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Deadshot #1
Deadshot: Beginnings (Deadshot
Deadshot, the assassin for hire who never misses, faces new and deadly challenges in this new collection. Spinning out of the hit 1980s series SUICIDE SQUAD, this bullet-ridden tale sends Deadshot on a solo missing to kill a crime boss known as El Jefe - only to learn that the men who sent him on this mission have ulterior motives. And while Deadshot stalks his prey, his therapist is trying to uncover what drives him to kill. Collects DEADSHOT #1-4, BATMAN #369 and DETECTIVE COMICS #474 and 518.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1989
8 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
John Ostrander
2,081 books172 followersJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 24, 2024
Actual rating 3.9 stars.
I’ll start off by saying, I wish I had read the older comics first, before the mini-series.
Seeing Lawton as a flawed human with a tragic story, and then having to read him as a one dimensional character felt… odd. However, I did find it funny to see a sassy Deadshot.
Anyway, I liked how the 4 issue mini series started off with Deadshot on a mission for Suicide Squad, tying these events to the wider universe.
I love when a story delves into how a person becomes who they are.
Devoted to his older brother until their mother turned him against their father, Floyd made a decision that proved fatal and changed the Lawton family forever.
In the present, another fatal decision was made, resulting in the loss of a young boy's life.
I also really liked seeing just how warped Floyd’s relationship with his mother was, especially the part where she said hurtful things to fulfil her own death wish.
If you’ve never seen or heard anything about Deadshot, this is a great way to gain some insight into this character.
I’ll start off by saying, I wish I had read the older comics first, before the mini-series.
Seeing Lawton as a flawed human with a tragic story, and then having to read him as a one dimensional character felt… odd. However, I did find it funny to see a sassy Deadshot.
Anyway, I liked how the 4 issue mini series started off with Deadshot on a mission for Suicide Squad, tying these events to the wider universe.
I love when a story delves into how a person becomes who they are.
Devoted to his older brother until their mother turned him against their father, Floyd made a decision that proved fatal and changed the Lawton family forever.
In the present, another fatal decision was made, resulting in the loss of a young boy's life.
I also really liked seeing just how warped Floyd’s relationship with his mother was, especially the part where she said hurtful things to fulfil her own death wish.
If you’ve never seen or heard anything about Deadshot, this is a great way to gain some insight into this character.
January 7, 2015
Collected here is the complete Deadshot mini-series from 1988. It elevates Deadshot from second rate entry in the Gotham rogues gallery to something rather a bit more interesting. It follows two storylines: firstly that of Dr Marnie Herrs (psychiatrist to Floyd Lawton a.k.a. Deadshot, who may, or may not, have lost some of her professional detachment by falling a bit in love with her client) and, secondly, the kidnapping of and subsequent search for Lawton's estranged son.
As Deadshot sets out to look for the boy, the good doctor sets out to determine what it is that makes him tick by investigating his past. It has all the elements of a Southern Gothic tale and is remarkably gritty. Needless to say, the story is deadly serious and, frankly, somewhat disturbing. Kudos to Ostrander and co for pulling this off. It's a fantastic glimpse into the psyche of a "super-villain".
This collection would easily have received five stars, but it's rounded off by three earlier Batman stories that relegates Lawton to the role of throwaway bad guy that only uses "trick shots" to get his victims. I can't help but wonder whether it wouldn't have been more fitting to go look in the Suicide Squad archives? These stories detract from the seriousness of the mini-series.
Deadshot: Beginnings is highly recommended to anybody who is tired of goody-goody characters and to those looking for some good ol' nostalgia. The late 80s was a great time for comics, in my opinion.
4 Stars - for the collected edition
5 Stars - for the 4-issue series included here
As Deadshot sets out to look for the boy, the good doctor sets out to determine what it is that makes him tick by investigating his past. It has all the elements of a Southern Gothic tale and is remarkably gritty. Needless to say, the story is deadly serious and, frankly, somewhat disturbing. Kudos to Ostrander and co for pulling this off. It's a fantastic glimpse into the psyche of a "super-villain".
This collection would easily have received five stars, but it's rounded off by three earlier Batman stories that relegates Lawton to the role of throwaway bad guy that only uses "trick shots" to get his victims. I can't help but wonder whether it wouldn't have been more fitting to go look in the Suicide Squad archives? These stories detract from the seriousness of the mini-series.
Deadshot: Beginnings is highly recommended to anybody who is tired of goody-goody characters and to those looking for some good ol' nostalgia. The late 80s was a great time for comics, in my opinion.
4 Stars - for the collected edition
5 Stars - for the 4-issue series included here
March 27, 2019
Deadshot's not so humble origins and reasons for being the anti-hero are illustrated in this tale. There are some good moments and some flat ones but the high points are done well when they hit the mark properly. Attempt to delve into Deadshot's psyche is appreciated.
MY GRADE: B to B plus.
MY GRADE: B to B plus.
July 13, 2019
I started reading Suicide Squad because of Black Orchid (who has a cameo in this) and Shade, the Changing Man and stayed because of Ostrander's writing (and later that of his wife, Kim Yale, who co-wrote this), eventually acquiring and reading all 66 issues, plus the Special and Annual I own issue 1, but I saw this in high grade for half off the cover price after struggling to find 2-4 without paying egregious shipping charges.
I started with the three Batman stories--excellent art (Marshall Rogers and Don Newton) and good writing (Steve Englehart, Doug Moench, and Gerry Conway), although Alfred Pennyworth having fathered a child with DC war comics hero Mademoiselle Marie seems far-fetched. These issues may be better than they seem here because only the issues in which Deadshot appeared (although not his first appearance, though a footnote makes clear that that's not some Earth-2 version despite a more dapper costume) are included, and it ends with Deadshot revealing who hired him, which is an abrupt cliffhanger to end a trade paperback on. I guess these are in the back because they're considered bonus stories. I thought Rogers's art is the best in the book, although he could have done a little better setting up the giant typewriter that is used for the final battle. It blends into the background at first and had me turning back pages.
The first issue, which I'd already read for the aforementioned Black Orchid appearance, has Deadshot (real name: Floyd Lawton) offing the last member of "his old gang," Silage, is mostly self-contained, but includes set-up for the rest of the story as Simon LaGrieve relieves Marnie Herrs from Lawton's psych case for becoming too involved personally, and Lawton's estranged wife contacting him for help when their son, Edward, is kidnapped. This begins Lawton and Herrs two parallel journeys that take them both to Lawton's hometown, Lawton, which was founded by Floyd's father, now wheelchair bound, supposedly because Floyd shot him, although he was never charged. Two deceased and never-depicted characters loom large over the events, Jennifer Herrs, Marnie's sister, and an elder Edward Lawton, Floyd's brother.
This leads to a powerful climax involving family betrayal, child molestation, murder, and mob violence--a complicated web to which Task Force X/Suicide Squad director Amanda Waller grieves having to become an accomplice to cover up to protect both Floyd and Marnie.
I thought the hints of romance between Marnie and the town sheriff were a bit contrived, but fortunately not dwelled upon, and the main story being pushed into three of the miniseries' four issues might not have been the best use of space--having read the first issue, that the series was about a deeper examination of Lawton's origin than had been previously told--was not clear even though the cover description makes it so. Luke McDonnell's art has the feel of the eighties art in comics--even as a kid, I thought the art from the seventies I was seeing in back issues was better than a lot of what was on the stands (I was twelve when this series came out--I was aware of Suicide Squad on the stands but wasn't drawn by the art or title, which I erroneously thought was DC's answer to Marvel's Strikeforce: Morituri, which I didn't read either but knew what the concept was from Bullpen Bulletins), and doesn't, to me, look as good as the art later in the volume. One image of Silage taking his gun from under his shirt had me studying the image carefully because the anatomy of the hand looked messed up, and continued to even after McDonnell's intention became clearer to me. In the climax, there is a noticeable goof when Deadshot has his armed trained on someone, then lifts his arm when he is convinced not to fire, and his blaster appears on the underside of his arm when it wasn't there before. For the most part, though, the art serves the story well, and there are some stylish low angle closeups of characters' faces.
As with all of Ostrander's Suicide Squad (at least through its initial cancellation in 1991--I have not read Raise the Flag), this has my recommendation.
I started with the three Batman stories--excellent art (Marshall Rogers and Don Newton) and good writing (Steve Englehart, Doug Moench, and Gerry Conway), although Alfred Pennyworth having fathered a child with DC war comics hero Mademoiselle Marie seems far-fetched. These issues may be better than they seem here because only the issues in which Deadshot appeared (although not his first appearance, though a footnote makes clear that that's not some Earth-2 version despite a more dapper costume) are included, and it ends with Deadshot revealing who hired him, which is an abrupt cliffhanger to end a trade paperback on. I guess these are in the back because they're considered bonus stories. I thought Rogers's art is the best in the book, although he could have done a little better setting up the giant typewriter that is used for the final battle. It blends into the background at first and had me turning back pages.
The first issue, which I'd already read for the aforementioned Black Orchid appearance, has Deadshot (real name: Floyd Lawton) offing the last member of "his old gang," Silage, is mostly self-contained, but includes set-up for the rest of the story as Simon LaGrieve relieves Marnie Herrs from Lawton's psych case for becoming too involved personally, and Lawton's estranged wife contacting him for help when their son, Edward, is kidnapped. This begins Lawton and Herrs two parallel journeys that take them both to Lawton's hometown, Lawton, which was founded by Floyd's father, now wheelchair bound, supposedly because Floyd shot him, although he was never charged. Two deceased and never-depicted characters loom large over the events, Jennifer Herrs, Marnie's sister, and an elder Edward Lawton, Floyd's brother.
This leads to a powerful climax involving family betrayal, child molestation, murder, and mob violence--a complicated web to which Task Force X/Suicide Squad director Amanda Waller grieves having to become an accomplice to cover up to protect both Floyd and Marnie.
I thought the hints of romance between Marnie and the town sheriff were a bit contrived, but fortunately not dwelled upon, and the main story being pushed into three of the miniseries' four issues might not have been the best use of space--having read the first issue, that the series was about a deeper examination of Lawton's origin than had been previously told--was not clear even though the cover description makes it so. Luke McDonnell's art has the feel of the eighties art in comics--even as a kid, I thought the art from the seventies I was seeing in back issues was better than a lot of what was on the stands (I was twelve when this series came out--I was aware of Suicide Squad on the stands but wasn't drawn by the art or title, which I erroneously thought was DC's answer to Marvel's Strikeforce: Morituri, which I didn't read either but knew what the concept was from Bullpen Bulletins), and doesn't, to me, look as good as the art later in the volume. One image of Silage taking his gun from under his shirt had me studying the image carefully because the anatomy of the hand looked messed up, and continued to even after McDonnell's intention became clearer to me. In the climax, there is a noticeable goof when Deadshot has his armed trained on someone, then lifts his arm when he is convinced not to fire, and his blaster appears on the underside of his arm when it wasn't there before. For the most part, though, the art serves the story well, and there are some stylish low angle closeups of characters' faces.
As with all of Ostrander's Suicide Squad (at least through its initial cancellation in 1991--I have not read Raise the Flag), this has my recommendation.
Read
April 20, 2020Even bleaker than the same writers' definitive Suicide Squad run, from which it spun off, a miniseries to remind us all just how badly miscast happy-go-lucky Will Smith* was as ice-cold killer Floyd Lawton, a man so far gone he often doesn't much care whether he kills his targets or they kill him. The opening page sets the tone: Deadshot, stylised against a fractured background, with the title 'Die But Once' above him and a Chatterton quote at his shoulder. The literary allusion, the alienated lines of McDonnell's art, and later the antagonist with a taste for word salad, would all have been equally at home around the same time in the supernatural DC stuff that would become Vertigo; there's a cameo by Black Orchid, too. But even by those boundary-pushing standards there's some heavy stuff in here, the implications about what happens to pretty posh boys in prison only the start of it. Still, whereas applying that sort of intermittent realism to superhero comics can often feel like adolescent shock tactics, here the effect is a powerful, no-holds-barred noir, taking in three generations of Lawtons who none of them get away clean.
The collection is filled out with three pre-Squad stories of Deadshot's days as a Gotham villain (though not his original appearance as a fake hero). With different creators on each, his pre-Ostrander characterisation is erratic. But they did serve to remind me that, as much as I hate modern Batman, the oddly soapy eighties stuff does have a certain charm.
*It should go without saying, but that's because of the chirpiness, not because he's black. Jamie Hector displayed exactly the right chilling quality as Marlo from The Wire; I've only seen Lakeith Stanfield but that wonderful detached air to comic ends, but modulate it a little and I think he could equally pull it off.
The collection is filled out with three pre-Squad stories of Deadshot's days as a Gotham villain (though not his original appearance as a fake hero). With different creators on each, his pre-Ostrander characterisation is erratic. But they did serve to remind me that, as much as I hate modern Batman, the oddly soapy eighties stuff does have a certain charm.
*It should go without saying, but that's because of the chirpiness, not because he's black. Jamie Hector displayed exactly the right chilling quality as Marlo from The Wire; I've only seen Lakeith Stanfield but that wonderful detached air to comic ends, but modulate it a little and I think he could equally pull it off.
March 31, 2020
Surprisingly better than I expected. The 4 issue Deadshot arc was very dark, in a way that I was definitely not expecting. It had a good story with a little bit of everything. I really enjoyed reading this.
March 4, 2016
Volumen que recopila las mejores apariciones del personaje, villano menor de Batman que adquiere un papel más relevante cuando se le integra al Escuadrón Suicida. A la miniserie de John Ostrander y Kim Yale (muy en el tono del Squad y donde exploran los conflictos familiares que marcaron sus futuros pasos) se suman historias firmadas por Steve Englehart y Marshall Rogers (para muchos la dupla creativa definitiva del Hombre Murciélago) junto a otras dibujadas con elegancia por el clásico Don Newton.
November 17, 2013
This is a nice collection. It starts with a collected four-issue miniseries that has a seventies noir feel, and then ends with three Deadshot stories from Batman and Detective comics.
December 6, 2013
Great origin story for Deadshot. There's also some fun Deadshot/Batman stories in the back. Only complaint is the stories in the back aren't complete story arches.
May 27, 2021
Deadshot's kid's been kidnapped and he takes an unsanctioned leave of absence from da squad HQ to go find him, even though he's totes a guy who doesn't care about ANYTHING ok???
The 4-page solo mini reminded me if nothing else of solid Frank Miller Daredevil with its over-the-top Death Wish bad guys, including most un-tastefully, a paedophile who is real horny for DS's little boy. Do not worry tho, DS kills the absolute shit out of him.
In the meantime, NotHarley Dr. Marnie goes to Louisiana to uncover a southern gothic family mystery tale regarding DS's origins which ends up tieing in nicely with the kidnapped son storyline.
Maybe it's exactly cuz of the mini being only 4 issues, but the simple story pops along nicely with some cool badass moments ("I... I need help!!" "You need a grave.")
Possibly also cuz of the mini only being 4 issues, the book is padded with 3 Batman issues of Deadshot appearances, one by Englehart, one by Conway, and one by Moench. They're all pretty decent relics from a time before comic books worked in arcs exclusively, even though the Moench one is already starting to edge into "kinda need more context" territory.
Also a very hilarious contrast that the 1988 mini has Death Wish rape villains and one of the single issues has Batman fighting DS on a big typewriter
The 4-page solo mini reminded me if nothing else of solid Frank Miller Daredevil with its over-the-top Death Wish bad guys, including most un-tastefully, a paedophile who is real horny for DS's little boy. Do not worry tho, DS kills the absolute shit out of him.
In the meantime, NotHarley Dr. Marnie goes to Louisiana to uncover a southern gothic family mystery tale regarding DS's origins which ends up tieing in nicely with the kidnapped son storyline.
Maybe it's exactly cuz of the mini being only 4 issues, but the simple story pops along nicely with some cool badass moments ("I... I need help!!" "You need a grave.")
Possibly also cuz of the mini only being 4 issues, the book is padded with 3 Batman issues of Deadshot appearances, one by Englehart, one by Conway, and one by Moench. They're all pretty decent relics from a time before comic books worked in arcs exclusively, even though the Moench one is already starting to edge into "kinda need more context" territory.
Also a very hilarious contrast that the 1988 mini has Death Wish rape villains and one of the single issues has Batman fighting DS on a big typewriter
January 15, 2025
There's a lot on paper I shouldn't like about this miniseries. There's a certain edgy-ness that should put me off.
But Ostrander is a SMART writer, the edgy qualities of the work tie together to create a short simple piece of gothic noir, with a delightful series of twists and turns with some clever framing.
None of this would work without Ostrander's genius writing of Deadshot, taking a third rate gimmicky Batman villain (as highlighted by the comics near the end of the collection) making him a genuine psychopath in the most clinical sense of the term.
This rating is more for the four issue miniseries than the collection itself.
But Ostrander is a SMART writer, the edgy qualities of the work tie together to create a short simple piece of gothic noir, with a delightful series of twists and turns with some clever framing.
None of this would work without Ostrander's genius writing of Deadshot, taking a third rate gimmicky Batman villain (as highlighted by the comics near the end of the collection) making him a genuine psychopath in the most clinical sense of the term.
This rating is more for the four issue miniseries than the collection itself.
April 23, 2018
Ostrander always tells a good story, Deadshot: Beginnings is a 4 part mini-series about the origin of Deadshot as the famous killer for hire. The plot was rather simple: Lawton's son Eddie got kidnapped and he needs to get him back, a parallel plot was about Lawton's psychiatrist being infatuated over him.
Pretty sure this inspired the background of Harley Quinn. Other than this fact, it was dark but not dark enough to be interesting since in my view, the kidnapping story itself has been done many many times before.
Pretty sure this inspired the background of Harley Quinn. Other than this fact, it was dark but not dark enough to be interesting since in my view, the kidnapping story itself has been done many many times before.
September 3, 2019
An excellent look into the Suicide Squad's marksman. I had the four issue series as a kid when I was collecting Suicide Squad. Sadly I traded them to someone. But I was happy to find a trade collecting both the mini and some appearances from various Batman comics. Strangely not his 1st appearance though. The series is very dark and there's no way I should have been reading them as a kid. HAHAHA.
June 29, 2020
3.75 stars
The John Ostrander half of it is very good and gets to a relatable core of this villain. It portrays him as a man with a death wish, making it very clear why he's ok with being on the Suicide squad as well as expanding on his character.
The other mini issues are 3 stars at best. Just very old Bronze Age batman comics with Deadshot that are very average.
The John Ostrander half of it is very good and gets to a relatable core of this villain. It portrays him as a man with a death wish, making it very clear why he's ok with being on the Suicide squad as well as expanding on his character.
The other mini issues are 3 stars at best. Just very old Bronze Age batman comics with Deadshot that are very average.
November 16, 2016
The mini-series is where this gets the four stars. The tacked on stories are not that great and honestly didn't need to be here. They weren't real stories. I would have preferred Lawton's first appearance.
April 13, 2020
Ostrander definitely made Deadshot an a list villain with Suicide Squad and this four issue mini adds incredible depth. Rather adult read for a comic book. Then a few older issues of what Floyd Lawton was like before Ostrander raised him up. Loved it. McDowell's art works so well here.
December 21, 2022
The dive into Deadshot as a character is really deep in his miniseries. It reads as a psychological thriller about a murderer a la silence of the lambs. I really feel this is one of the best 80's noir DC stories (i like it more than Miller's the dark night), and it's weird that the mini-stories seems to be forgotten.
May 12, 2025
An origins story for the assassin that goes back to his childhood as a psychiatrist tries to unravel the cause of his affinity for killing and help him get over it. Bleak and surprisingly violent for a 'normal' comic audience, the whole plays out like a Greek tragedy.
April 26, 2021
Even with the story arc of the murder of his boy, he is just more effective with the Redo Suicide Squad. Nothing like a killer who is good at what he does.
January 9, 2017
Reprints Deadshot #1-4, Detective Comics (1) #474, 518, and Batman (1) #369 (December 1977-December 1988). Deadshot is a mercenary who will take any job if it pays enough. When his son is targeted by kidnappers, Floyd Lawton must rescue him. Rescuing his son means facing his past, and Floyd is going to have to face the family that he left behind…but even Deadshot sometimes misses his target.
Deadshot: Beginnings collects the Deadshot mini-series (November 1988-December 1988) by John Ostrander, Kim Yale, and Luke McDonald. In addition to this story arc, the collection features the issues that reintroduced Deadshot in Detective Comics (1) #474 (December 1977) after his first appearance in Batman (1) #59 (June 1950).
Deadshot was a dead character until Detective Comics #474 revived him. As a one issue villain, Deadshot got the golden touch to return as a Batman villain and became a hot commodity in the ’80s as a member of the Suicide Squad. Now, with appearances in Smallville, Arrow, and the big screen adaptation of Suicide Squad, Deadshot is big again…and it is fun to revisit his early appearances.
Deadshot had the unfortunate nature of being tied to guns. Like Marvel’s Punisher, Deadshot killed people. The Punisher was a anti-hero because he did it out of revenge for his family, but Deadshot was a villain because he did it for money (and the targets didn’t matter). This worked well in the ’80s when most of these issues were written and comics were really dark…the Deadshot mini-series gets even darker. Deadshot’s kid is preyed upon by a pedophile and Deadshot fails to save him…and Deadshot’s mother’s behind it. It is dark, twisted, and even hardcore for a Suicide Squad comic…you feel a little dirty reading it.
I actually was more interested in the other entries in the comic instead of the Deadshot mini-series. These show the return of the character and his early face-offs with Batman. Like Bullseye, Deadshot “never misses”, but Batman seems to continue to get the best of him. They are fun issues, but as stand alones, they don’t always work since there are other plots running through the issues that come up like Silver St. Cloud and Hugo Strange (who also resurfaced around this time).
Deadshot: Beginnings is a good read for fans of the character or those who like origin stories. Be warned, that the comic is dark by even today’s standards and doesn’t entirely feel like a Suicide Squad story either. Deadshot is an interesting character if the right writers get a hold of them and Ostrander really had a feel for him…it just happened to be the gritty ’80s.
Deadshot: Beginnings collects the Deadshot mini-series (November 1988-December 1988) by John Ostrander, Kim Yale, and Luke McDonald. In addition to this story arc, the collection features the issues that reintroduced Deadshot in Detective Comics (1) #474 (December 1977) after his first appearance in Batman (1) #59 (June 1950).
Deadshot was a dead character until Detective Comics #474 revived him. As a one issue villain, Deadshot got the golden touch to return as a Batman villain and became a hot commodity in the ’80s as a member of the Suicide Squad. Now, with appearances in Smallville, Arrow, and the big screen adaptation of Suicide Squad, Deadshot is big again…and it is fun to revisit his early appearances.
Deadshot had the unfortunate nature of being tied to guns. Like Marvel’s Punisher, Deadshot killed people. The Punisher was a anti-hero because he did it out of revenge for his family, but Deadshot was a villain because he did it for money (and the targets didn’t matter). This worked well in the ’80s when most of these issues were written and comics were really dark…the Deadshot mini-series gets even darker. Deadshot’s kid is preyed upon by a pedophile and Deadshot fails to save him…and Deadshot’s mother’s behind it. It is dark, twisted, and even hardcore for a Suicide Squad comic…you feel a little dirty reading it.
I actually was more interested in the other entries in the comic instead of the Deadshot mini-series. These show the return of the character and his early face-offs with Batman. Like Bullseye, Deadshot “never misses”, but Batman seems to continue to get the best of him. They are fun issues, but as stand alones, they don’t always work since there are other plots running through the issues that come up like Silver St. Cloud and Hugo Strange (who also resurfaced around this time).
Deadshot: Beginnings is a good read for fans of the character or those who like origin stories. Be warned, that the comic is dark by even today’s standards and doesn’t entirely feel like a Suicide Squad story either. Deadshot is an interesting character if the right writers get a hold of them and Ostrander really had a feel for him…it just happened to be the gritty ’80s.
August 17, 2015
I haven't always been a fan of the Deadshot character. While I always liked his look in the visual sense (well his updated look ... the less said about his intial top hat, monocle and "Putting on the Ritz" double split tuxedo tails jacket the better) it wasn't until I started purchasing the Suicide Squad (The Ostrander/Yale version) that I started looking forward to seeing the character and devouring all I could about his past and background. 'Deadshot: Beginnings" - which came as a result of the success the Squad was experiencing up to that point - uses a series of wll placed flash backs, a kidnapping, a relentless investigation and pages upon pages of bullets and knuckles to show what an arrogant assasin with a deathwish will do when one tries to bring harm to the one thing he had left to care about. As a bonus there are a number of Deadshot-centric tales from his days as just "that guy' in Batman rogues gallery. While the quality of the stories vary from okay to 'just-a-hair-above-bad" in my opinion the nostalgia factor make them worth the price and fun to look through.
October 31, 2019
The Deadshot miniseries is quite good - very Southern Gothic and twisted. The three Batman comics included to round out the collection's page count are okay, though, thematically, a bit disconnected as Deadshot plays only a minor role in each and the major story threads are unrelated (and unresolved, so far as this collection goes). Perhaps a more appropriate move would've been to include the Deadshot miniseries within a Suicide Squad collection.
+++++++++++++
With the weight of the Suicide Squad series behind it (I'm reading the entire run, shooting this collection between the second and third Squad volumes), the Deadshot miniseries is even better and more tragic.
I still wish they'd collected this mini within the Squad collections, rather than padding the book with old Batman comics.
+++++++++++++
With the weight of the Suicide Squad series behind it (I'm reading the entire run, shooting this collection between the second and third Squad volumes), the Deadshot miniseries is even better and more tragic.
I still wish they'd collected this mini within the Squad collections, rather than padding the book with old Batman comics.
July 10, 2023
Beginnings is written by the excellent John Ostrander hot off the Suicide Squad run and it's a continuation of that run. Beginnings is a strong anti-hero story with interesting motivations providing some sympathy to the troubled character of Deadshot. The second more modern 90's mini is a continuation of the same themes but it just doesn't feel as strong. It lacks some of the subtlety or even the 80's grime feels right with the 80's artwork rather than the more modern stylized 90's artwork.
January 1, 2014
Very glad to see the Deadshot miniseries from the late 80s collected. I just wish it were part of an ongoing series reprinting Ostrander's Suicide Squad run (of which this is a spin-off), which was a fantastic series.
The other, earlier, Deadshot stories also collected here are good as well. I had never seen two of them before, and it's always nice to read something new.
The other, earlier, Deadshot stories also collected here are good as well. I had never seen two of them before, and it's always nice to read something new.
June 26, 2021
Deadshot's therapist travels to his home town to try and figure out where he came from and what makes him tick.
She then finds herself caught up in local politics and looking into a decades old mystery.
Not the biggest fan of turning Deadshot into a tragic, sympathetic character, but this little noir story is interesting.
She then finds herself caught up in local politics and looking into a decades old mystery.
Not the biggest fan of turning Deadshot into a tragic, sympathetic character, but this little noir story is interesting.
April 23, 2015
A taut superhero thriller with resonant emotional impact. Doesn't cheap out on Deadshot's psychotic mind and the book is richer and more disturbing for it. Great bonus back issues too, although disappointing that Deadshot's very first appearance isn't included.
April 1, 2017
A great fun read. Well done story that gives depth to the character and makes him even more interesting.
July 3, 2014
Somebody needs to die, and Deadshot is the man to do it.
The series shows the complexity behind the villain and includes classic Deadshot stories. Though I wish the origin was included.
The series shows the complexity behind the villain and includes classic Deadshot stories. Though I wish the origin was included.
February 3, 2017
much darker then I was expecting
April 14, 2017
Really great four-issue storyline in which Deadshot goes AWOL from the Suicide Squad in order to pursue a case that has ties to his family... the family he wanted to leave behind and forget in order to build his own. It's a surprisingly gritty story that has aged unbelievably well. The rest of the book, though, is padded out with three of Deadshot's "greatest hits" that don't work as well together without a little bit of context. Fans of Deadshot or Suicide Squad will love this trade, though.
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