Deadshot: Bulletproof

By Christos N. Gage (Author), Steve Cummings, Jimmy Palmiotti and Phil Winslade (Illustrators) D.C. Comics (Publisher)

> REVIEW BY GABRIEL ALLANDRO

It’s a thin line between villainy and heroism, andDeadshot: Bulletproof walks that razor’s edge with a blend of sharp art, an edgy plot and dark wit. When is a villain actually a hero? Floyd Lawton’s answer to the question is simple: Who gives a sh–, as long as you’ve got enough bullets to protect what’s yours? The Suicide Squad mainstay’s past comes back to inspire him when he discovers that he has a daughter. After meeting her, he is surprised by a sense of love, of family, that he’d only experienced while his son was alive. Given his son’s tragic death, Lawton is driven to make certain that the neighborhood in which his daughter and her mother lives will be safe. But with three rival crime syndicates operating in the region, that goal won’t be easy to achieve. Lawton’s answer? More bullets downrange. The art team pulls off a palette of gritty realism that perfectly complements the plot. The story will appeal to the blood-and-bullets crowd, while tugging at the heartstrings as we see inside Lawton’s motivations. With Deadshot, the line between heroism and villainy is blurred—you can’t drop him inside such a neat little box. Instead, we see why Deadshot is such a beloved character, full of rich contradictions that make him as real as any person you might know (well, assuming they’re heavily armed and deadly enough to take down a small country, anyway…). This storyline acts as a turning point in Deadshot’s history, giving rise to the loyal, dependable and faintly sociopathic killer that fans of the Suicide Squad and Secret Six (pre-New 52) know and love.