Rose Wilson

Rose Wilson
Rose Wilson as the Ravager. Art by ACO.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Deathstroke #15 (October 1992)
Created by	Marv Wolfman Art Nichols
In-story information
Alter ego	Rose Wilson (current continuity) Rose Wilson-Worth (previous continuity)
Species	Metahuman
Place of origin	Cambodia
Team affiliations	Teen Titans Stormwatch Defiance N.O.W.H.E.R.E. League of Assassins Terror Titans Suicide Squad
Partnerships	Deathstroke Dick Grayson Jason Todd Tim Drake Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) Jericho Beast Boy Raven Superboy (Kon-El) Bart Allen
Notable aliases	Ravager Deathstroke
Abilities	Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, senses, and intellect Accelerated healing Decelerated aging Precognition Expert martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant Expert markswoman and swordswoman Power dampening, anti-psychic presence, mental link (New 52 incarnation)

Rose Wilson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Art Nichols, first appearing in a 1992 issue of Deathstroke the Terminator #15. She is usually portrayed as a Teen Titans enemy and later a reluctant member, struggling to win the approval of her father, Deathstroke, being his illegitimate daughter. She is also typically depicted as an apprentice to her father and later Nightwing for a time.

Rose Wilson would make several appearances in media such as Teen Titans Go!, DC Super Hero Girls, and a live adaptation debut in the second season of the DC Universe and HBO Max series Titans, played by Chelsea Zhang. A loose variation of the character (with a different name, Isabel Rochev, and Ravager alias) appeared in the second season of Arrow, portrayed by Summer Glau.

Fictional character biography

Introduction

Rose Wilson is the youngest of three children. Her father, Slade Wilson (Deathstroke), met a Cambodian brothel owner named Lili Worth on a search-and-rescue mission a few years after his divorce from Adeline Kane. His mission was to help her escape from war-torn Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge regime. After an intermittent love affair with Wilson, Worth gives birth to a daughter whom she names Rose. Believing it to be in the child's best interest, Worth keeps Rose a secret from Wilson. Worth eventually settles down at a brothel in New York City, and, during a time when Deathstroke is injured and a fugitive from the law, Worth takes him in and nurses his wounds. Wintergreen, Deathstroke's butler, discovers 14-year-old Rose and suspects that she is Deathstroke's daughter.

When Ravager (Wade DeFarge – Deathstroke's half-brother) kills Deathstroke's friends and family, Ravager discovers Rose, captures her, and tells her that Deathstroke is her father. Wintergreen and Worth launch a rescue attempt, but Worth is presumed dead after she drives a Jeep off a cliff while trying to run over DeFarge. Wintergreen successfully rescues Rose and escapes.

Rose tries to reach out to her father, but he turns her away. He fears for her safety because he believes himself to be responsible for the deaths of two of his sons. Deathstroke leaves her in the care of the Teen Titans superhero team. During a training exercise, Rose is injured and taken to the hospital, and her precognitive powers emerge for the first time when she has a lengthy vision of Deathstroke's future. She awakens before she can test her powers further. She leaves the Titans shortly after and does not see them again until the Technis Imperative conflict, where she allies herself with the Titans to save fellow Titan Cyborg. During this incident, she vocally challenges the New God Big Barda, as the Titans and the Justice League had come to blows. Barda seems more amused than concerned over Rose and their potential fight is neutralized by other forces.

New Ravager

The Madison family in Chicago adopt Rose, but DeFarge kills her new family. The Ravager claims to have been offered $100,000 for her death by an anonymous source, but neither of them know that Deathstroke hired DeFarge in an attempt to bring Rose closer to him.

Deathstroke anonymously alerts the Titans that Rose's life is in danger, and they fight to defend her. All of the fighters are rendered unconscious by an explosion of halothane gas, and Rose awakens in Deathstroke's lair. He apologizes to Rose for abandoning her and says that she is the only family he has left. Deathstroke suggests that she become his apprentice, offering DeFarge as her first kill. Rose accepts and takes the name "Ravager" for herself. Deathstroke secretly injects Rose with the same serum that gave him his abilities, and it causes her to suffer from psychosis.

Deathstroke doubts Rose's readiness to work with him and plans to disown her after she hesitates and is unable to kill Deathstroke's son Jericho when he possesses Beast Boy. To prove her loyalty, she gouges out an eye to match his missing eye.

Batgirl vs Ravager. Cover to Batgirl #64 (2005). Art by Alé Garza.

After Batgirl defeats Rose, Deathstroke places her under the tutelage of Nightwing after Slade is led to believe he has given up being a hero. Nightwing agrees to train Rose, while surreptitiously teaching her the values of heroism. Although Rose develops a crush on Nightwing as the training progresses, the attraction seemed entirely one-sided. To test Grayson's loyalty, Deathstroke replaces Rose's missing eye with one carved from Kryptonite and pits her and Nightwing against Superman. Rose attempts to kill Superman, but Nightwing uses Superman's concern for the safety of not only the civilian bystanders, but Rose herself as her final lesson on altruism. Nightwing agrees to stay away from Rose on the condition that Blüdhaven remained off-limits to the latest incarnation of The Society, of which Deathstroke is a charter member. Following the bombing of Blüdhaven on Deathstroke's orders in Infinite Crisis, Nightwing returns and informs Rose that the Kryptonite Deathstroke had implanted in her eye-socket is not just a danger to Kryptonians, but it is also carcinogenic and is indeed lethal to humans under extended periods of prolonged exposure. Enraged and heartbroken that her father would endanger her life so dismissively, and emboldened by Nightwing's tutelage, Rose breaks all ties with her father and runs away.

One year after the events depicted in the Infinite Crisis crossover, Rose once again joins the Teen Titans. She wears the same costume and wields two katana-style swords. With Deathstroke and his serum's influence gone, Rose appears more balanced than previously depicted. Robin admits Rose to the team as a favor to the team founder and ex-leader, her former mentor Nightwing.

Rose forms a friendship with Kid Devil, using his flame breath to light her cigarettes. When Kid Devil is injured during a mission, Rose defends him, and on multiple occasions threatens those she deemed a threat to him. She later admits to Kid Devil that she is afraid of being kicked out, should the old members return to the team.

Over the lost year, the Teen Titans concluded that they needed more members. After discovering that Raven believes there was a traitor on the team during the previous year, the team agrees to begin with her. The team travels the world in search of Raven apparently on the run from the traitor. They also meet several other former Titans, such as Red Star, Zatara, and Bombshell. During a meeting with Bombshell, Rose is accused of being the latest traitor, working for Deathstroke instead. She denies the accusation, supported by not only Kid Devil, but also Wonder Girl, who believes Rose would never go back to her father. Robin and Cyborg agree that Ravager would return to the Tower. Furious, Rose prepares to quit the team altogether until the team's caretakers Wendy and Marvin reveal to her that the traitor had stolen one particular object: the computer disk containing Jericho's essence.

Realizing why Raven is truly on the run, Ravager quickly returns to the Titans' aid, just as the traitor is revealed to be Bombshell. Ravager manages to save Raven, just as the empathic Titan uses the same spell which resurrected her to resurrect Rose's dead and previously insane half-brother Jericho. Upon the resurrection of her elder brother, Joseph and Rose begin fraternizing, unaware that Bombshell's betrayal was orchestrated by Deathstroke, and that their teammates have been subdued by his associates.

Later, Rose and Joseph fly to New York to have lunch with Nightwing, after which they go to the original Titans Island and discover that someone has built a demented version of the original tower there. Upon entering, they find that their father has kidnapped their teammates, all to gain control of them again. Rose and Joey then rescue Robin from Slade and Batgirl, during which Rose finally has her rematch with Cassandra Cain. Rose and Joey both attempt to stop their father, but they are defeated and left at his mercy until Nightwing, Donna Troy, Raven, Cyborg, Duela Dent, Beast Boy, and Bart Allen arrive.

Following the death of her former teammate Bart Allen, Rose attends his funeral in Countdown #43 along with the rest of the Teen Titans.

In Teen Titans #50, Rose is present for Bart's wake, although she slips off after a while, bored with the somber, reminiscent atmosphere, and invites Kid Devil to join her in skinny-dipping in the Titans' swimming pool.

In Teen Titans vol. 3 #51, the Titans Tomorrow—a possible future version of the current Titans team—arrive in the present to aid the Teen Titans against Starro-controlled villains. Ravager's future-self is absent from the group and it is revealed that she betrays the team (primarily Bart Allen and Kid Devil) at some point. Kid Devil, his adult version Red Devil, and Rose are then sent to battle against Rampage and Livewire. Red Devil tries to convince Eddie to let Rose die during the fight, so that she does not manage to betray them in the future. Initially, it appears that Eddie intends to do so, before betraying his older self to aid Rose. Later, the trio return to the Titans Lair (home of the original Teen Titans), where they meet with Blue Beetle. There, Red Devil attacks Blue Beetle, claiming that he too cannot be trusted.

Eddie, Rose, and Jaime find themselves surrounded by an army of Titans led by Lex Luthor before they all battle against an invading army of Starros. Thanks in large part to Blue Beetle's powers and Robin and Wonder Girl managing to supposedly alter Robin's future (and thus alter the future of the Titans as a whole), the army of Titans is apparently defeated.

In Teen Titans #57, Rose is attacked by Persuader, Copperhead, and Dreadbolt of the Terror Titans, who had managed to infiltrate Titans Tower. During the battle, they goad Rose about the fate of Kid Devil, whom they had earlier captured. Despite overwhelming numbers, they are unable to take down Rose. Rose ruptures a gas line with her energy swords, blowing up a section of the tower. Rose is revealed to have survived the explosion by crossing the swords, creating a forcefield. She then follows the Terror Titans back to their base, saving Wonder Girl from Disruptor and Persuader. She then battles Clock King, her own precognitive powers matching him. Clock King offers Rose a place on his team, but she refuses. Clock King then ejects the Titans from his base. Back at the tower, Rose overhears Robin and Wonder Girl talking about her almost killing Persuader during battle, and deciding there will be "repercussions". Rose decides to leave the Titans, using one of Clock King's teleportation devices.

In Terror Titans #1, Ravager is seen talking with Clock King, negotiating her role within his group. She agrees to take part in one of The Dark Side Club's arena battles, fighting against Fever. Rose defeats Fever, but when ordered to finish her, refuses, prompting Clock King to have Fever shot in the head. Although appalled by Fever's death, Rose stays, hoping to find out what Clock King's plan is. Continuing to fight in the tournament, Rose faces off against Static, and is almost killed. Rose eventually discovers that Clock King intends to use the mind-controlled teen heroes as his own "Martyr Militia" to destroy Los Angeles, entirely for his own amusement. Attempting to get help, Rose is attacked by the Terror Titans, who overwhelm her. Help comes in the form of Miss Martian, who had been posing as one of the brainwashed teens, and had managed to use her telepathy to free them. Ravager follows the retreating villains back to their base, where she confronts Clock King. Despite their equal precognitive abilities, Ravager is able to defeat him, although she was unable to prevent his escape.

Ravager returns during the Teen Titans/Titans/Vigilante crossover "Deathtrap", seeking to save Jericho, who had been targeted by Vigilante. However, the unbalanced Jericho refuses her offer of help, continuing in his plot to kill the Titans, forcing Rose to team up with the heroes to stop him. It is also apparent that she has become addicted to the adrenaline given to her by the Clock King.

Following the "Deathtrap" storyline, Rose briefly tries her hand at being a part of the Titans, but finds that she does not belong with them. After an altercation with Bombshell, staged to ensure her loyalty to the team, Rose leaves to find her own way in life. From Teen Titans #72 onwards, Ravager is featured in a 10-page, 9 part co-feature, Ravager: Fresh Hell, written by Sean McKeever and drawn by Yıldıray Çınar.

In the Teen Titans tie-in to the Blackest Night crossover, Rose tracks Deathstroke down to his old mentor Wintergreen's house and attacks him. During the fight, the two are attacked by their deceased relatives Grant, Wade and Adeline, who, along with Wintergreen, have all been reanimated as Black Lanterns. When Grant attacks Deathstroke, intending to burn him in a fireplace, Rose reluctantly intervenes, saving her hated father. She then attempts to incinerate Wade, but is surprised when Jericho jumps out of his body. Jericho, whose eyes had grown back since Vigilante's attack, uses his powers to make the Black Lanterns destroy themselves. After the battle, Rose refuses to reconcile with Deathstroke, despite acknowledging her daughterly love for him. She also realises that her mother may still be alive, as she was not among the attacking Black Lanterns.

Following an adventure in another dimension, Static, Miss Martian, Bombshell, and Aquagirl leave the Titans, and Rose is invited to rejoin the team to help build it back up. While staying in the Tower, Rose hacks into the team computer and begins searching for information on her mother. During her time with the group, Rose begins flirting with Superboy, and befriends Damian Wayne, the new Robin. She remains with the team up until the final battle with Superboy-Prime and the Legion of Doom, where she teams with Speedy to take down Persuader, one of her former teammates on the Terror Titans. She and Damian also help turn the tide of the battle by using a piece of Kryptonite to destroy several evil clones of Superboy.

The New 52

Following the events of "Flashpoint", the DC Universe was relaunched. In the New 52, Rose now has both eyes intact and does not go by the name Ravager, though she still appears to have her martial arts training and trademark swords. She is a teenaged mercenary hired by the shadowy organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. to act as a handler for Superboy after he destroyed the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. lab used to create him in self-defense. Rose has a rivalry with Caitlin Fairchild, a young N.O.W.H.E.R.E. researcher who cares for Superboy. Her origin is altered so that she is now the daughter of Slade Wilson and his wife Adeline Kane, removing her Asian heritage in the process.

After last seen by the side of her father Deathstroke, following the events that happened in The Ravagers, she reappears 20 years in the future. In this timeline she is along her husband Garfield Logan, now labeled as Beast Man, living together in the Justice League Watchtower as Beast Man is the only Justice Leaguer alive. The two also have a daughter named Red who is being mentored by them along other superpowered teenagers for them to become a team. After an encounter with three members of the Teen Titans from the present Red Robin, Wonder Girl and Superboy, Rose and Gar put in action a plan to swap Superboy with the man of whom he is a clone (Jon Lane Kent, son of Superman and Lois Lane), who is responsible for the tragedy that happened in that future, to prevent those events from happening again. The plan is a success as Raven's soul-self departs with the Titans from the present and the unconscious Jon Lane, not Conner. Once alone, Rose asks Gar if they did the right thing, which Gar responds: "I damn well hope so Rose. I damn well hope so".

DC Rebirth

Rose later reappears after the DC Rebirth relaunch, with her original Cambodian origin and mixed-race heritage now restored and both eyes intact. She is seen working as a strip club bouncer who moonlights as a teenage mercenary, and reunites with her father after someone puts a hit on her. Her past in the New 52 continuity also appears to be retconned, as she makes no mention of N.O.W.H.E.R.E., and claims to have been trained by Nightwing, much to Slade's annoyance.

As a young adult, Rose worked as a bouncer and precognitive mercenary, accepting contracts to prevent other hitmen from carrying out theirs, the latter job in particular earning Slade's disdain. When Slade learned of an assassination notice put out on her, he reappeared in her life under the guise of wanting to help her track down the one responsible. Following an encounter with Batman, it was revealed that Deathstroke himself put the hit out on her as a means to bond with her. Disillusioned with her already troubled relationship with her father, Rose instead decided to bond with her mother's family, seeking them out in Northern Vietnam, where she learned of the name her mother had given her, Xia before finding her mother's family in Minneapolis. Despite being happy with her new family, hacker Hosun Park sought her out for protection from her father, proposing to her under the impression that Deathstroke would not harm his daughter's husband. Rose refused but, after learning that her new family was in actuality hired by Slade, accepted Hosun's proposal to spite her father, before she returned to Los Angeles for Joey's wedding to Etienne. During the ceremony, when confronted on his manipulation, Slade claimed he hired Rose's fake family so she could learn about her Hmong heritage. Soon after, an enraged Jericho attacked his father for supposedly killing Etienne. Rose is injured when she attempted to restrain her brother, leaving her with a fractured skull.

Powers and abilities

Original powers

Inheriting abilities from her progenitor and having them enhanced via mainlining of the super soldier serum that gave Deathstroke his powers. Rose Wilson possesses increased reflexes, stamina, agility, speed, strength and heightened mental acuity. But was also prone to psychotic episodes, such as when she gouged out her own eye to be more like her father while under its effects. She has received some training from Nightwing, including the virtues of being a hero. She also possesses a precognitive sense that lets her see into the immediate future. This allows her to react to oncoming attacks against her and to counter them accordingly.

She currently wields twin energy katanas that can cut through anything except flesh, and briefly merge into an energy shield. She also carries with her a small stash of adrenaline, both because Clock King had briefly managed to make her addicted to the substance, and also because while high on adrenaline her precognitive sense evolves into the ability to glimpse scenes from her immediate future. However, the more she uses adrenaline to enhance her powers, the more her metabolism is unbalanced, straining her health.

The New 52 and DC Rebirth powers

In The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity, Rose is a metahuman with the ability to negate others' superpowers. These facilities also psychically link her to other Gen-Actives, enabling multi-way mental communication with people enhanced by the Gen Factor. The limits of these powers are still unknown.

In Rebirth publishing, Ravager possessses a variation of the enhanced mind her father possessed; beyond the simple augmented brain percentage giving Deathstroke his genius intellect, Rose has an accelerated probability factor wherein she can predict the future via cataloging and assembling details in an accurate outcome assessment.

Other versions

• An alternate universe variant of Rose Wilson appears in "Titans Tomorrow". This version is a member of Titans East and part of a resistance against the Teen Titans, who have become dictators.
• An alternate universe variant of Rose Wilson appears in Flashpoint.
• An alternate universe variant of Rose Wilson appears in DC Comics Bombshells. This version is a pirate with precognitive abilities and a founding member of the Suicide Squad.

In other media

Television

Chelsea Zhang as Rose Wilson / Ravager in Titans.

• A character loosely based on Rose Wilson / Ravager named Isabel Rochev appears in the second season of Arrow, portrayed by Summer Glau. She was trained by Slade Wilson to help him seek revenge on Oliver Queen. She initially infiltrates Queen Consolidated to take over the company until she is mortally wounded by John Diggle. She receives a blood transfusion and is injected with the "Mirakuru" super-soldier serum to enhance her physical capabilities. Adopting the alias of "Ravager", she attempts to seek revenge on Diggle. Despite being hit by a vehicle driven by Felicity Smoak, Rochev survives and assassinates several Starling City citizens on Slade's orders. By the end of the season, she is captured by Oliver, his allies, and members of the League of Assassins and killed by Nyssa al Ghul.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears in Teen Titans Go! (2013), voiced by Pamela Adlon. This version is a recurring enemy of the eponymous Titans and friend of Raven, Starfire, Jinx, and Terra.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears in the second season of Titans, portrayed by Chelsea Zhang. Following an extramarital affair between Deathstroke and an unnamed prostitute, this version inherited his healing factor, became a skilled combatant, and was initially unaware of her father's identity. After seeking him out, she was recruited by Deathstroke to serve as a mole in the Titans at the cost of her left eye. She works with and secretly helps disband the Titans, claiming she wants revenge on Deathstroke to avenge her dead half-brother Jericho, until her mission is compromised by her budding relationship with Jason Todd, who leaves her upon learning her true intentions, and Dick Grayson revealing Deathstroke killed Jericho. Rose subsequently betrays her father and grievously injures him, unknowingly causing Jericho's spirit to leave him and possess her, before joining a new iteration of the Titans.
• Rose Wilson appears in the DC Super Hero Girls (2019) episode "#DinnerForFive", voiced by Chelsea Kane. This version is a friend of Barbara Gordon and displays more morality than other incarnations.

Film

Rose Wilson (right) as she appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

• An alternate universe incarnation of Rose Wilson appears in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, voiced by Freddi Rogers. This version is the daughter of President Slade Wilson who opposes his policy of appeasement towards the Crime Syndicate. After the Justice League travel to the alternate Earth to fight the Syndicate, Martian Manhunter falls in love with Rose after saving her from an assassination attempt and volunteers to be her bodyguard. After the League defeat the Syndicate, Manhunter reluctantly parts ways with her.
• Rose Wilson appears in Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons: The Movie, voiced by Faye Mata. This version is the leader of H.I.V.E. following the apparent death of its previous leader, Jackal.

Video games

• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears in DC Universe Online.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears as a support card in the mobile version of Injustice: Gods Among Us.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
• The Teen Titans Go! (2013) incarnation of Rose Wilson / Ravager appears as a non-playable character in Lego Dimensions, voiced again by Pamela Adlon.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears as a playable character in DC Legends.

Miscellaneous

• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears in Teen Titans Go! (2004) #49. She battles the Teen Titans in an attempt to continue her father Slade's legacy before they help her realize she is free to make her own decisions in life and offer her a home and family. Moved by their words, Rose decides to train with them.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager appears in Smallville Season 11. After her father Slade was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone and rendered catatonic, she attempts to continue his work by killing the next generation of superheroes, the Teen Titans.
• Rose Wilson as Ravager makes cameo appearances in DC Super Hero Girls (2015).
• Isabel Rochev appears in the Arrow tie-in novel Arrow: Vengeance. Born in Moscow, Russia to Viktor Rochev and an unnamed woman, her parents were killed by the Solntsevskaya Bratva when she was nine, leading to her being adopted by an American couple and moving to the United States. Growing up, she experienced trouble making friends in school due to her accent, which took years for her to overcome. After eventually entering business school, she became an intern at Queen Consolidated, through which she met and entered an affair with the CEO Robert Queen. They planned to run away together, but her internship was cancelled and Robert never spoke to her again, leaving her bitter and desiring revenge. Following this, she became vice-president of acquisitions at Stellmoor International to buy out Queen Consolidated before joining forces with Slade Wilson and undergoing a rigorous training regimen. After Oliver Queen leaves Starling City for failing to stop Malcolm Merlyn's "Undertaking", Slade planted Rochev in Queen Consolidated to draw Oliver back.