Domino vol. 1: Killer Instinct

An ongoing series featuring Domino?  “How the hell did this happen?” is what I thought until I remembered that she was featured — to pretty great effect — in “Deadpool 2” earlier this year.  So here we are with the first volume of her ongoing title and… it’s alright. The idea of a devil-may-care mercenary with luck powers certainly has its appeal, with the character having a lot of the most fun moments over in “Weapon X.”  Here she’s paired with super-strong southern belle Outlaw and high-class reformed supervillain Diamondback, and they make for a pretty good team as we’re introduced to them as they work together to bust up a timber smuggling operation before they head over to Domino’s (surprise) birthday party.  We get lots of cameos, Domino gets a dog, and some flashbacn flashbacks before she’s greeted by some party crashers in her bedroom. Naturally, these aren’t your average party crashers as one of them has super-strength and the ability to turn off the title character’s powers. Which she does before throwing Domino out of a window.

That’s how writer Gail Simone and artist David Baldeon end their first issue.  No spoiler warning: Domino lives and has to find out how to deal with a villain who can mess with her luck power and why she’s being targeted in the first place.  The answers aren’t all that surprising and most of this first volume plays like a been there, done that version of superhero mercenary schtick. That’s not to say there isn’t fun to be had along the way:  Baldeon’s art is both detailed and expressive, the training and fight scenes with Shang-Chi are a hoot, and Simone writes Domino enough presence and style to show that she can carry an ongoing series. If only the series had more moments like the final showdown between Domino and the villain that really broke with superhero convention.  Or if it could pick a tone between serious action drama and freewheeling lightweight fun instead of mixing them up here and blunting the title’s overall effectiveness. This first volume left me with the feeling that a Domino ongoing could work, except that this one isn’t quite there yet.