Deathstroke Inc. #2 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Howard Porter, Artist; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: After the odd first issue, this new title does something completely different for its second go-around. This entire issue is two-page spreads as Deathstroke, Black Canary, and Hiro Nakamura head to space to investigate strange energy on a satellite. But what they find there isn’t a tech malfunction—it’s the Cyborg Superman, looking to hack the airwaves to be able to control just about any electronic on the planet. And he’s not doing it on his own—he’s captured one of the most obscure and unique DC characters in history to amplify his powers. The Weird, the dimension-hopping misfit created by the legendary Jim Starlin and the late Bernie Wrightson, has not appeared in almost ten years, but seems to be becoming a key part of this oddball team that TRUTH is building going forward. And where he goes, the odds are things are never going to be all that straightforward.
The story here moves fast and can feel a little thin, but it really doesn’t matter because this is some of the best work of Howard Porter’s career. The action is wildly kinetic, and the little character beats thrown into the middle of things are great. Toyman II is an unlikely addition to the team and someone else who hasn’t appeared in a while, but his energy is a great boost to the two leads. Deathstroke, naturally, is not exactly a warm or welcoming guy, but we’re slowly seeing some signs of the heroic company he’s in making him a better person. And then there’s TRUTH, the mysterious organization they work for. It’s been clear since the start that they’re up to no good, but what’s interesting is the way the scale of their plot is being slowly revealed to us. The ending sends the trio up against a new threat with ties to the Legion of Doom, and it seems like every issue has something very different planned for us.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
