Deathstroke #8 - "The Professional: Conclusion - Part 2"

[laughing_tree]

'Deathstroke #8 concludes “The Professional,” our first story arc, which was meant to not only re-establish Slade and his ersatz The Sopranos meets Married With Children supporting cast but to also explain, in a credible way, why a guy like Deathstroke continues to walk around the DC Universe. In other words, why isn’t every DCU hero working night and day to capture or kill this man? In my view, until we find a credible answer to that question, we have no book; we’re just kind of winging it and being untrue to either Deathstroke or the DCU heroes or both.' -- Christopher J. Priest

Comments

[kamino_neko]

In other words, why isn’t every DCU hero working night and day to capture or kill this man?

Because he's not the only, or even the worst, threat out there? This is really overselling 'Stroke. He's just another hitman. He needs to be taken down, but no more than Lena Luthor, Abra Kadabra, Talia al Ghul, etc.

[goattoucher]

The real answer is, of course, "suspension of disbelief". It's the same thing that keeps the joker alive.

[burkeonthesly]

With the Joker, disbelief is suspended only from the ceiling fan by a length of piano wire.

[thanekos]

The kind of lawyers a super-mercenary would have on retainer, and Darkseid.

I'm not sure who the comparison is less flattering for.

[reveen]

See, I think this is bullshit because Golden Age Superman would best up Deathstroke, drag Alisante to the Hague personally, and bust open the conspiracy for good measure. Sure, it's not the golden age anymore. But I'm really sick of Superman being portrayed as a stooge who can be stumped by moral quandaries that a four year year old could could pick apart.

[thanekos]

On the upside, those last couple pages are " morally firm character employs cleverness to work around morally ambiguous characters, instead of being an easily manipulated blunt hammer for them ".

When was the last time that ever happened?

[burkeonthesly]

"I haven't been authorized to detain Alsante. Then again, I haven't been authorized to catch muggers or fight off invading aliens, so why should that stop me?"

[superboyprime]

I'm not sure I get it. So the U.S. government tried to kill this Alisante guy's people because they know too much? If that's the case, why are they also so keen on making sure Alisante stays alive? Shouldn't they also consider him someone who knows too much?

Also, why is Al Lajna being mercenaries instead of fanatics relevant?

[thosefew]

Maybe they should be posing scenarios like Fantomah vs Deathstroke.

[bradygirl_12]

Maybe they should be posing scenarios like Fantomah vs Deathstroke.

I'd read that! :)

[bruinsfan]

"Dear God, when did the Spectre start wearing a teddy and a blonde wig?!?"

[espanolbot]

Oh dear, it's the "Punisher is a more efficient hero than Daredevil" arguement. The idea being that just because some people are capable of operating outside of the law, more traditional superheroes are somehow weak for not just killing them.

It's a tired arguement, and telling it's normally brought up by right-leaning mass-murderers or people used for the writer's powertrips (like Batman under Frank Miller). Or villains applying villain logic to Superman himself (like how in Kill Bill, the big bad has a monologue about how Clark Kent is Superman's mocking parody of what he thinks regular people are like... Bill's view being skewed by, you know, being the villain and all).

People like Superman work to a higher moral standard, the fact that he was effectively able to have his cake and eat it (imprison Slade AND the criminal the US government is using as an information source) shows why, in universe, Slade's assessment of Superman rings hollow.

[tigerkaya]

I always hate those arguments of heroes vs anti heroes moral debate.
It's tiresome and if the two are incabable of telling new stories perhaps Anti heroes would serve a better purpose in a MAX title away from the shared universe.