BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT # 214
DC COMICS
WRITER: Christos N. Gage
ARTIST/COVER: Phil Winslade

This is the latest issue of "Deadshot", guest-starring Batman. Okay, seriously, it is a one-issue tale of Batman's efforts to keep Deadshot from killing off a mob snitch. Gage, who wrote Deadshot's recent mini-series, clearly has a lot of affection for the character. But in this case, there may be too much affection. Batman catches Deadshot about to shoot the witness and yet doesn't take him in. For most of the issue, Batman is intimidated and stymied by a Deadshot who is depicted as more implacable and relentless than the caped crusader himself. Yet there is absolutely nothing in the story that keeps Batman from simply beating the crap out of Floyd Lawton, as he has done numerous times in the past. Gage makes Deadshot too big a character and this diminishes Batman in turn. Another mistake comes when he actually depicts the traumatic events that twisted Floyd. The story of his family tragedy was much more affecting when we did not get to see it for ourselves and we had to imagine the horror and shock it caused. That's the reason Ostrander never showed the incident in his classic mini-series that first revealed Deadshot's origin. That said, the art is a pleasing mix of both realism and the theatrical. Both Batman and Deadshot look almost like real people while still retaining their larger-than-life stature. For all its problems, this issue would still get a fair three stars out of five.