This review contains spoilers.
Deathstroke #15 is written by James Bonny with art by Tyler Kirkham and colors by Arif Prianto. In this issue, Deathstroke has to fight an army of Bizarros.
Previously
Slade Wilson’s daughter Rose was seemingly kidnapped by the Suicide Squad. However, that proved to be incorrect. Slade’s next clue led him to track Rose’s DNA to Lexcorp.There, he was confronted by Mercy Graves who proceeded to kick Slade’s butt before a robot with a Lex Luthor A.I. arrived to also fight Deathstroke. Slade ultimately discovered an army of Bizarros in the basement. It was also revealed that Rose has been manipulating the situation with a mysterious figure.
Summary
The issue begins with a quick flashback to the moment in which Rose met the mysterious figure. The issue then cuts back to Slade fighting the army of Bizarros. Deathstroke is forced to team up with Mercy and the Lexbot in order to contain them as Rose and the mysterious stranger watch on a screen. Slade defeats the Bizarro army and Mercy allows him to track his daughter’s DNA to the mail room. There, he only discovers a comb with a strand of Rose’s hair.
Rose questions why the mysterious stranger is being so cruel and the figure is revealed to be the Lawman. Slade attacks Victor Ruiz, his partner, who gave him the information to track the DNA. Slade believes that Ruiz is setting him up but Ruiz insists that he is being set up as well as they are attacked by a sniper. The issue ends with the reveal that the sniper is Red Hood.
Positives
The cover by Kirkham and Tomeu Morey is fantastic. Slade jumping in a pit filled with Bizarros is a striking image and is wonderfully colored.
Kirkham’s art and Prianto’s colors are the continued highlight of this series. It is a really nice book to look at. Kirkham is particularly good at drawing action scenes that flow together and are fun to look at.
Rose appears to be completely unsure about what she is doing. It’s possible that she is being forced against her will; I just assumed she was in on the plan. However, it seems like she has actually been kidnapped. I am genuinely interested in this mystery now in a way that I wasn’t before.
Negatives
Ultimately, this issue is just a giant action scene like the previous issues. It’s a well drawn action scene but a little dull. This story is being stretched too thin and simply sold on the idea of Deathstroke fighting various DC Comics characters. The Bizarros are mindless zombies and so the fight isn’t the most engaging thing in the world despite the cool art. Additionally, it is a tad silly that Slade Wilson and Mercy Graves can defeat an army of Bizarros. I think just one Bizarro would have worked better.
The reveal of the Lawman is disappointing. At first, I just assumed that he was a character I was unfamiliar with. However, it appears that he is an entirely new character. That isn’t a problem; I love that Bonny is adding to the DCU and Kirkham’s design is wonderful. However, keeping him in the shadows ultimately seems pointless now. I expected that to be someone I recognized but it’s a new character. He could have been revealed when the mysterious figure first appeared. Maybe he will turn out to be someone familiar but that choice seems strange to me.
Verdict
Ultimately, I find this issue to be dull. The art is great and I am intrigued by Rose’s motivations; I want to know what is going on with her. However, like the last several issues, this story is too padded. It’s more concerned with Deathstroke fighting than telling a story. Action is fine but it gets tiresome after awhile. I recommend skipping this issue.
