Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Review | Tagged: Batman, christopher priest, damian wayne, dc comics, deathstroke, dinei ribeiro, Ed Benes, fantasy, justice league, Nightshade, Richard Friend, robin, sci-fi, Slade Wilson, superheroes, teen titans
Deathstroke #33 Review: Father-Son Crimefighting Time
Deathstroke has been saddled up with Robin for a mission. This was a plan of Wintergreen and Alfred to see what will happen when this possible father and son work together. This mission leads Slade and Damian to an old bike shop where they are soon attacked by Nightshade, and Spyral forces intent on recovering a dangerous bio-weapon.
The selling point of this issue is seeing Deathstroke and Damian forced into the position of working together. They are two of the most abrasive people under the sun, and they will naturally be at each other's throats constantly.
They are also accustomed to duplicity, so it's hard to tell how often they are playing each other. That makes the comic a little more intriguing.
It doesn't quite have the intensity of the previous issues where Slade and Batman were trying to kill each other. This book still has its numerous charms, and Nightshade makes for a fun villain for Slade and Damian. Her powers force both Deathstroke and Robin to witness their own insecurities about this predicament.
One of the most entertaining things about the situation must be how completely over this conflict Deathstroke is. He doesn't like Robin, Batman, or the idea of having to give a crap about either.
Ed Benes joins up as the artist this issue, and the visuals do not suffer one iota for it. He provides enough detailing to maintain level of intensity that Carlos Pagulayan has in recent issues. Dinei Ribeiro is the color artist, and the saturation and pale light expressed by the colors often give a feeling of brutal bluntness. This idea fits the book perfectly.
Deathstroke #33 is something of a cute intermission in the wider brutality of Batman vs. Deathstroke. We get to see Slade and Robin annoy the tar out of one another and fight off Nightshade. The art is good, the story is still solid, and I can recommend this one. Feel free to check it out.