Across pop culture, countless superheroes have gone on to have super children who follow in their footsteps of doing good. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of villains who continue their parents’ legacy of wreaking havoc. One character, although being the son of a deadly supervillain, decides to pursue life as a hero. Do you know who this is?
Jericho, a/k/a Joseph William Wilson, created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, made his debut appearance in Tales of the Teen Titans #43. Wilson was the youngest son of Slade Wilson, a/k/a Deathstroke the Terminator, and Adeline Kane Wilson. Growing up, Wilson had a pretty standard childhood and was even a musical prodigy and a talented artist. Things took a drastic turn for Wilson when he was kidnapped by the terrorist Jackal. Although Deathstroke managed to rescue his son, he was too late to stop one of Jackal’s men from cutting his throat. As a result, Wilson was left mute. Following the incident, Joseph’s mother divorced Deathstoke and left with him and his brother. Eventually, Wilson learned how to communicate via American Sign Language.
While still a child, Wilson discovered that he possessed metahuman abilities. His power, the result of biological experimentation, allowed him to take possession of any humanoid being by making eye contact with it. Wilson discovered this ability by accident and was left traumatized by the entire incident. After laying dormant for years, Wilson’s powers resurfaced when he became a teenager. Later on, Wilson joined the Teen Titans under the superhero identity of Jericho. The current version of Jericho, introduced during DC Rebirth, follows much of his original origin. Although he now has a much edgier personality and was also recently revealed as being bisexual.
Even more recently, Entertainment Weekly announced that Lucifer alum Liam Hall will be joining The CW’s Arrow as Jericho. Arrow returns for its sixth season on October 12, 2017. This season will include a two-part Deathstroke-centric episode, which Hall will reportedly debut during.
