Advance Review — Edwyn Metes Out His Brand Of Twisted Justice In ‘Plastic: Death & Dolls’ #5

The slow, tense build-up revealing both Edwyn’s origins and his showdown with local heel and abuser, Callan, come to a head in this final climactic and dramatic issue as Edwyn heads out to mete out his now personal style of justice. 

Edwyn is sick, there’s no doubt about that, but at least he has that. Callan is just a mean-spirited, abusing asshole in a contemporary story that mirrors Edwin’s one childhood. Only this time Edwyn is determined to keep the damsel in distress alive, unlike his mother. And so the two timeframes merge, in a way, as we finally get an answer of sorts to Edwyn’s particular predilection and warped sense of morality. But, after the innocent dears of last issue, here it is (mostly) the unjust who pay the price for their cruel crimes. And I doubt anyone reading this will have a problem with Edwyn’s cold-blooded crimefighting. 

Bizarrely enough, given our central hero is a deranged serial killer, this is an uplifting issue as tensions rise and the bloody climax to this series is reached. As we have now stared into the abyss of Edwin’s complex and tragic childhood, strangely one finds this new-found knowledge weirdly compelling. His backstory only intensifies the sympathy we allow ourselves to give him. Edwyn is a deeply troubled individual, and it’s hats off to writer Doug Wagner for once again creating a sympathetic psychopath who you cannot help but Cher for as he takes out Callan and his gang in a very elaborate way. 

Of course, a big part of the readers’ sympathies, I believe, also come from the visual depiction of Edwyn, and the supporting cast. And artist Daniel Hillyard does a note-perfect job of depicting a sad sack of a person who looks like he’s been bullied all his life. He’s so depressingly ordinary that you can’t help but feel for him. And Calan is such an aggressive, leering loon, you want him to suffer at the hands of Edwyn. An eye for an eye and all that. 

And so we get our dramatic and deadly showdown as Edwyn inhabits that shady-grey area of heroism often assigned to the kind of Western anti-heroes Clint Eastwood so often portrayed. A bad man in a bad situation trying to do some good.

And just as we are about bow out we get the most insane of a final page that only foreshadows a future death-filled crazed adventure for our anti-hero. It’s enough of a tease to want to know more and sooner rather than later. A great hook to keep fans guessing.

Plastic: Death & Dolls #5 is out on Wednesday 9th September from Image Comics.