The Silencer #18 – Dan Abnett, Writer; V. Ken Marion, Penciller; Sandu Florea, Inker; Mike Spicer, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8/10
Corrina: The Happy Family?
Ray: The last title from the New Age of DC Heroes line to star new characters comes to an end with Silencer #18, putting the final touch on a flameout of a line that had some interesting ideas but mixed execution. Of all of them, the story of Honor Guest – assassin by night, mother and wife by day – was probably the most intriguing and delivered some great action and touching family moments along the way. Ultimately, it suffered from a lack of characterization of the family and too much time spent in endless assassin shootouts with the agents of Leviathan. That’s what holds this otherwise excellent finale issue back as it hits the right tone better than most of the series did. When we last left off, Honor had seemingly put the last remnants of her enemies to rest and returned to her family – who thought she was dead – with the help of some mysterious allies. Weeks later, she and her husband and son are planning to move to put the last bad memories of their old house behind them – but things are still far from perfect.
This issue does a good job of dealing with how Blake – who hasn’t been given the development he needed in this title – is coping with the strange events he doesn’t quite understand. While he’s glad to have Honor back, he doesn’t quite trust that everything is as it seems and a scene with him seeing the same grief counselor he had visited in past weeks is excellent. Honor’s son, who is the only one who saw his mother in her other guise, seems to be processing it in the way only a child can. The scenes with Honor cleaning house, cutting deals, and having a secret conference with Deathstroke about the future of Leviathan are strong, and the final scene – driving home that no matter what Honor does, she’ll always be looking over her shoulder – ends the series on a good note. This is probably the best example of the series living up to its potential, so it’s a shame it comes right at the end.
Corrina: I was afraid this series would end with Honor’s family dead or utterly estranged from her.
It does not and that’s pleasing to me. But this last issue’s happy ending has some holes.
First, as Ray mentioned, Blake has gotten zero characterization throughout most of this run. There have been some insights in the last few issues but, still, we only know him in relation to Honor. Blake is still mostly a blank slate and we’ve never seen what drew him to Honor and vice versa. Their son has slightly more characterization but not much. For this happy ending to feel earned, I wanted to feel these relationships.
Second, Honor is still keeping the secret of who she is from Blake. That will come out eventually and strain their marriage. I was hoping to see that happen at some point in this series but it never did. Which casts doubt again on their happy ending, even more doubt than Honor always having to look over her shoulder.
Overall, however, I liked Honor and The Silencer, perhaps more than I should, given the erratic plotting. I wanted to like it more but, alas, it never realized it’s full potential, despite Honor’s unique power set and the glimpses into her history.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
