If you were a criminal mastermind, how would construct your secret base? For Deathstroke he builds a labyrinth, a prison that keeps his secrets while also keeping him and the team safe. Cinder discovers as much as she wanders the halls lost, until stumbling upon Osiris. He sits alone in his room with Black Adam and his sister, still trapped in stone. Cinder compliments their beauty, not understanding that they're actually people. Osiris grabs her hand as she tries to touch Black Adam. Osiris isn't the only one with a temper, as Cinder also doesn't like being touched. She "flames on" smacking Osiris across the room.
Afterwards the team is given their next assignment... Kill Lex Luthor. It seems odd right away since Deathstroke and Lex have been partners on more than one occasion in the past, but as Deathstroke stated in the special... it's business! Lex on the other hand is becoming accustomed to being back at LexCorp. After the events of the War of Supermen, General Lane used his power to give Luthor back his company. Lex has brought his new chiefs of staff on a car ride to expose one of them as a traitor.
That's right, Lex already knows that Deathstroke is coming for him; he just wants to know who sent him. The Titans hit Luthor's caravan and start leaving piles of bodies. Whether they killed before the team no longer matters, Deathstroke expects it from them now. Osiris puts his foot down and says that he won't kill anyone because he doesn't see how hurting anyone will help his sister. That is until one of Luthor's men charge at him and the lightning bolt on his chest fries them. Back in Osiris' room, his sister's face cracks. Does killing help or hurt his cause to bring her back?
Eric Wallace continues his fantastic work from the Villains for Hire Special. Wallace continues to show that even though these characters are doing bad things that deep down they're damaged. Deathstroke genuinely comes off as wanting to help/fix the team... while making them killers. Wallace in general knocks the story out of the park. I said that if he continued the Villains team it would be a success and it is.
What can I say about Fabrizio Fiorentino and his amazing pencils? Wow, simply amazing. He and Mike Mayhew (Savage) make the perfect art team. Mayhew's ink sincerely compliments Fiorentino's pencils. Fiorentino's art is fluid and extremely detailed. The panels simply flow together which meshes well with the narrative from Wallace.
Fans of the old Titans, or the real Titans, will probably be put off by this story. If you didn't like the ending of Villains for Hire, then you probably won't like this book. If you're willing to accept something different and root for the villains because there may be a larger story you're not seeing... then keep reading! This book is solid from being to end and yes, it's about villains but it's so much fun to read.
Story – 9.5
Plot – 9.5
Art – 10.0
Ink – 10.0
Color – 10.0
Overall – 9.8
I can't wait till Deathstroke finishes working on the Atom's belt! Follow Dustin on Twitter and continue to try and convince me why this book is horrible in the comments below.
