Deathstroke #33 Review

Father of Mine

Written by: Christopher Priest
Art by: Ed Benes, Richard Friend, Dinei Riberio and Willie Shubert
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: July 4, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99

What DC Said:

Forced to team with Deathstroke, a man he loathes, Damian Wayne must discover the truth of his lineage. Is he really Bruce Wayne's son, or is Slade Wilson his true father? As Batman draws closer to finding them both, Deathstroke must complete a hit, while Robin shadows the killer for hire.


The issue opens with a disguised Slade and Damian cruising down the boulevard and I think we all know that the two are not really related, but that didn't stop me from loving this scene and wanting more and more of them together!

We continue by seeing even more so that all of what's going on involves a plan that Alfred and Wintergreen have hatched, but there is also a subtle little thing going where either Deathstroke pities Damian, recognizes himself in the little boy or a big combination of both.

After a cool little scene showing that Damian is a smart cookie (or all in), Nightshade (!) shows up and things get crazy real fast.  Damian shows that he is even smarter than most readers like to guess and is kick ass as well.  Priest once again knows how to write the shit out of a character and gets that perfect balance of smarts, arrogance, toughness and a tiny bit of boredom that IS Damian.

Priest then reveals what has been going on...Hit turned protection of a runaway Spyral Agent who has the wrong thing on his hands leading to Nightshade sending Robin into the Land of the Nightshades as we head into a standoff of deals.  

It all ends with a switcheroo...of weapons of very mass destruction, but also of attitudes.  While Damian wants a showdown with his would be daddy, Deathstroke takes off to confront Batman...seemingly knowing what's what.  I'm glad someone does because it sure as hell ain't me...in a good way, you see!

This is one of those Deathstroke issues that is good on the surface...the interactions between Damain and Slade are priceless and their are some clever twists and turns to boot.  However, you get the feeling that when it all becomes clearer, this will get even better.  I do have to review the issue on what we got...in this issue and what we got were some good to great art and a fast-moving and fun story.  I am so down with that!

Bits and Pieces:

While I've seen some shade being thrown at the "who's the daddy" story of Damian, Batman, and Deathstroke, this issue (and the overall arc) isn't really about that.  It's about so much more and we keep getting more pieces of the puzzle each issue.  This month, however, just seeing Damian and Slade together is worth the price or admission and with the story wrapping up soon, now is as good a time as ever to catch up on the entire series so you can enjoy it with us smart fans in the know.  

8.5/10