Deadly Class #50
Marcus and Saya plan their attack on her brother in Deadly Class #50, by writer Rick Remender, artist Wes Craig, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Rus Wooton. This issue is an action-packed romp with a heartbreaking ending.
Marcus and Saya go through different plans to attack Saya’s brother in her hotel room. They settle on the perfect one and put it into action, fighting their way through his goons. At the last moment, Marcus reveals the real reason he found Saya and gives her a choice. She makes it, and he has to deal with what the whole situation says about him.
One of the most incredible things about Deadly Class has always been the action scenes, and Craig and Loughridge deliver three amazing ones with this issue. Readers get to see the first two plays Marcus and Saya make, each one working to their personal styles. They look fantastic, with the first using a double-page spread to show Saya’s fluid fighting style. The last action scene is different from the first two, but it looks terrific. The last few pages are expertly drawn, with Marcus mulling things over, holding on to their scenes to really capture the moments. This is one of the best-drawn issues in a long time, and it really makes the story pop.
Remender lets the art do the talking for most of the issue, setting up great action scenes. Unlike a lot of chapters of Deadly Class, this one doesn’t have a lot of Marcus’s nihilistic musings. It gets directly to the point of the issue, which is Saya dealing with her brother. The action and excitement of the installment, as great as it is, isn’t the focus of the issue.
The most important part comes in the end. The time skip has shown Marcus as a very different person, and this issue sees him come to a significant realization but acting in what can only be described as a classically Marcus way. Remender has done a remarkable job of building Marcus as a character, and this issue builds on that. He’s a different person in 2001 than ever before, and where this whole plotline goes, and how it plays into Deadly Class’s ending, will be a treat.
Deadly Class #50 is a piece of classic Deadly Class greatness. Remender, Craig, and Loughridge have been firing on all cylinders in the last two story arcs, and this issue is a prime example of what makes this book so great.