Deathlok #1

By Nathan Edmondson, Mike Perkins & Andy Troy

Deathlok is one of the many characters who received a solo ongoing series due to their popularity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in this case following J. August Richards’ take on the character in Agents of SHIELD.  It would be interesting to see how they handled Deathlok, especially given the fact that there isn’t exactly that much material concerning the character, or at least, that much when you compare him to the likes of Marvel’s heavy hitters. However, with Nathan Edmondson, writer of The Punisher and Black Widow, on board, things were always looking to be good for this series and it’s great to see that the first issue delivered, offering up a very awesome start to the ongoing adventures of the character.

It’s safe to say that most people’s main exposure to Deathlok will likely only be from SHIELD, at least that was in the case of this reviewer. Going into the series, if you’re not quite sure what to be expect, prepare to be entertained as Edmondson manages to make it stand out as an excellent jumping on point for new readers. You don’t have to watch Agents of SHIELD to understand what’s going on here, and even if you’ve never heard of the character before you can’t go far wrong with this issue as it’s the start of a promising new series.

Whilst Deathlok may be a cyborg, Edmondson doesn’t bring that much attention to his technologically enhanced leg and it’ll be interesting to see how that benifits the character going forward. There was more focus on the human side of the character here, as Edmondson balanced the split between action and development pretty well indeed. There are some pretty cool fight scenes on display here whilst the comic itself might not be all action, and it’s great to see that where it’s used, it’s used very well. There’s a major sequence that echoes Captain America: The First Avenger, featuring  Henry Hayes, the newest incarnation of Deathlok, who boards a fast moving train in the mountains. The end result is pulled off incredibly well and it’s a great way to make readers aware of the kind of fast-paced scenes that we can expect from Edmondson going forward.

Mike Perkins’ artwork is impressive as well, and it’s great to see that the book looks amazing. He isn’t afraid to get stuck in when it comes to violence, with some great detail on show here. Andy Troy’s colours also help improve the quality of this issue, and it’s great to see that the book is capable of looking good as well as delivering when it comes to the narrative.

Nathan Edmondson’s take on Deathlok is probably his strongest first issue yet for Marvel. Both Black Widow and The Punisher started very strongly as well, and it’s great to see that the writer is capable of keeping up the quality across the three books. With very little missteps, it’s something that you should really consider jumping on board and it’ll be very interesting to see where this series goes in the future.