Edmondson, Nathan

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:

2 out of 5

(2 books)

TOP PICK:

Deathlok: Control. Alt. Delete.

Black Widow: The Finely Woven Thread

(Art by Phil Noto)

Book 1.  Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow, has begun taking on mercenary contracts that play into her mission to make restitution for the bad things she's done in her life.  When a series of missions go awry, Natasha is called in by S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Maria Hill to get to the bottom of things.

Ask yourself if what you want from a Black Widow story is her losing almost every fight she's in, misjudging almost every situation and allowing just about everyone she's supposed to be protecting to die.  Now, personally, I can't imagine that's what anyone want from such a book, certainly not me, but that's what Edmondson gives us here.  For some reason.

There's a vague, generic subplot about her not having a home but wanting one, unsubtly symbolised by a stray cat that she takes care of, but beyond that there's not much in the way of substance here.

There are a couple of good scenes, which is why I didn't totally hate this book, but overall it's obnoxiously unengaging.

2 out of 5

Deathlok: Control. Alt. Delete.

(Art by Mike Perkins)

The first book in a revived Deathlok series, featuring a new incarnation of the character.  Combat medic Henry Hayes recieved prosthetics from Biotek after being wounded in action but what he doesn't know is that Biotek have turned him into a cybernetic weapon and are regularly wiping his memory.

I always had a bit of a soft spot for Deathlok (I used to own a lovely shiny copy of #1 of the 90s series) and actually quite liked it when a reimagined version turned up in the Agents of SHIELD TV show.  Here we get yet another reimagining of the character but, despite my predisposition, I can't say I found the new iteration to be particularly engaging.

I can't put my finger on a specific example, but I really felt like I'd read or seen the story of a top assassin who is being controlled and isn't even aware of the murderous life he leads.  Perhaps it's just such a mix of familiar amnesiac spy/assassin tropes that blended together the whole thing comes off feeling totally unoriginal.

There was an engaging subplot about a minor SHIELD agent trying to track Deathlok down, but it doesn't go anywhere at all and, in fact, there's no real story arc or climax to this book as a whole.  Even the inclusion of Tony Stark and of Domino felt little more than by-the-numbers cameos.

2 out of 5

Collaborations & Anthologies:

Original Sin (here)

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Marvel Comics (here)