Reading this comic issue by issue can be a little challenging due to how dense it is, but I think the entire fifty-issue run is going to go down as a true DC masterpiece. Read Full Review

Deathstroke #49 (Priest, Pasarin) gathers all the pieces in play for a final gambit pitting Deathstroke against his greatest ally and enemy-- himself. Read Full Review

Deathstroke #49 does an excellent job of not only answering many of this finale storyline's longstanding questions but also setting the stage for Slade's battle against himself. Read Full Review

Deathstroke #49 demonstrated beautifully the emotional connections between father and son, no matter their differences. I thoroughly enjoyed the chemistry between Slade and Jericho this week which really pushed their relationship to new limits. As a reader I was gripped on every page. This was always going to be a feeder issue for the final swansong. I think it has done a great job in leading the readers round the final corner and the homestretch is in sight. As sad as I am to see this series come to an end, I am very excited to see how it concludes. Read Full Review

Can't wait to see how he concludes Slade Wilson's story. Read Full Review

It looks like Christopher Priest's redefining run with Deathstroke will end on a high note. Read Full Review

I am not as familiar with Jeremy Cox as a colorist, but I’ll have to start taking notice as his work in this issue elevates the art (as it should). The colors are vibrant when needed (the opening pages especially) and more muted when the action is more grounded. Really well done. Read Full Review

While we do get a lot of Jericho this issue and the idea of him struggling with what he's done in the past to what he think a hero should be, you don't get enough of the other supporting cast...... or really the real main character of this book.  The art is fantastic, but the story felt like it just didn't have enough going for it to fill up its page space.   Read Full Review

Prelude:
It's the second last issue of Priest's Deathstroke. His run has been amazing throughout so how does this issue shake up?

The Good:
I love Jericho in this issue. His whole approach, realising his faults and philosophical thoughts. It's great.

Art is good here too but that's nothing new.

Other Slade and Billy's reunion was really nice to see.

It's Deathstroke vs Deathstroke in the next and final issue.

The Bad:
Nothing.

Conclusion:
An utterly amazing issue from Priest and the team. As Deathstroke reaches #50, I cannot wait for it.

lot of things to like in this issue. I like Jericho reflecting on everything, i think in some ways he's the reader. Just thinking about how we got this far. I love what this run did to him, i feel like he truly is now his own character. The flashbacks about hosun made me think "oow, how much time we got with this guy and now he's gone", i always liked him as the funny character but never though about how much he changed. Started out as a coward and died like a man.
Again i really like this "fake" slade, when he hugs Billy that was a powerful moment to me. We know how important Billy is for slade, this series stared out with slade going after him. But he never showed that level of care.
and now, real Slade vs "fake" Slade. the hype is real to me. I just hope Joe gets his wish, his real father hugging him at least once before the series ends.
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There's things here that I like. The writing just hasn't been as strong as it used to be.

In next 10-20-50 years, when somebody picks up Priest's Deathstroke run, and reads it to the very end, they'll have some major questions regarding Luthor's plan, and Joey's new powers. That's what I strongly dislike about comic events affecting regular series - they inject some of their plot lines into them, rendering parts of the msomewhat unreadable to someone who didn't do their homework. That is bad already, on its own, but connecting an event to a series' finale? That's pretty crazy, and inevitably will complicate everything.

Aside from The Year of the Villain's influences, the comic is pretty good. I love Joey remembering his past, and seeing mistakes he's been making along the way - I don't know how much Priest planned in advance, but it's a very subtle fall from grace for the character, putting him in a position of a genuine villain, one could say, even if Deathstroke's series have been operating in shades of grey instead of plain black and white.
He's the star of this issue, hands down, with the rest of the main cast serving as not much more than background. It's quite sad for Rose, who Priest clearly wanted to highlight this month, and show us a retrospective of her character journey, but it's nowhere near as psychologically deep as Joey's. I always liked her, at lest when she has both of her eyes intact, and it saddens me she wasn't a bigger, or should I say, more important, part of the story.

Overall it's a decent comic - it may feel convoluted, and of course The Year of the Villain event makes thing only worse, but it surely sets up the mood for the big finale I definitely am waiting for. Deathstroke was one of Rebirth's finest titles, let's see where and how Priest is going to end it. more