[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers!]
Writer: Priest
Pencils: Fernando Pasarin
Inks: Jason Paz
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Willie Schubert
Summary
Slade still remains in Arkham Asylum and thanks to a series of medicines he still doesn’t have his powers! No strength, heightened senses, or accelerated healing! However someone is working on the outside to set Slade Wilson free–and Slade might not want the help.
Positives
Priest really delivers in this story and I enjoyed it from start to finish. First we meet Death Masque–who happens to be Dev, the prisoner that Slade escaped with a few issues ago! Dev breaks into Hosun’s apartment and reveals that the Wintergreen AI was actually real and that he knows that Hosun set it up to not be detected by Arkham Asylum. All of this proves that Slade Wilson isn’t actually insane–almost anyways! Elsewhere halfway across the planet, we find Two-Face kidnapping Rose in an attempt to “liberate” Slade. Two-Face thinks the only way to truly set Deathstroke free to be the true killer he was meant to be, he has to remove all personal ties. That was the reason why he attempted to kill Joseph in the last issue! There were a lot of pieces in this story I liked but Two-Face the most!
Negatives
I have no complaints about this issue! The story is executed well and the action is all over the place! Slade almost seems defeated in this particular issue as he’s still trying to determine what’s reality and what’s not. The ending doesn’t make it any more helpful as the very physician that’s been helping him turns out to be working for Hugo Strange! At the very end of our read, we find Hugo waiting for Slade Wilson in his office–and he’s surrounded by the very worst of Arkham’s criminals! Priest leaves on this particular cliffhanger, and you’re left wondering what’s going to happen to a depowered Deathstroke surrounded by the worst Arkham has to offer!
Verdict
Deathstroke #38 is a great read. I enjoyed the overall story, the action was great, and if you’re a fan of Two-Face then you’ll enjoy him as well. What concerns me the most however is Hugo Strange. It seems at the end of this issue, that either Hugo Strange has plans for Slade–and that’s why he’s depowered, or he wants to make him an offer of some sort. Either way I’m looking forward to seeing how the next issue starts!
