Let’s get this out-of-the-way right up front; Deathstroke #5 serves as nothing more than to serve every fanboys wet-dream. The story itself doesn’t do much to move things forward before the closing issue of this arc, but that’s okay because this issue serves up some good old-fashioned comic book fun.
Deathstroke vs. Batman – with Harley Quinn stuck in the middle! The most intense, brutal battle in the history of The New 52 takes place in this issue!
While the blurb that DC put out may be a little grandiose, it isn’t that far off the mark. This entire issue is just one long and protracted battle between Batman and Deathstorke. It does everything a good “vs” battle needs to do and more, and having Harley Quinn in the mix only adds a much-needed wildcard into the stew. Okay, so I will knock Deathstoke for being in Gotham City… at night… with Harley Quinn… and then wondering why in the world Batman showed up on the scene. I mean, come on man, the only way you could have gotten Batman’s attention more quickly is by shining the Bat-signal onto a tied up Robin.
Anyways, Deathstroke issue #5 is light on story, but high on action. The art really takes center stage here as our two opponents slug it out. I thoroughly enjoyed what little writing there was simply because we get to finally see things from another characters point of view. We’ve seen Batman in this kind of position before, but the internal dialogue we get is always from the point of view of the caped crusader. It’s always dark and gritty and gives you the sense that he’s always in control. I mean, he is the god damned Batman after all.
This time we see and read the entire thing from Deathstoke’s point of view and that is a welcome change. I’ve always wondered what goes on in the head of someone taking on Batman, especially when they had no plan going into the encounter. Sure, it does feel a little like Deathstroke is in love with the guy, in awe of his abilities, but he does play off of a lot of what he perceives to be Batman’s weaknesses.
Deathstroke #5 promised us an epic battle and for the most part it delivers. The only problem with these type of crossover “1v1” book is that the playing field is never really level. Sure, both Batman and Deathstroke aren’t prepared for each other in this encounter, but that’s not really my issue. Deathstroke is a much different person right now in this arc, what with the two functioning eyeballs and all. He isn’t at the level that most fans (and in-world characters) regard him at and this leads to Batman having the upper hand most of the battle.
All that being said, Deathstroke #5 is probably the most action packed book I have read in a long time. This is the kind of comic that fans have been wanting and you would be doing a disservice in not picking it up right now. It may reserve forwarding the story to the last page or two, but Deathstroke #5 is still a fantastic and engaging read.
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