Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot and Katana #2

That's not Katana. That's Steak Knife.

Rating: +1 Ranking.

The Deadshot story? Holy fuck.

The Katana story? It's gonna be a Halo origin story! Hopefully all this shit with Katana, Halo, Markovia, and Dr. Jace will set up a Rebirth for The Outsiders. The original Outsiders! Except for Geoforce. Maybe Geoforce can be replaced by Terra or Windfall or the Royal Markovian Janitor or a three legged dog or a rotting cantaloupe. Anything will work, really.

Suicide Squad Most Wanted: Deadshot and Katana #1

The title of this comic book is too long.

Rating: About 20 of about 52.

For just one dollar more than most comic books, you get two stories that are pretty much better than a lot of the monthly shit on the shelves. It's also possible that because I've been infatuated with Deadshot since Ostrander's Suicide Squad and with Katana even longer since Mike W. Barr's Batman and the Outsiders, I might be going easy on this comic.

Deadshot is portrayed just about how I expect him to be portrayed. He's fairly apathetic, has a--somewhat tone-down--death wish, and understands exactly how far he can push Amanda Waller's buttons before she reins him in. Also, he has family issues. Usually they're about his daughter but apparently they're about his father this time. Don't worry if you're thinking, "But...but...his father?! I read the Villains Month book and that doesn't make any sense!" It's a fucking comic book. Comic book history is only as true as the current writer and the story that writer wants to tell. It's all explained really neatly so that the reader will nod in agreement and say, "Yep! That totally makes sense!" I mean, you know, it's pointed out that he's a liar.

The Katana story has a whole bunch of throwbacks to Mike W. Barr's Batman and the Outsiders which is understandable since it's written by him. We get to see Markovia, Kobra, Dr. Jace, and the kitten that Katana will probably eventually give to Halo. I mean, maybe not that last part but whatever. Fuck you.

Speaking of the cat! I'm not sure where Barr is going with that aspect of the story unless he simply threw it in to tie this Katana run to Nocenti's Katana run because holy fuck was it a weird enough sidebar to have been a Nocenti moment!

Anyway, I hope the little girl who decides to help Katana becomes Halo because Halo is seriously needed in the DC You. I think I called Dr. Jace appearing in some other comic book for the first time and then was disappointed when it wasn't her. But now that she's back, I'm guessing Halo has to be next! Except they're in Markovia so fucking Geoforce will probably appear first. Ugh!