War...The Friendliest Game
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Paolo Pantalena
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 26, 2022
Deathstroke Inc. #8 continues the Shadow War crossover event with everyone and their daughters after Slade Wilson for the murder of Ra's al Ghul. But did he do it? It certainly looks like he didn't, but who knows what sort of twists and turns Joshua Williamson has cooked up for us. So let's jump into this month's issue and find out...
Deathstroke Inc. #8 opens with the fascinating new character, Angel Breaker, interrogating the not-so-interesting Raptor. I don't mean to offend the 4 1/3 Raptor fans out there, but if you go back to the beginning of the Rebirth era and follow his story, what a long, strange trip it's been. Seriously, the guy tried to kill Dick Grayson numerous times, and even brought Deathstroke back from the dead with the power of leprosy! Worse than that, though, is that it doesn't make sense for Raptor to be here! If you go back and look, Raptor was part of the Talia's assembled team in Shadow War Alpha. Why is he being attacked and interrogated by another member of his own team?!? It's not just one of those "wrong character in the background" mistakes either as some of the plot progression of the issue involves him as we move ahead... not good for an event like this.
The opener sets up the idea that Slade has nowhere to go that is safe from Talia's forces, and there is even a full-page spread to prove it. However, Deathstroke has places to hide and goes to one with Respawn in tow. It's a cool play here to show Deathstroke did (and still does) have a nasty spot for the Teen Titans.
I don't know about you, but Deathstroke feels like he is a couple of cards shy of a deck lately. He is obsessed with Respawn and is using him to make up for his past sins, namely what happened to his real son, Grant. It's funny seeing him talk shit on the Teen Titans here because he always uses them as the scapegoat for Grant's death, and now, even with a surrogate Grant, he still has that anger. It's a crazy juxtaposition of wanting to be a better father and person but not being able to let that grudge go.
One of the interesting aspects of Deathstroke's character since the beginning of Christopher Priest's Rebirth run has been watching Slade try to be a better father but not knowing how. We get that a bit here when he gives Respawn some sensible advice, deadly weapons aren't toys, but then shows him how great he is at using them. But, hey, every dad wants their kids to think they're cool, right?
The issue continues with Batman and Talia backing away from their cliffhanger kiss, Batman demanding to be the lead detective on the "Find Deathstroke Case," and word getting to Deathstroke that he better make himself scarce. But, of course, he already knew that last part and thinks he is safe... until someone comes knocking. Who could that be? You can quickly figure that out if you have been reading along, but I won't spoil it here.
This setup issue slightly progresses the overall plot, showing that Deathstroke cares about Respawn and that Talia is big on making him pay for what she thinks he did to her father. But, again, it's been clear that the killer isn't Deathstroke, so I'd like to see more progression with that part of the story. Paolo Pantalena's art is good and fits the look of the other artists in the crossover, which is nice. But, overall, I need more progression of the story to get me back and fully interested.
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Bits and Pieces:
Deathstroke Inc. #8 continues the Shadow War event but only pushes the story forward slightly. Joshua Williamson seems to be stalling, and I'm getting frustrated. However, I am still on board because the big picture story is intriguing, I just need more from each issue than we've gotten in the past two installments.
6.0/10
Not very impressed with this, and not very impressed with anything Williamson has put out lately. DC gave him way too much than he can chew, he is stretching himself thin and it shows. Death of the Justice League was pretty bad, right now he writes Batman, Rogues, Robin, Deathstroke and Dark Crisis and the quality is lacking. One thing I did appreciate here was that panel where he practices on the Titans, but the holes are all near their heads, almost like a metaphor for how Slade doesn't actually want to kill the Titans, he probably needs them alive to constantly blame them for what happened to Grant lol.
ReplyDeletehe definitely needs to blame them and yea, things are getting stretched thin with Williamson. Too many setup issues where we need some forward momentum!
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