Deathstroke

Now calling himself Deathstroke, Slade quickly became the top mercenary in the world. But a crime lord called the Jackal discovered his true identity and, in order to force Slade to reveal information about his clients, kidnapped his young son Joseph. Slade refused to comply, saying that to do so would violate his code of honor. Instead, he tracked the Jackal's men, killing them, but not before the one holding a knife to Joseph's neck was able to slash. Joseph wasn't killed, but his vocal cords were severed, causing him to lose the ability to speak. Slade's wife Adeline, mad with rage at Slade for taking such a risk with their son's life, shot Slade in the head, then took Joseph and left. Thanks to his healing factor, Slade survived but lost his right eye. He claims it has not reduced his skill at all.

Slade's older son, Grant, both feared and admired his father. Wanting to be like Slade, Grant received physical enhancements from the criminal scientific ring called the H.I.V.E. These implants allowed him to duplicate Deathstroke's powers. Now going by the name Ravager, he accepted a contract from the H.I.V.E. to kill the Teen Titans. However, in battle with them, Grant's enhancements overloaded and killed him. Learning of this, Deathstroke blamed the Titans for his son's death and agreed to complete Grant's contract to kill them. He failed in his initial attempts. That led Deathstroke to conclude he would need to employ more calculating—and ruthless—methods.

At one point, Deathstroke attempted to defeat the Teen Titans. He managed to capture all of them except for Nightwing. Nightwing escaped and met an unexpected ally: Slade's ex-wife Adeline and son Joseph, now an adult metahuman with the power to send his mind into the body of others and possess them. Slade was startled to see Joseph again, and with Joseph and Adeline's help, Nightwing freed the Titans. Together, they defeated Slade when Joseph possessed his father. Slade was finally taken into custody by the authorities.

Deathstroke later escaped custody, but as his son Joseph, now calling himself Jericho, had joined the Titans, he gave up trying to kill them. At times Slade found himself working with the Titans against mutual enemies. His personal code of honor kept him moving back and forth across the line of villain and anti-hero. When Jericho was driven mad by evil souls from another dimension and nearly destroyed the Titans, he begged his father to set him free by killing him. Slade stabbed Jericho through the heart. Losing their remaining son drove Adeline to madness, and her subsequent death on top of losing Jericho caused Deathstroke to go into retirement.

Deathstroke was approached by a young woman named Rose, his daughter from a relationship following his divorce. She inherited his physical talents plus the ability to predict future probabilities. Rose was being pursued by Slade's half-brother, Wade LaFarge, who bore a grudge against Slade and was trying to kill what family he had left. Slade killed LaFarge, but feared being around her would be bad for Rose, so he took her to the Titans for training instead. Rose took the name Ravager after her late brother. Her other brother, Jericho, turned out to be alive—at least, his consciousness—and the Titan Raven magically made him a new body. Slade has maintained a tense relationship with his two surviving children, often at odds, but when danger threatens, he has protected them.