The Terminator Returns
Deathstroke #1
THE TERMINATOR RETURNS
Deathstroke is introduced guns blazing and sword swinging into the New 52 in the DC Universe. Written by Kyle Higgins and drawn by Joe Bennettt, this first issue finds Deathstroke doing mostly body guard work with the occasional assassination. When his agent, Christoph, sets up a high profile job with a group of young professional killers, he gets more than he bargained for. After a job that turned out to be a trap, Slade Wilson realizes that his reputation as Deathstroke has fallen, and he’s looking to bring it back up.
I had only been exposed to Deathstroke through minor roles in comics and animation. In fact, I was more used to Slade from Teen Titans than I was his original version through DC’s print adventures. This is a perfect jumping on point for new readers. Not just beacuse it’s a first issue, but also because it gives you a broad look at how Deathstroke handles business. And it isn’t pretty. He won’t hesitate to decapitate someone who looks at him cross. He’s the best killer in the world and he wants everyone to remember it.
The writing was really lean and tight, but there was a point when the young crew was getting on my nerves. Luckily that problem was solved by the end of the issue. What I thought was sloppy and boring writing turned out to be a great device to make me enjoy a very horrifying part of the story. It was well paired with the art, which gave off the high-octane action movie feel that the title deserves. There were times when it felt as if the blade Wilson was swinging could have cut me if I hadn’t dodged it at the last second.
The title is good. It’s not the best I’ve seen of the New 52, but it’s really good. It deserves a 4.5 because it’s right up there with Suicide Squad. I actually really hope the two could crossover sometime in the near future. But hey, I don’t run DC Comics. One can always hope. In the meantime Deathstroke #1 is worth the read, so pick it up.
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