DCU Comic Book Reviews

FACES OF EVIL:  DEATHSTROKE

Faces Of Evil:  Deathstroke

March 2009

Written by David Hine

Pencils by Georges Jeanty

Inks by Mark McKenna

Cover by Ladrönn

Synopsis

After his battle against Geo-Force, Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke) lies mortally wounded in Belle Reve Prison.  He asks to see his daughter Rose Wilson (aka Ravager).  When she arrives, she is stripped of her weapons and taken to a secure room to see her dad.  There, Slade tells her that he has had enough and he wants to end the cycle of violence.  He is dying.  Rose doesn’t believe him.  She decides to speed up the process and tries to strangle him.  Slade escapes from her attempt.  When the authorities realize what is happening, they send reinforcements.  Slade tells Rose that he wasn’t lying.  He has had a conversion.  He no longer will work for hire.  Instead, he will choose who lives or dies.  Slade then escapes from Belle Reve.  Later, Slade destroys every trace of his past life.  His family his dead to him.  He will find a new family.  On the streets he finds a homeless girl and he tells everything will be alright. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was a very uneven issue for me, with a strong opening and a decent conclusion, but a weak middle section.  I think part of the problem is with Ravager’s appearance and the entire escape from Belle Reve.  First, Ravager acts like an idiot by jamming the door.  Then, the entire thing about the window just defies logic.  Well, maybe not logic, but Deathstroke gives it a single hit and suddenly it shatters.  That is an “aw, come on” moment.  And, what exactly are the helicopters supposed to be for?  Anyway, the entire sequence just undermined the rest of the issue.  Because I loved the opening, with Deathstroke slowly fading away, wondering if he really wanted to live.  And I like the ending.  Granted, it is amusing to hear Deathstroke say he is going to do his own thing and he will be a brand new Deathstroke and then go an do something he has done before (with Rose).  While it tread similar grounds (not only in Deathstroke’s past, but also David Cain), I am curious to see if something different can be done with the premise.  It is a nice ending and.  I am intrigued to see what will happen next, which I guess is the point of this special.  So, mission accomplished.    

Actually, Ravager’s appearance is more or less designed to give the comic an action scene and to give someone Deathstroke can talk to so he can provide his new mission statement.  Neither of which is really needed.  Well, the mission statement is needed but can be delivered to someone like a nurse or a doctor.  And the escape could’ve been handled in a more cerebral manner with the need for shattering glass and guns and general mayhem.  Given how Deathstroke is supposed to be this super smart guy who can predict movements far in advance, I think a less actiony escape would’ve better served the issue.  But that may just be me. 

Did Deathstroke ever work for money?  I always thought he did his own thing, which was usually trying to find ways to mess with his children’s heads and find revenge against the Teen Titans.  I always though his appearance in the Secret Society was always as one of the leaders, not one of the followers working for money.  Not that it really makes much of a difference; I was just asking, that’s all. 

Finally, there is goof in the index (the little fine print on the DC Nation page).  It states this comic is called “Faces OF Evil:  Prometheus 1”.  I am guessing a cut and past job that someone then forgot to fix. 

Comic Connection

The fight against Geo-Force occurred in Last Will and Testament, written by Brad Meltzer.  Ravager tried to kill her father in the recent Batgirl mini-series. 

 

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