Secret Six Vol. 2 Money for Murder Part 2

The arc with Artemis but I have a lot to talk about before I get to her section. Much of this is out of order so be warned.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Depths

The Secret Six deals with darker subject matters. Usually related to the lead characters and sometimes mentioning topics that aren't usually seen in other more mainstream comics. Sometimes this is used for comedic effect like Ragdoll being pleased that he doesn't have his male bits anymore. Catman used to consider changing his ways but like the rest of the team realized there is no going back. Still the members all have their own personal ethics which is put to the test here. I found "Depths" succeeded in creating a darker atmosphere than "Unhinged."

Despite Junior, the prospect of being redeemed being taken away and the team turning on each other I never felt it was too bleak. The setting and character used play a big part in why this storyline feels bleaker and works better. At least for me. This story is about the Six (unknowingly) taking a job for slavers. The premise goes hand and hand with the title as well as what the villain tries to figure out with the prisoners.

Where the arc with Junior felt like it was trying too hard to make it's villain scary this villain, Smyth, works without lifting a finger to physically fight anyone. We see how awful he is instead of having him built up as a terrifying monster. While we don't see him personally doing the horrible things in this arc he sets everything in motion and makes sure the operation is carried out. He feels like a person that could exist. Not someone transformed by his own trauma but someone who's ambition would lead to them having a warped point of view since it gets him what he wants.

While you could argue that he has his own cartoon-ish evil moments I think the way he explains it makes sense. Smyth loves knowing that he can control people. That power is something he obviously enjoys and he will find a way to break someone to get his way even if it inconvenience him a little. Like having a few workers killed to make one woman do what he wants when she refuses. He changed the way she acted. She didn't fear her own death but she ends up willingly kissing his feet nd praising him. Then he makes her bury the bodies and later on gives her a false sense of hope at escape.

His concept of creating the world's largest prison then making that into his own country seemed kinda flawed. I have no idea if it was intentional by Simone or just my own mind connecting strange dots but I started thinking of Jurassic Park when he was talking about his plans. It seemed just as problematic as creating a tourist trap with carnivorous dinosaurs when you have these guards around in the open. Maybe that's just me?

The story feels pretty underdeveloped in a lot of places. There's a tall woman named Guiana that works for Smyth that you can guess early on is an Amazon. Yet it's only mentioned once, she never faces off against any other Amazon and her reason for going bad feels incomplete. She's an Amazon that can't die due to working with the purple healing ray. Okay. How did that lead to her, an Amazon, enforcing enslavement and allowing her own people to be treated so badly ? Don't know and she might stay dead from what they did making it moot anyway.

Grendel didn't really go anywhere despite sharing a connection with Scandal. Would the plot change without him? I don't think it would.

Catman wants to honor their agreement and only really has a change of heart thanks to Wonder Woman which a causal fan might not understand. Diana can see the goodness in others and that can inspire them. But I didn't really get why Ragdoll later attacks Smyth. Because his friends didn't want to work for him anymore? He doesn't show any concern for the slaves or prisoners, something Deadshot does even if he's more subtle about it than the others.

Jeannette has some awesome moments although her reasoning for not liking Amazons doesn't feel entirely genuine to me. She claims that due to her being a Banshee immortals don't mix yet she's friends with Scandal? Then she says she doesn't like how Amazons ignored helping women in need. Diana's people have been on an island as the gods gave them a duty. As Wonder Woman she's personally saved a lot of lives and fought for women's rights.

Sure Jeannette might not know this but she acts like it was more personal. How many Amazons could she have met? Still I really liked that she put her distaste behind her to do the right thing. I don't like how that same dislike made it easy to throw down with Diana when an explanation was easy. Still comic fight logic rarely is sound. Plus Diana wasn't exactly blameless either.

Bane and Scandal deal with Venom addiction and their growing bond. I like aspects of their relationship but I still find it a little off putting that he's trying to be her father figure. Still better than the version that was a brute with Talia. Scandal herself isn't thrilled with their mission as it's the kind of thing her father would do. While all of them have accepted that their messed up in different ways this has them question how villainous they are.

Different governments, including the United States, sent Smyth prisoners to hold. This is where things get confusing as it ties into Amazons Attack. The Bana-Mighdall Amazons are captured by the U.S. government to be imprisoned legally at the location. AA said the Bana with Grace was a sect of the main tribe that didn't join with their Theymscrian sisters. That's not mentioned here and for some reason only the Bana-Mighdall Amazons are being held responsible? How did they capture them? I don't know how long after AA this happened but I assume the villains plan to scatter the Amazons was already undone.

Artemis is one of the captured Amazons and unfortunately we don't get too much of her story as she's not one of the leads. As a result there feels like there's pieces missing between where she is at the beginning and the end. I've read a lot on Artemis and seen some uncomfortable moments. From the wedgie costumes to the implications of a "relationship" with Kanto. I was EXTREMELY uncomfortable with her scene with the guards. Which I'm sure was the point but I'm not sure what's worse, what we do see or what can be implied.

The guards take a drugged Artemis into a cell to chain her up. One of them comments on her being the others' (Ginty) type, "stacked and unconscious." Which Ginty agrees with but wants to lock her up before their boss checks up on her stating that he always does. The three of them leer at her saying that she has to be hiding something and reaches to "search" her. Whatever he (or they, it's hard to tell) touch isn't shown and she wakes up. One guard notices this while the other one scoffs because he doesn't think she can file a complaint and asks if she likes it.

Artemis threatens to remove any hand that touches her which is the only living thing she's sure willingly gives them satisfaction. Which is admittedly a good line. Ginty hits her claiming she's resisting her incarceration when his superior arrives. He tells them that their forbidden to be around female prisoners and will face disciplinary actions. While he shows Artemis compassion, telling her that she can file a complaint, getting hair out of her eyes and giving her water she thinks he's worse than the guards. She points out how the system can change a person, how the captain will delude himself and start to become part of the problem.

His storyline is another rushed element since we don't see him again until the end where he admits Artemis was right. We don't see what changed his mind making his involvement feel tacked on. He's the only guard we know for sure has morals which makes me think it's unlikely he was able to catch other times that guards fondled (or more) prisoners. As Artemis pretty much says their open about what they are. She knows for a fact that most of the people in charge there are like them and measured what type of man Smyth was by the look in his eyes. The heavy implication is that sexual assault does happen. It might have even unfortunately have happened to her.

When Jeannette questions Artemis being there Smyth says she's the only prisoner there he hasn't been able to break and believes breaking her will make it easier for him to do the same for others. Meaning every other Amazon of Bana-Mighdall has broken. She's heavily drugged and threatening to kill Smyth when we first see her. Not long after her introduction Bane requests food for Scandal. Smyth states that he understands/admires Bane's priorities, that sex and food must always be safeguarded for men to work effectively. Makes you think of the way his men act, right? That maybe Smyth encourages such behavior. It's not the only time he talks about the importance of sex to guide the actions of men and he states how much he enjoys owning people.

Her revenge on the guards is satisfying but she doesn't really add much until Diana meets up with her later. Since Artemis isn't the focus her progression seems odd to me especially since the Amazons Attack connection raises so many questions. When the Amazons are escaping Smyth appears on a screen telling them to surrender or they will be hunted back to Themyscrica where their legally able to arrest anyone. I admit I don't understand how this can work, why they don't suggest going somewhere else to hide or how this is really resolved. Artemis suggests a third option: that they all kill themselves.

Which...I'm not sure why Simone has Artemis suggesting suicide at least twice in her writing. I know she gives Diana something to stab herself with in Simones' Wonder Woman series. I don't recall this ever being a thought process of Amazons in other runs, not even with the Amazons that suffered for longer periods like with Heracles. Yes Artemis confesses it's the horrible place and I don't mean to shrug off that kind of torment but Artemis was in hell in this canon. Sure it looked like she had the high life (so to speak) in the underworld but she was obviously toeing a line. If this was followed up in any of Simone's other work it might read better as a whole.

As a stand alone story (for Artemis) it feels like it's missing scenes and I'm not sure what purpose it serves. She suddenly instantly believes the guard is honorable enough to remain that way and willing to trust that he'll kill her instead of doing it herself? It just feels awkward when Diana comes in to talk her out of it (with no real plan how their protect their people given) and Artemis stands to the side as everything else happens.

I'm not sure why Artemis knew Jeannette was a Banshee and Diana didn't. As it is with Junior some badass moments do feel too forced like the guards praying or calling loved ones before Scandal kills them. It makes me appreciate more subtle moments like Deadshot's own more understated distaste for the slavers and his own part in it. Sure he makes his feelings known at the end to Smyth but with the exception of insisting he take a slave's body he seems unmoved for most of the arc. You'd probably assume he only switches sides to save his friends if the scenes I mentioned weren't included.

I didn't really care for what little I've read of Simone's Wonder Woman beyond the origin of the Circle. It wasn't my taste and her Diana feels off to me. Sadly that's still the case here. Artemis passes out as soon as she gets taken out of her cell. Diana either doesn't bother to check to see if Artemis is alive or is bad at checking vitals as she assumes Artemis is dead. No one bothers to tell her otherwise and a brawl starts. Diana comes off a little too arrogant to me especially since she should be lashing out more if she thinks they murdered Artemis. Instead she tells Jeannette that she's out of her league, no pun intended. I just can't see Diana saying that, not in this scenario.

I'm not sure why Diana doesn't like being called an Amazon. I do side with Diana when she gets angered over Jeannette making horrible remarks on how she hopes the Amazons are used as sex slaves. Still Diana's compassion is a welcomed sight after all the misery though.

This arc was a good one for most of the leads. It's not one of my favorite Artemis appearances and no, it's not her book. Then again she didn't function beyond cameos or supporting cast for years so it is important. I don't hate the arc because it does work well for the Six and their need to examine their actions. I still have no plans on getting more Secret Six issues. I don't hate it, I don't love it, there's just not enough to perk my interest.