equip us with such FORESIGHT. The war had escalated and he was sent into battle to do as he was TRAINED."

"Meanwhile, she had become pregnant and remained behind to give birth to their FIRST Son, Grant."

"I am often amazed at how little true happiness has touched their lives, and how much HOPE still lives."

"We drove about two hours out of Stuttgart to an old, once magnificent castle I'd been in perhaps a half dozen years before. Waller."

"Sigh. He won't take the easy way. Unfortunately, he never does. Never DID."

"He had been a top soldier, and when the government asked for volunteers to test a new medicine to help the army resist enemy TRUTH SERUMS, he of courrse volunteered...”

“We write our Future while we live it. Each decision is like a tree with many branches. If he had not taken the A.C.T.H. derivative medicine there would be no Deathstroke. If there had been no Deathstroke, Adeline wouldn't have tried to kill him and Grant would still be alive. So many branches stemming from a single tree."

"At first there was an uncanny display of almost superhuman strength. Even the steel retaining straps couldn't hold him. The medicine affected his ADRENAL GLANDS in a manner not expected. He screamed like a madman----Or an animal finally unleashed."

"They tried to grab him as he screamed and thrashed amid a mass of flailing arms and legs. My fear was during the confusion an MP might use a weapon in self-defense. Fortunately, someone acted quick and gave him a sedative. I was ordered to leave."

“All information concerning him was suddenly deemed CLASSIFIED and VERY TOP SECRET. Adeline and I spent a month fighting army red tape. One day I may outline the procedure for dealing with lead-headed bureaucrats."

"When we were finally permitted to see him, he was near death. He hovered in that soldier's coma for several frantic weeks more. But he was too tough to die and he recovered. When he was discharged he wore a smile I'd only seen on him in combat. The following months he alternated between periods of superhuman strength and complete fatigue. For a man truly alive only in action, he tried to live a normal life. Meanwhile, Adeline was pregnant again and Grant grew up sturdy as his father."

"Oh Lord--Poor Grant. I remember him as a sullen, angry child who both Loved his father and hated him. He ran away when he was seventeen, came to New York, and joined the local teen gangs. Had he not left home perhaps the lives of both father and son would have taken a drastically different turn. But Grant was there when the alien called Starfire crash-landed onto his apartment introducing him to the world of the Teen Titans. Grant grew bitter and angry when the Teen Titans unthinkingly rebuffed him and then his girlfriend left his bed. He blamed the Titans, demanded revenge and submitted to an experiment that would give him the power to destroy his supposed enemies. His Brain Power increased to 100% efficiency. His reflexes and speed quintupled. He became THE RAVAGER and Grant proceeded to attack the people he saw as foes. Grant fought alongside the Terminator never knowin his fellow mercenary was also his Father. For Slade went to New York to save his son's life only to be forced into battle he never wished to wage. Then tragedy struck. the experiment was a Failure and Grant was Destroyed from within. Slade Wilson could only stand and watch as the Ravager--His first-born son--died in his arms."

"Surrounded by tragedy, There have been too few moments in his life where he could be called content..."

[batandman]

The hell of it is, the experimental truth serum they fed him back in his military days was officially branded a failure. It merely doubled his resistance to the drugs when it should have septupled it.

So they killed the project, drummed him out of the corps and lost that war. They never knew what Experiment Acth-92 did to Slade!

-- from the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret.

(deathstroke, the terminator #8)

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[bringbackwendellvaughn]

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 35

Deathstroke #60, June 1996

"I knew someday there would come a time when even unasked questions must be answered. For my friend, Slade Wilson, a man who has led a life most extraordinary...today that time has come.-- From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."

"I said nothing, for what was there to say? Without his special abilities there would be no way for him to live. And even if he had, his brain would be shattered. His mind gone. His life, for all intents and purposes, over." 

"Without his special abilities." 

"And yet, knowing this man as I did, I had to wonder. The nurse heard him talk of Cambodia and Vietnam. He had Pat take him to the DeFarge Clinic. Frannie DeFarge was his stepmother...which makes me certain he owns that Hospice. Lastly, he told me to return to our estate in Katale, Kenya. For a man whose memory was destroyed, he remembered all too much. The first explosion took away his memory. The second...ah, well, the truth doesn't actually matter does it."

"I didn't speak to Pat of my doubts for I have no idea if Slade Wilson has truly gone to his final reward or is still alive somewhere."

"I wish I were with him in either case. If the former, then it seems our kind has seen its last. For perhaps the days of personal morality no longer fit into this highly technological world where you press this button to achieve that result and know there will never be any variance or question.And if the latter, then I would know my days would be filled with lustful adventures 'til I was laid to rest in my eternal earthen home."

"But Slade sent us off in our own directions, so abusive was he to insure we would not follow him. And so, in a way, I honor his last unspoken request."

"I now head up Vigilance Inc. Our offices serve all Europe, Asia, and the Americas. My work frees Pat to do the footwork which she prefers."

"And Slade, dear Slade, wherever you are, know I am not signing an end to this journal. Your story will continue for as long as heroic greatness endures."

"I am, and will ever remain, your friend..-- From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 32

Deathstroke #54, December 1995

“A conspiracy is a delicate creature. It can only thrive in the dim light of secrecy, yet it demands the complexity that comes with cooperative action. Too much complexity and the scheme risks exposure…too much secrecy and the plan fails for lack of trust among the conspirators. In the most sophisticated conspiracies, the gap between the conflicting demands of cooperation and security is often filled by a professional, known as a ‘cleaner’–an agent who steps in to set things right when they are out of balance. It is not the kind of work Slade ever undertakes–yet I have never heard him disparage the professional skills of those who do.– From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret.”

“There are few things more revealing than the confession of a dying man seeking to repay his killers in kind–or more maddening than a man who dies before said confession is complete.”

“On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes lurked beneath the houses of Parliament in a vault filled with barrel upon barrel of gunpowder. If all had gone according to plan on that opening day of Lords and Commons, with King James I in attendance, Fawkes would have lighted the powder–destroying Parliament and irrevocably altering the course of history. Fortunately, warning was given, the cellars were searched–and the 'Gunpowder Plot’ was foiled. Four hundred years later, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated with fireworks, much in the same fashion as America’s Independence Day.”

“We can only hope that the resolution of the current situation allows such an opportunity for irony.”

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 34

Deathstroke #56, February 1996

"Something had obviously altered my friend; Slade Wilson now looked as he had when I first met him more than two decades ago. But I tried to put all questions out of my mind and just attend to the matter at hand: Slade's memory was also gone. I had hoped a new mission might rekindle it. We arrived in Switzerland looking for a group of female Mercenaries we believe was led by Pat Trayce, a former police-woman, who now calls herself The Vigilante. She had also once been Slade's lover. Because Switzerland is known for its genteel hospitality we did not expect the greeting we received. It may indicate the sad state of our life, but first thought was--who is after us? -- From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."

"That alone put him ahead of most anyone I ever knew. Even without his uniform and hood and looking years younger than he used to, the answer should have been obvious. Nobody moved like..."

"Perhaps Slade couldn't remember who he was, but he still acted on instinct."

"Perhaps I wasn't quite as strong as I had once been, but I also wasn't near ready to collect my retirement. And a good warrior knows how to compensate for his weaknesses."

"If only I could do the same with him."

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 33

Deathstroke #55, January 1996

"Day thirteen. By day ten Checkmate's people had excavated most of the damage to the Capitol building along with most of the dead. The reporters went home on day eleven. They believed all who would be found had been found."

"I don't agree. I can't agree."

"Slade Wilson is somewhere in the wreckage that remains, and I refuse to leave until either he or his body is found. Call me an old fool, which I readily will admit to, but no matter the odds against him I cannot abandon my friend...no more than he has ever abandoned me.-- From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."

"I'm not one to believe in psychic phenomena but every fiber of my being shouted to me that Slade would still be my partner..."

"I knew in his own clumsy way Steel was trying to ease my pain just as I knew his sympathy was misplace."

"It's been one hell of a week."

"I knew then everything had changed. He was no longer in his forties while I...was very definitely in my seventies."

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 28

Deathstroke #37, June 1994

"What choices do we make? Do we lie to those we claim to love? Would we sacrifice ourselves for the good of another? Slade has and would do so again without thinking twice. That, to me, is the measure of a Man. And that is why I call Slade Wilson my Friend."

Deathstroke #37, June 1994

"I wished I could have been there, alongside Slade and Aniel, that girl from the Mossad, the Israeli secret service, but my business took me elsewhere. There are times when I must avoid one kind of Battle to deal with another. The Mossad used Gliders to silently fly them over the Beirut Palace of the gun merchant Ohisver Muller."

"Equally as silent, they descended on black-stained Parachutes, blending them into the moonless night. It should have been a Perfect Mission. They never should have been detected. But in the merc business, ‘Should have’ are dirty words. Things never go according to plan."

"He told me he used his power staff to slow down his descent and I chose not to disbelieve him. Truth or not, it makes for a good tale...Besides, history is only a Subjective accounting of the facts. -- From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."

"Slade glanced at the bodies strewn across the plaza, and took a moment to reflect how he came there.We had traveled to Israel because of me..."

"And I knew he wouldn't."

"Catalyst! After our run-in in Portugal, we never expected to see him again. Catalyst's body had been Altered to manufacture any chemical substance virtually at will. He can create adrenaline to temporarily increase his strength or speed. He can alter his touch so it exudes Deadly Toxins, Poisons, or even kill on contact with the skin. Or, if he wished it, he can simply Drug and incapacitate his opponent. Whatever way you looked at him, he was a Deadly Enemy. He nearly killed Slade back in '91. Fortunately, he was unaware that Slade's Healing Ability could save him."

"Ever since I first joined the military I have had the privilege of serving alongside the best of the best. Soldiers trained within an inch of mechanical perfection." 

"Relentless. Tireless. Yet, always in control. Those traits sadly do not always stand side by side. Slade was unarguably the very best I have ever known. Yet Catalyst came very, very close. He rarely let his emotions sway him. He always concentrated on his perceived goal...and all his actions invariably led to achieving that goal."

"Unfortunately, where Slade maintained his version of a moral standard...Catalyst did not. He would torture for the exhilarating pleasure of it. He'd enjoy seeing how long and painful he could make that death be. At some point or another in all our lives, we must make choices. That decision determines what kind of man we are."

"What choices do we make? Do we lie to those we claim to love? Would we sacrifice ourselves for the good of another? Slade has and would do so again without thinking twice. That, to me, is the measure of a Man. And that is why I call Slade Wilson my Friend."

"I have been to Jerusalem many times, and it never fails to inspire me. Were I to believe in such things, I'd say this is the one city on Earth in which you can actually feel the hand of God."

"His shop was as I remembered it. My mother brought me here many, many times. Her brother, Athanasius Pernath, came to Jerusalem a year before the U.N. made Israel a reality for Jews everywhere.”

“I am...let us say getting on in years, yet to Uncle Athanasius, I would always be 'The Little One.'"

"Father disapproved of my mother's Jewish family and never joined us on our visits to his home in Paris. Athanasius lived in the shadow of Notre Dame, and you could look out his bathroom window and see the great gargoyles staring down at you. I always wondered if I sneaked up the Cathedral steps early in the morning, would I find the Gargoyles conversing with one another about the folly of man?"

"After the Nazis invaded France, Athanasius moved to Egypt and finally to Jerusalem. His shop was filled with potions and prayers of the Kaballa. Uncle Athanasius was a practitioner of Jewish magic."

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 27

Deathstroke #36, May 1995

"Perhaps I should consider myself lucky. Slade and I are closer than most families. How many people can say they have a someone they can trust? Precious few I'd think."

Deathstroke #36, May 1995 

"I have not often been nervous in the middle of war. Careful, of course. Wary, yes. But hardly ever apprehensive. Yet, I believe I was sweating through my cottons as Slade and I closed on that speedboat upsetting the calm and tranquil Thames."

"They fired at us, and, as expected, Slade returned their fire with his Power staff, a wonderful device maintained by Squirrel, one of Slade's hand-picked weapon designers. I wanted to curse that poor, sweet man, for his brilliance."

"On the boat was one of my oldest and dearest friends, and I did not want to see him die."

"I am always amazed by Slade's seeming recklessness...especially in possessing so much skill. I just prayed Slade would remember that Lord William Overton was to be rescued and not harmed."

"Slade rarely talked while in battle. 'Why give the enemy an edge,' he always said."

"Back in the war Lord Overton was a very close friend of my parents. When I left home he guided me into the SAS. He nursed me through my ineptness...and showed me what I could do with my life. Of course, if I hadn't had that one problem I would have fulfilled his original dreams, and mine."

"This only began to pay the debt I owed to Lord. When I was a child I learned my father was selling secrets to the Nazis. That is what caused me to later run away. But Lord Overton used his authority to suppress the truth. They both enabled me to join the Army and left the Wintergreen family name relatively untarnished. Why was anyone trying to harm him? Overton is one of the most respected members of the House of Lords. He is wealthy, but this effort would not be made solely for some possible ransom. -- From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."

"I didn't want to leave with Overton, but I had no choice. I led the blackguard into the thick...while Slade made himself a target. The problem was when Slade thought the agents pursuing us were themselves killers, he dealt with them in kind. Knowing now they were trying to apprehend a murderer, he could not fire back even as they tried to kill him. He possesses morality that can definitely be called unique. I predict someday it will be the death of him."

"I must admit that I spent little time worrying about him as he made short work of the Israelis. Overton's revelation caused painful knots in my stomach. I felt ill, barely able to push through the forest. He had been my friend, even the father I had long since abandoned. I loved him...and now felt less than a bad joke."

"My life in relative luxury was paid for by the blood spilled in Buchenwald, Dachau, Belsen and Nordhausen. My schooling, my training, even my rapid rise through the British Army, was all a lie."

"Only my life alongside Slade was mine."

"I wanted to throw up my insides to rid myself of the past, but fate was not that kind."

"We followed them to a private airstrip north of Braintree where they transferred Overton for the trip to Israel. I wanted Overton to pay for his crimes, but not at the risk of my family. As little as we may have in common, they should not suffer for my father's crimes."

"Perhaps I should consider myself lucky. Slade and I are closer than most families. How many people can say they have a someone they can trust? Precious few I'd think."

"He was right--this was insane. I slowed the jeep down to let the plane catch up with me. If I did this wrong, the wing could either crush or decapitate me. Still, I had no reservations. He put his life on the line for me. I could do no less. I eased the downed wing onto the jeep to keep the plane steady until she could lift off the runway. That part was only insane. The next was truly an inspired bit of idiocy. I jammed my shoe into the gas pedal to keep up the speed, breathed out sharply to expel my fear...the jumped."

"Which is why I am always there for Him!"

"The jeep continued to drive on until it ran out of gas. While the Mossad continued after us...until we were far out of their reach."

"Carfax Sanitarium was outside Essex. Sade and I spent the car trip there in silence..."

[sladewilsonisanantihero]

Wintergreen journals 26

Deathstroke #35, April 1994

"I used to spend a lot of time trying to charm the Nuns back in school to get my way...it never worked then, either. -- From the journal of W.R. Wintergreen, Major, British Army, Ret."