Review: Suicide Squad Most Wanted- Deadshot
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline is fun and has plenty of action. Deadshot shines as a main character and fills the story with plenty of emotion. The artwork looks nice and assists in telling the overall story.
Cons: The story’s villain is a bit disappointing.
Overall: This is easily one of the best Deadshot stories in this era of DC Comics. It is filled with the action and tension one would expect from a story about an assassin. However, it also contains a bit of emotional character development that gives the entire work a deeper sense of meaning. The main villain is a bit lackluster but this does not take away from the collection’s many successes. This comic is definitely a must-read for anyone with an interest in Deadshot as a character.
Story
Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot, by Brian Buccellato, is a tremendously worthwhile adventure with an often overlooked character. In this collection, Deadshot is on the outs with a couple of his former associates, putting him in danger in more than a few ways. This leads to a thrilling story about bombastic confrontations, daring escapes, and plenty of near-death experiences. Meanwhile, readers also get a chance to learn about Deadshot’s tragic past and how the emotions from this past have fueled his modern-day mission. It is a captivating story all around and one that manages to elevate Deadshot to a level of writing quality he does not often see.
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The primary focus in Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot is on a battle between Deadshot and various enemies looking to challenge him. In the beginning, Amanda Waller gets on Deadshot’s bad side, leading to an intense standoff and a thrilling escape scene. Later on, Deadshot has a one on one battle with an assassin of equal skill, an equally intense situation. This collection does not hold back when it comes to tension and action and has plenty of fun moments throughout the read.
However, the real takeaway regarding Deadshot is the immense level of character development he receives here. For a while now, Deadshot has been the de facto leader of the Suicide Squad but this has mostly just involved following orders and pulling off generic stunts. Here, Deadshot has a chance to show off a wide range of emotions and tactical abilities. He takes down government agents with military precision, removes his own neck bomb, and exposes the family drama that has been haunting him for years. I’ve read numerous comics that include Deadshot but this one gave me one of the most in-depth views into his character that I’ve experienced recently. In this way, this collection excels when it comes to character development and showcasing an interesting protagonist.
The volume’s only significant problem is that Will Evans, the wannabe Deadshot, is a bit disappointing. His character starts out alright but slowly becomes less compelling as the volume progresses. He eventually transforms from a man driven by vengeance to someone simply obsessed with surpassing Deadshot’s legacy. Even his death is a bit disappointing, as it happens so quickly considering the setup involved in his final gambit. If he were given more time to develop or if his development was handled better, he would have given this collection a worthy villain to top off an otherwise great story.
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Art
The artwork in Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot looks nice throughout the read and is a positive complement to the reading experience. Pencils from Viktor Bogdanovic, inks by Richard Friend, and colors by Michael Spicer create an experience that feels incredibly similar to that seen over in Greg Capullo’s Batman comics, which is definitely a compliment. This stylized presentation of characters and backgrounds also works well for this particular narrative, as it is able to capture emotion in a way that might otherwise go unnoticed. This then goes on to assist in telling the emotional story seen throughout this book’s plot. Overall, this is a nice looking collection that does not disappoint when it comes to visuals.
Continuity
Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot is a miniseries that does not continue any specific story threads. Instead, this comic continues some vague elements from the Suicide Squad and New Suicide Squad comic series. Specifically, the team structure in this comic suggests it takes place sometime before or after the events of New Suicide Squad Vol. 4: Kill Anything (Review).
The story here does not continue in any specific comic. However, the Suicide Squad’s next major adventure is detailed in Suicide Squad Vol. 1: The Black Vault (Review).
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- Many references are made to Deadshot’s previous origin story. This story was detailed back in Justice League of America 7.1: Deadshot, now collected in Suicide Squad Vol. 4: Discipline and Punish (Review).
- At one point, a prototype robotic suit is shown in a hologram. This is a reference to the new Batsuit seen in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review).