In Grimm Fairy Tales #29 (King Midas) we were introduced to Mercy Dante, a character who became quite controversial among fans of the series. In the issue Mercy fulfilled her plans for revenge against David Frank, a retired hit man who murdered her parents (who were weapon dealers) when she was a child. A grownup Mercy kidnaps David’s daughter, Trisha, from school one day, and takes her to a warehouse where her father is bound to a chair. Mercy proceeds to shoot Trisha to death in front of her father.
You can easily see where the controversy comes in.
Seven months later, we find Mercy in a bar being sweet talked by a man before whipping out a gun and shooting him in the face. Mercy lives the life of a Hitwoman now and finds herself haunted by the ghost of Trisha Franks. After escaping through the back door and disposing her gun, Mercy heads to her next target. The following panel may also cause a stir as we witness a Priest being shot and killed in a church. Apparently Father O’Malley was a character witness in a murder trial where a member of his church was accused of killing three children. Because of his testimony, the accused murderer was set free and the families of the slain children paid to have him assassinated.
Mercy returns home for a hot bath and is having an ongoing conversation with Trisha’s spirit. Trisha vows to haunt Mercy every day for the rest of her life and proceeds to list all of the experiences she will miss out on because Mercy put a bullet in her head. Mercy is expressing great remorse for taking the little girls life. While soaking in the tub, a masked man who is wielding a knife enters her apartment and attempts to attack her. She is fully prepared however and fights back. When her attacker refuses to give her the name of the person who sent him, she slices his throat with a piece of broken mirror. Taking his gun, she is one step away from finishing the job when a hail of bullets burst through the window. The bullets miss her and hit the assassin. Mercy aims and kills the sniper and fires another shot when Trisha resumes her speech as if they haven’t been interrupted.
The following day Mercy pays a visit to her lawyer, suspecting that he has something to do with the attack and discovers that Belinda has ordered a hit on her life. Sela Mathers has also contacted her lawyer offering to help. Mercy agrees to meet her at the local airport.
Sela reveals that she too can see Trisha’s spirit and she can help Mercy be rid of her. She offers her a second chance, a shot at redemption and Mercy accepts. Sela holds her hands and instructs her to close her eyes. When she reopens them, Mercy finds herself back at the warehouse with David and Trisha and lets them go free. Sela enters the warehouse to find an emotional Mercy on the ground, asking if she finally made everything right again. Sela offers to help her atone for her life of murder by putting the gun to Mercy’s head. We don’t actually see who pulls the trigger but the issue closes with the Grimm Reaper arriving to claim Trisha’s body but is surprised to find Mercy instead. Apparently, this is all part of Sela’s plan and the story line will be continued in the upcoming Dante’s Inferno miniseries.
Based on the fan reaction to Mercy Dante’s actions in Grimm Fairy Tales #29, it’s a bit of a risk making her the center of issue 41 and giving her, her own mini series. I’m going to be honest here and say that I personally don’t like the character. We’ve all seen the flawed hero or people who are exposed to violence at an early age, thus they end up becoming the thing they hate the most. I also have to agree with the majority here in saying that it was upsetting to see a child killed in issue 29 (off panel). Yes, it was dramatic and it had a shocking effect but I personally can’t stand violence against children. Perhaps it’s because my two niece’s are my world, maybe it’s because I work with children but whatever the case, it’s something I don’t want to see and thus stay away from. I also don’t feel any sympathy for Mercy for the remorse she’s feeling for killing Trisha and it was odd to see her kill the Priest when she herself is an actual child murderer.
Because this is following the story of a Hitwoman, this is a violent book. There are some great action scenes, and Mercy proves she can take care of herself. I was surprised with the panel where she was attacked in the bathtub. Obviously she’s naked and Zenescope has a reputation for sexing it up. I surely thought the illustrator would take this opportunity to show as much nudity as possible but it was tastefully done and the steam from the bath water were covering her “lady partsâ€.
The ending was certainly interesting in seeing Sela give Mercy a second chance and her making the right choice but again, I feel it’s too little too late. Perhaps that’s just me and the fact that yes, everyone makes mistakes and I feel certain people do deserve a second chance but I have zero tolerance for cold blooded murder. Again this is my personal opinion and perhaps it stems from the fact that both my Grandfather and cousin were murdered.
I’m looking forward to discovering what Sela has planned for the future and I enjoyed the artwork greatly. If you’re looking for something action based with dramatic story telling than this is the book for you.
I give Grimm Fairy Tales #41 3 out of 5 Stars.
3 Comments
Yes, it was dramatic and it had a shocking effect but I personally can’t stand violence against children. Perhaps it’s because my two niece’s are my world, maybe it’s because I work with children but whatever the case, it’s something I don’t want to see and thus stay away from.
Sadly, it’s become entertainment industry shorthand for “true evil.” Wanna convey in a few panels/sentences/seconds of film that someone is eeeevil with a capital “VIL?”
Threaten or kill a child. I’ve been ranting (mostly to empty silence, but ranting nonetheless) about this for months now, and it keeps popping up. I’m bothered by it, partly because of the whole “threatening the defenseless” aspect of the trope, but even moreso because it has in a very short time become ridiculously CLICHE.
I get a weird mixed message out of Grimm Fairy Tales these days, reminding me of the last season of the Twilight Zone, when the guilty aren’t always getting punished and the innocent are. With any luck, this arc will deal with that imbalance.
The idea of villains killing kittens and kicking babies is overdone, yes. What it lacks is subtlety.
True villainy isn’t as easily recognized by more subtle actions. A subtle villain means the writer can write such subtleties effectively and it is that sort of layering I prefer in stories.
Hopefully we will see the layers of Mercy Dante in a way that define her much more than her overt act of evil.
^I agree with you guys. That’s part of the reason I love th Joker so much. I feel that writers tend to be able to portray him as evil without having to take too many low blows. Of course a writer comes along and makes him kidnap handicapped kids and dangle them out of a helicopter or throw babies in a burning river … but for the most part they are more clever with him.
I read the preview pages for this issue and wasn’t impressed. I was planning on getting the issue because i was looking forward to Dante’s Inferno … but in all honesty this issue is making me second guess if i want to give it a chance or not.