Overview
Contents
In Deathstroke Volume 1: Gods of War, Tony Daniels brings us back DC’s deadliest supervillain with a whole new mission at hand. Explore Slade Wilson like never before as you get to closely follow this assassin through his very own story line. Without giving any spoilers, know that this story follows Slade after he finds out that a top-secret mission was erased from his memory, he finds himself on a new mission with new enemies and all.
Deathstroke Volume 1: Gods of War Review
To start off, the artwork of the comic was absolutely phenomenal. I have no complaints on how characters and sceneries were depicted throughout the volume. The character design was true to the rest of the series, successfully giving me the whole “dangerous assassin” impression from the numerous weapons down to
his signature orange and black armor. The action scenes were amazing and plentiful, and I found myself examining all the careful details of every backdrop. I have to say the artwork had everything going for it, but I wouldn’t say that about the whole comic itself.
Slade Wilson had been a successful villain in a number of series such as Teen Titans and even CW’s Arrow. Daniels attempt to get Deathstroke his own (and successful) solo series involved a lot. It’s obvious that he was trying to establish a more “connectable” and “deep” personality than that had been shown with him in a number of series. There is a reason so many different DC franchise had kept Deathstroke to a certain character script -because it works for him. While I understand the practicality in giving the infamous mercenary a more human touch, it is something that is hard to get across in a few chapters without seeming forced. On top of it, the story seems to make him seem less like the calculative, assassin we know and love, and more like a weird guy that happens to be a mercenary on the side. Daniels also seems to leave out his famed intelligence all
together. This can be a little disappointing for fans who were looking forward to seeing more of that famous strategizing. Overall, his new personal altogether seems to be a rebut on its own that I am not particularly fond of. I think fans can agree that Daniels could have spent a little more time in getting some character development going.
This was not just the problem with Deathstroke himself. The other minor characters were also lacking in the character development and explanation I would have hoped to see in the series. Secondary characters such as Possum and Angelica seemed to be included more for the sake of having secondary characters rather than adding to the storyline in any meaningful way. And although Harley Quinn and Batman himself were featured they did little to the plot.
Overall, the plot was rather unexciting compared to other DC storylines. It was cohesive and fitting for the Deathstroke franchise, however it was rather lackluster and didn’t really offer anything new to the table.
If you are looking more for the action than storyline, however, then you’ve come to the right place. This volume was chock full of action -each drawn to every minute detail. The fight scenes were absolutely amazing and almost make up for the lack of an exciting storyline.
Summary
Overall, I give Deathstroke Volume 1: Gods of War a 3/5. I didn’t not enjoy it, but I felt very underwhelmed with how everything played out. The story line and characters left a lot to be desired. It felt at times that this was just Daniel’s blatant attempt to force Deathstroke into a modern solo series. While the plot may not have been exciting, the action-packed fight scenes are sure to appeal to fans! If you are looking for easy-to-follow, action-packed story with beautiful art, look no further. If you are someone who likes a little more substance in their comics, you may way to look elsewhere.
Read the review for Deathstroke: Volume 2
Read the Review for Deathstroke: Volume 3
Last update on 2023-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
