Villains United #6 "At The End Of All Things"
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciller: Dale Eaglesham
Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Issue 6 has arrived and our location is the House of Secrets. Deadshot wants to kill Cheshire for betraying them while Ragdoll wonders why they aren't preparing for the Society. We see the Society on their front lawn and they've brought all of the big guns. Cheshire asks Catman if he's going to let Deadshot kill her and thereby kill their baby. At the same time, Scandal is seriously pissed off because she can't contact Mockingbird.
Back at Society HQ and Calculator is meeting with Lex. Lex's satellites have been hijacked and he wants Calculator to get them reprogrammed. He tells him to keep working. he goes to pay Pariah a visit since his #1 torturer (Crime Doctor) is in a coma and apparently not as dead as I previously thought. He says he's going to dig up some information the old fashioned way.
Back at the Secret Six's base and Catman convinces Deadshot to let Cheshire go. He says it doesn't matter since they're all already as good as dead. Lawton lets her go and she rushes to meet with her Society teammates. She says shes unarmed but Deathstroke puts a bullet in her chest, saying the Society doesn't need traitors.
Lex is with Pariah again and wants to know why he's on Earth. Pariah says he can't torture the damned and he can only tell him what he already knows. He says there's a Luthor from an alternate Earth and Lex says he already knows that because he is him. Pariah is shocked and fake Lex tells him the real Lex is in hiding under a nom de guerre....Mockingbird! Pariah says the Six know about his plans to mind wipe the heroes but Lex tells him they'll be dead soon so it doesn't matter. Lex also tells him he's got bigger plans. Pariah says he can see the trouble he's going to cause and Lex shoots him to keep the information private.
Back at the House of Secrets and the Six are under attack. Talia faces off with Cheshire as Giganta attacks. Catman and Deadshot are doing their best against hopeless odds as Ragdoll and Parademon are in a dark room. Solomon Grundy finds them and tells them they die today.
We finally see the real Lex Luthor and he's spying on the alternate universe Lex. He says he knew that even if he conquered the super heroes he'd still have rivals to compete with. He recruited the Six to splinter the Society for different reasons: Catman for his knowledge of Batman's rogues, Deadshot for his knowledge of the Suicide Squad members, Parademon because he knows Darkseid's machinations, Ragdoll who grew up a nephew to the JSA's villains, Scandal because of her father and finally Cheshire, who has the knowledge and respect of the Teen Titans enemies. He says they were the perfect lab rats and everything they went through was part of his plan. He says the torture brought them together until the alternate Lex made a deal with Cheshire and almost ruined his plans. He dons his Kryptonian battle suit and says he's coming for the fake Lex.
Back at the House of Secrets and it doesn't look good for the Six. Talia is still battling Scandal and getting the better of her. Grundy is about to kill Ragdoll when Ragdoll asks him what he sees. Grundy says he sees an ugly monster face and Ragdoll says that puts them on the same team. King Shark and a couple of other Society members find them but get punked out by Grundy who's switched sides.
Back at Society HQ and the fake Lex is leaving the room with Pariah. Vandal Savage surprises him and holds a knife to his throat. He says he has a request to make of him.
We go back to the House of Secrets. Things have gone from bad to worse. Talia has Scandal on the ropes until Knockout (apparently her beloved from the letter she was writing earlier in the series) surprises Talia and knocks her out. They share an embrace and Scandal calls her beloved.
Outside, Black Adam asks Dr. Psycho how their team is doing. He tells Adam aside from the screaming and dying it sounds like they're doing well. He also says he's going to wait until the fight is over to get involved. Adam says that sounds like him and the entire affair is distasteful.
Inside, Ragdoll is being attacked by his own father. He verbally abuses him until Parademon comes to the rescue. Deadshot has a confrontation with Deathstroke and Lawton tells him to pay his debt to Catman he's going to kill him. Black Adam moves into the house and tells Catman, Ragdoll and Parademon its time for them to die. Parademon tells Blake and Ragdoll to run and says he's dreamed of an end like this. Producing 10 mother boxes from his coat he says the boom tubes don't work but the self destruct function works quite well. Adam orders his team to retreat as Parademon sets off the explosives.
Catman & Ragdoll barely make it out alive. Deadshot and Deathstroke are still going at it and Lawton challenges him to a duel. He says its a no win situation and this is the only way to settle it. He asks Slade if he's gutless and Slade agrees if lawton will just shut up. The two trade shots and it doesn't go well for either of them.
Meanwhile, Vandal is convincing the fake Lex to call off the attack on his daughter. He orders the Society to fall back and Adam is absolutely appalled saying they can crush them right now. Deadshot apologizes Catman for killing his lions. Catman tells him the good news is that after his fight with Slade they both look like crap. Adam tells him to take Lawton to get medical attention and he doesn't want to see him again.
In the rubble of the building Parademon has lost 3 limbs and wants Ragdoll to tell him a joke. Ragdoll says he doesn't know any until he says that Parademon is missing 3 limbs and about to bleed to death in the mud without ever having a real name or home. As he expires Parademon laughs and tells him he is funny.
The real Lex contacts Sandal and tells her their families were never at risk. He says "Mockingbird says you failed but you live. Good bye Scandal".
A few days later and we're in Venice, Italy. Catman meets Green Arrow and tells him about the Society's plans to mindwipe the heroes. Arrow simply says okay and Catman is a little pissed that's all he has to say. Arrow says he knows he didn't have to do it but he appreciates him coming to the good guys for once. Catman lays him out with a punch and tells him to stop kidding himself. He tells him that good guys don't lobotomize guys in handcuffs and everything thats happened is their fault. He says that people are going to die because they took a shortcut.
Arrow reaches for his bow but Deadshot is standing by and has him firmly in his sights. Catman says they can be great again but they'd better hurry. He and Deadshot walk away and Lawton wants to know what they're going to do now. He said they get the others and decide if they're going to be Saints or Sinners. Lawton says to hell with it, let's just flip a coin.
THE END!
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Furious Thoughts:
Infinite Crisis was the first big DC crossover I read and this book is one of the major tie in stories. Coming in I had zero knowledge on many DC characters and this series really got me interested in them.
The Good:The art is outstanding. The series firmly establishes Catman and Deadshot as serious DC bad ass dudes. These 6 issues were fun to read and they flowed quite well. The dialogue is outstanding and does not disappoint. The interactions between the 6 kept me on the edge of my seat and each issue had me wanting more. I loved the individual qualities each member brought to the team.
It also kept me intrigued with the mystery of who'd betray the team and no character besides Ragdoll or Parademon ever seeming completely innocent.
The Bad:The Six shouldn't have lasted 30 seconds against the Society. Seriously, they had no business stepping onto the same battlefield with them. Revealing the real Lex as their backer lessened that obvious fault slightly but I can see why its a major gripe with hardcore DC fans.
Overall, I'll go 7/10 for a damn fun series that really brought life to the characters of Catman & Deadshot.
2 Thumbs up!
