Slade’s journey into his past takes an unexpected turn, leading him to Gotham City and Harley Quinn in this latest issue of Deathstroke. As this is my first time with Slade Wilson outside of the brief time he spent with the Suicide Squad, I mostly jumped in hoping to see the banter between him and Harley Quinn that the books cover seemed to promise.
This doesn’t quite seem to be the case, but I’ll hold back from saying I was being being led on as the two do spend a little bit of time together which is by far the highlight of the book. Deathstroke #4 isn’t the best place to jump on with the series, but it doesn’t feel so convoluted (it’s only issue #4) that you can’t put some of the pieces together yourself.
For a title featuring the DC universes most deadly assassin there sure is a lack of assassinations going on. In fact, Deathstroke #4 is a wordy enterprise that only serves to set up what is next in the world of a now much younger Slade Wilson. If you have been following along then this issues respite will no doubt be welcome to the overall story, but those less versed in the minutia will want to track down the previous issues
While the book is wordy, the writing is well done and affords new news enough intrigue to make them interested in following along, as well as going back to search out the previous three issues in this series. A lot of characters come back into Wilson’s life, at a time where his reliance on flying solo has become at detriment to the mission at hand. With the League of Assassins in turmoil without a leader and Deathstrokes father on the hunt for his child, the story is setting up for a very big showdown, but not before the book leaves us on a cliffhanger thanks to Harley Quinn and Gotham City.
This is a dense issue that ends up feeling much larger and longer than it really is. This is a good thing as Tony S. Daniel has got aside with the exposition so we can get back to the action in the upcoming issues. I enjoy when big action books of this nature spend an issue to slow things down a tick and focus on the details and motivations of characters. Daniels manages to do this and still gives us a bit of action and fun at the tail end of our read.
Daniels is also on pencil duties for this book and that grants him the ability to weave a better unified story. Sometimes when books slow things down we see the artist struggle when action is their main beat, but here we don’t get any of that. Daniels pencil work is solid and has that distinct vibe that the New 52 has become know for.
This isn’t an issue that is going to blow anyone away, but one that is necessary to the overall arc of this book. It’s the kind of slow segment that will read much better when collected into a trade paperback as opposed to a single issue. While Deathstroke #4 won’t amaze it will satisfy series fans and has done its job by grabbing my attention. I’ll definitely be checking out what comes next for Deathstroke and his family troubles and what, or who, Gotham has in store for him.
About Author
