Just as Scandal's fighting a demon, Catman has to confront some demons of his own to finally get his act together enough to get revenge on the men who kidnapped his son.
The Good
First and foremost, I have to say that this was really badass as far superhero titles go. The way Catman coldly handles both Chesire's peace of mind and the welfare of their child, as as granting the old guy his wish to fly made me feel like I'd just read the print equivalent of a hard-edge, take-no-prisoner's 70s revenge movie. Even with all the badassness going on, I still enjoyed how all of the action stems from the characters, rather than the other way around. How
Simone addresses Catman's oscillating physique and his own second-rate adventurer status, how sex is both Chesire's strength and her weakness, how
Ragdoll is such a freak that even a strained relationship is precious to him and even how
Deadshot is just so blase about all of this.
Calafiore pulls double duty on this and his intense, grizzled line work delivers the goods expected of a superhero title while giving it the necessary dark undercurrent befitting this title.
The Bad
I could see what they were trying to do with the colors from the stained glass windowing blanketing the final scene, but it was better in concept than execution. I feel like it would've worked more if most the borders were rendered in the pencils or the inks rather than strictly as an effect. What would've been a cool noirish effect ended up making a lot panels hard to read and confusing, and at a very crucial point.
The Verdict - 4.5/5
Villains United was the stand-out of the
Countdown to Infinite Crisis mini's. While I haven't been able to keep up with
Secret Six, I was very pleased to see the quality I saw in that original limited series continuing into this title. I wish I'd read the other issues of this story arc, because this was a dynamite conclusion. I feel like I've missed out on a good one, here. So, of course, I really do recommend this book.