In order to save the life of her makeshift family, Strix has agreed to join the fearsome League Of Assassins… Your Major Spoilers review of Secret Six #13 awaits!
SECRET SIX #13
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Tom Derenick
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Editor: Jim Chadwick
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Secret Six: After dealing with the systematic collapse of magic in the DCU, the Secret Six returned home to find the deadly Lady Shiva on their doorstep, seeking out Strix and not willing to take no for an answer. In order to save her friends, Strix has agreed to join the League, but that doesn’t mean that the Secret Six are going to take such insult lying down…
THE CAVALRY…
Last time around, I mentioned that it felt like Secret Six was starting to wrap up the plot threads in preparation for an ending. Since then, we have confirmed that #14 is the end of the road for this weird little family, which makes me even more unnerved by this issue’s events. Lady Shiva has taken Strix back to the headquarters of the League, where she prepares to make her one of their own. This process includes destroying her beloved garden gnome, offering full cosmetic surgery to erase Strix’s past and providing her with an electronic device that gives her a voice. Oh, and there’s also making her murder proxies of each of her Secret Six friends, with the explicit instruction that not defeating any opponent in less than one minute will result in the death of the friend that opponent represents. While the Six prepares to extract her, Strix passes her test with a ferocity and speed that frightens even Lady Shiva, leaving us with the terrifying proposition of Strix in the clutches of her murderous sect.
…IS PROBABLY DOOMED
I think the best part of this issue comes in the moment where the crooked jerkass cop who has hassled the Six throughout the run of this book arrives with the key information that they’re going to need to find the League, solely because Shiva arrived on his turf. Strix is also still wearing the boots she got from Batgirl last time, which is a wonderful visual touch by Derenick. The combat sequences are also interesting, with some ingenious bits worthy of a Sunday afternoon kung-fu flick, while every character has lively and expressive facial features. Simone’s plotting seems to be aimed at a big explosive ending, and I’ll be very surprised if everyone survives next issue’s final chapter of the Secret Six saga. Of course, Catman’s phone conversation implies that there may be more going on than we suspect, as well…
THE BOTTOM LINE: PRETTY RIVETING STUFF
There’s a lot to love in this book, with Elongated Man returned to his former glory, the members of the Six ready to die to help their sister and Strix making it clear that she’s in the top-tier of hand-to-hand combatants in the DCU. The promise of a big ol’ ending is tantalizingly cool, leaving Secret Six #13 with a well-deserved 4 out of 5 stars overall. I like a book that can make you feel along with the characters, and this creative team has done a great job of building that up, to the point where I am gonna miss this one when it’s gone…
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