Line #27 ComicBook/TheLazarusContract


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/teen_titans_lazarus_contract_special.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:A faster "wheelon".]]
3	->''"My name is Slade Wilson. I'm the fastest killer alive... about to change my own destiny."''
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5	''The Lazarus Contract'' is a 2017 BatFamilyCrossover between ''ComicBook/{{Titans\| Rebirth}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Teen Titans\|Rebirth}}'' and ''ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} (Rebirth)'', written by Creator/DanAbnett, Benjamin Percy and Creator/{{Christopher Priest\|Comics}}. It takes place in the May issues of those series, ending in ''Teen Titans Annual'' #1.
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7	After the numerous tragedies his family has suffered, Slade Wilson has found a way to resurrect his dead son, Grant Wilson, the first Ravager who died fighting the Teen Titans. To do so, he needs Wally West and the Speed Force.
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9	The crossover looks to clear up the ContinuitySnarl of the Titans' post-Flashpoint history, as well as Deathstroke's relationship with the team, both of which were initially {{retcon}}ned out of existence. The story also features the first meeting between both Titans teams.
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11	The crossover is intended to be a SpiritualSuccessor to the famous storyline "ComicBook/TheJudasContract".
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13	----
14	!!''The Lazarus Contract'' provides examples of:
15	* AbusiveParents: An entire flashback is shown to establish that Slade was a horrible father and pretty much pushed Grant on the path that leads to his death, just in case [[UnintentionallySympathetic any newcomers would feel bad for him]].
16	* AudienceSurrogate: Aqualad. He's the newcomer to the Teen Titans and it's his first big crisis. As such, he spends most of the event on the sidelines, making the occasional snarky comment or noting how everyone seems to keep forgetting about him.
17	* BeingEvilSucks: Slade shows signs of feeling this way in ''Deathstroke'' #19, stating that his Deathstroke persona is born from the death of his son Grant and showing awareness that his supervillainy has hurt his family.
18	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Slade is convinced to stop his mercenary ways through his time-travelling actions, but thanks to Damian, the New 52 Wally West is kicked off the Teen Titans by Damian and the original Wally West is forced to retire as Damian altering the timestream caused him to be fitted with a pacemaker.]]
19	* BlatantLies: Deathstroke says he never lies... yes, he's lying about his own lying.
20	* BrokenPedestal: Dick for Damian, after his DarkSecret comes out. They patch things up, though.
21	* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:[=NuWally=]]], when Slade steals his powers.
22	* BulletTime: Slade and Wally enter it in their chase, and Slade notes that they'rem now on an even playing field.
23	* CallBack:
24	** Why Wally doesn't want to help Slade change the past. He sees the good it will do and sympathizes with what's been lost (he lost Linda Park after all), but he knows that Barry Allen saving his mom caused ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'', so he tells Slade that he has to move past his loss.
25	** The tech Slade is using to drain speed is tech he appropriated from Dr. Elias, a minor villain from the New 52 run of ''The Flash'' who has a connection to Daniel West, the New 52 Reverse-Flash.
26	* CommonalityConnection: When the two Titans teams meet, Donna Troy and Starfire figure ''they'' should be leading their respective teams for... some reason.
27	* ConflictBall: The Titans and Teen Titans are initially at each other's throats for... no reason, actually.
28	* ContinuitySnarl: Slade's use of the Speed Force when changing the past. It's been established that it's ''incredibly difficult'' to change the past via timetravel in the DCU, and it's definitely not as easy as Slade makes it seem, where he apparently did it ''numerous'' times in his attempt to save Grant. The fact that he could even time-travel without a Cosmic Treadmill is also a bit of a snarl, as it's been established that only Barry Allen and Wally West can use the Speed Force to time-travel with anything even resembling accuracy without one, and Barry's the guy who ''generates'' the stuff ''and'' had to absorb ''all of it'' into himself, while Wally is TheChosenOne who ''mainlines'' the stuff.
29	* CoolCar: Slade uses a sports car to set a trap for [=NuWally=]. It looks pretty sleek and has a powerful engine. [=NuWally=] describes it as "pure automotive perfection".
30	* DarkSecret: Nightwing is keeping one from the Titans and Teen Titans. Turns out he [[spoiler: agreed to train Rose Wilson and instill some morals in her]] at the request of [[spoiler: Slade himself]], with the condition that [[spoiler: Slade no longer try to kill the Titans, which he could've done easily back in those days]].
31	* DealWithTheDevil: Slade offers one: if one of the Wallys helps him go back in time to save his kid, he will never be Deathstroke again, saving all the lives he takes.
32	* EvilParentsWantGoodKids: Deathstroke. [[spoiler:The titular Lazarus Contract turns out to be an agreement between him and Nightwing for Rose to be trained and given morals by Nightwing.]]
33	* ForgotAboutHisPowers: When Wally is chasing down Slade, Slade says he's as fast as [[TheAce Wally]] (somehow), and that since they're on the same playing field now, he can beat Wally. Wally agrees and runs away... because he apparently forgot that he can drain speed. And no, he didn't ''actually'' forget as part of Rebirth, because he's demonstrated the ability since his return.
34	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: After feeling down about his poor choice in father figures (Daniel West (Reverse-Flash) and Barry Allen (the Flash II)), [=NuWally=] bonds with a disguised Slade Wilson for an afternoon. When he finds out who Slade is, his response is a self-aware "Not again!"
35	* IndyPloy: Damian displays a ruthlessly cunning imagination by [[spoiler:temporarily stopping a younger Wally West's heart when they run into him in the past to prevent his meeting with Deathstroke in the present... [[NiceJobBreakingItHero resulting in Wally needing to get a pacemaker and New!52 Wally being kicked off the team]]]].
36	* InstantExpert: Slade, after attaining the Speed Force, is instantly able to use it to rework his costume with a lightning motif. This is a skill even Barry Allen still doesn't have.
37	* LegacyCharacter: The crossover re-establishes Ravager as one, as Rose Wilson had been using the name over in ''Deathstroke'' but it wasn't clear if anyone else had ever used the name. This crossover's first scene established that Grant Wilson, at the very least, did.
38	* LightIsNotGood: [=NuWally=]'s lightning is red, which has been traditionally associated with evil speedsters. Slade's, once he [[spoiler: steals his powers]] is the traditional yellow lightning. Doesn't make him heroic, however.
39	* LetThemDieHappy: In the initial flashback, Slade tells Grant that he managed to kill the Teen Titans before he dies.
40	* MisplacedRetribution: Slade blames the Titans for killing Grant when they even try to explain that it's whatever H.I.V.E. did to him that killed him. He doesn't care.
41	* MoralityChain: Christopher Priest stated he believes Grant's death was what made Slade completely lose any standards and moral compass, making him fully become Deathstroke we know.
42	-->'''[[http://www.multiversitycomics.com/interviews/priest-lazarus-contract/ Christopher Priest]]:''' Grant has always been the key to Deathstroke. Before Grant's death, Deathstroke was no angel, but he was more or less an agent of change who took assignments which were typically about taking out bad or corrupt people more so than, say, killing The Pope. His son's death unhinged him, after which Deathstroke could fairly be considered "evil" in a way he hadn't actually been before.
43	* MoralMyopia: Slade has a big one. Wintergreen even notes this to Jackson Hyde and the younger Wally West, as noted under TheUnapologetic below.
44	-->'''Christopher Priest:''' Both Grant and Tanya represent the hole in Slade's heart, the space he keeps trying to fill and the engine that fuels Deathstroke. This creates a kind of ends justify the means myopia. He has an enormous blind spot to the suffering he causes others (as regularly seen in this book), so, for him, steamrolling the Wallys is just another day at the office.
45	* MundaneUtility: As seen in the ''Teen Titans'' annual, Aqualad can use his hydrokinesis to keep the rain off a friend's head.
46	* MyGreatestFailure: Slade sees Grant's inability to save Grant as this. Noticeably, he ''doesn't'' see his {{abus\|ivedad}}e of Grant (which ''led'' to Grant becoming a mercenary and getting killed) as any kind of failure whatsoever.
47	* NeverMyFault: Slade refuses to admit his part in driving Grant in the direction he went, instead blaming the Titans. Jericho says it's one of his defining traits: he'll never accept responsibility for his failures.
48	-->'''Jericho:''' It's how he processes his emotions: find someone to ''blame''.
49	* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: Attempted, but averted. [[spoiler:The two teams eventually end up running into the Titans as they were when they were the original Teen Titans when they go back in time to stop Deathstroke, ironically in the same beat as trying to avoid exactly that.]]
50	* OneSteveLimit: Averted, as Wally West II finally finds out about Wally West's existence. He's confused, to say the least.
51	* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler:When Slade, having temporarily tapped into the Speed Force without a tether, runs into the Speed Force itself, the younger Wally West runs in after him. It takes the efforts of both the Titans and the Teen Titans to bring them both back out again.]]
52	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Slade's goal is to prevent Grant's death.
53	* SpiritualSuccessor: To the original "The Judas Contract" storyline. The name even invokes it.
54	* SuperSpeed: Slade gains it in this story thanks to getting some Speed Force from [[spoiler:Wally II]].
55	* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: Despite the importance of the Speed Force in Slade's plans ''and'' the fact that Slade is about to try and change the past like he did, Barry Allen isn't targeted by Slade and never shows up to help, with Wally not even considering him. Given how [=NuWally=] refers to recent events, it's possible Barry was travelling through time with Batman in ''ComicBook/TheButton'', but there's no mention of him either way.
56	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The cover of the Annual (the one shown) depicts Slade stealing the powers of Wally West II, despite solicitations and the final issue in the initial arc of ''Titans'' implying he would steal them from Wally.
57	* TheUnapologetic:
58	** Slade's inability to simply apologize for his failures in his series end up causing the events of this crossover. Wintergreen even lampshades it.
59	--->'''Wintergreen:''' Among his dysfunctions, Slade struggles with intimacy. Having totally ruined relationships with his daughter and ''surviving'' son, rather than [[StatingTheSimpleSolution simply saying "I'm sorry"]] -- he concocts a [[ZanyScheme scheme]] to ''change'' the ''past''. Or, put more succinctly -- [[spoiler:the entire ''planet'' is at risk simply because this man is incapable of ''hugging'' his ''children'']].
60	** Damian Wayne isn't much better, though the consequences are less drastic. When ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} tries to get him to apologize for his rudeness around the younger Wally, saying that they need to work together as a team, Damian simply accepts the words of ''Nightwing'' as an apology, rather than admit he did anything even remotely wrong.

Context ComicBook / TheLazarusContract