Written by: Rick Remender
Art by: Wes Craig
Published by: Image
At some point in all great fiction, we have to go back to the beginning of the story. Origins are an important part of every fictional character, and often, as in real life, character’s pasts shape who they are in the present. For many characters, this has become somewhat redundant – we already know where major characters like Batman, Superman, Daredevil, and Captain America came from. And so origin stories, in comics specifically, often end up being the recipient of jokes and unfair critiques, while their importance is ignored. Maybe this is because the quality of storytelling in origin tales simply isn’t up to par, or feels like it goes on for too long.
Deadly Class #8, however, tells an origin story without either of those issues.
As far as I’m concerned, an origin story needs three key elements. First, it needs to have context in the ongoing story. For instance, Rick Remender uses Marcus giving his journal to Saya as a way to justify the flashbacks in this issue. Second, they need to come in bit sized chunks. Having an origin story that lasts for more than an issue makes it drag on, and it becomes hard to remember how we got to that point. This less than an entire issue origin story is the perfect length, and it makes it much easier to remain engaged in the story.
Finally, there has to be a reason to tell that story. I will admit, this is closely related to lending context to the origin story. However, context is more about establishing the story, and the reason is more heavily intertwined with the plot. As long as there is a plot reason to have flashbacks, or to tell an origin story, then that story will be successful. This is undoubtedly the case in Deadly Class #8. As we’ve seen in past issues, Marcus is still desperately trying to find himself. He doesn’t quite know who he is, but at this point in his life, he’s closer to being accepted by other than people than ever before. All he wants is to be understood by his friends.
In terms of the plot, this results in him allowing Saya (whom he obviously has feelings for) read his journal. In terms of the more meta aspect of the book, this completely flips everything we know about Marcus upside down.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, Marcus really is a psychopath. At times, he’s shown that he can be more than that, but these instances are often fleeting. This issue, however, finally pushes Marcus over the edge in terms of the level of sympathy his character warranted. As this issue unfolds, we see that he really is just a victim of a broken system. It’s more than just rhetoric that he hides behind, and his depression is more than just an excuse to satisfy his psychotic needs. Marcus is a broken person, reaching out to other broken people, and trying to be better.
In that way, Marcus is nothing short of an inspiration. And we see that in this issue. He actually has way more empathy than he’s willing to show – and even when he wants to show it, he’s embarrassed to attempt to show it. He says as much himself – “It’s not something I can talk about.” On the surface, this may seem like it’s because of the violence of what’s in the journal. But dig deeper, and it truly reveals that he doesn’t want to talk about his empathetic side, or the side of him that is spiraling uncontrollably into a depression he’s not sure he’ll be able to come back from.
The ending of this issue – seeing Saya’s reaction to the contents of the journal – is an excellently well done scene. Deadly Class is heavy stuff, and each and every issue has been impeccably well done. But it’s this moment, the “I found the guy I was looking for,” that show us how far Marcus has come, just in the span of eight issues. He’s gone from the introverted “f**k everything” character to a much more open character, who’s seen that there are great things in life. And this journey has been absolutely amazing.
