Criminal (2006-2007) #10

by Ed Brubaker

Tracy finally comes to the end of the line in his search for answers, but will he want them by then? Or has his entry back into the life his brother led changed who he is? And what about the hitmen on his trail? He'll have to deal with that, too. The action-packed FINALE of the second Criminal arc from award-winning creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

27 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2007

About the author

Ed Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.

Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.

In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.

Reviews

[Cybernex007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit when it comes to this character that feels like a fitting ending for a first arc. As we jump into this issue we immediately find the aftermath of the end of the previous issue, as a man sent to find Tracy has found Simon dead with signs of torture beforehand. Tracy knows the truth now and the heist is about to be underway, but there are still people coming after him. We finally get the information on the heist itself this issue right before it starts, as it turns out Simon has had his eyes on the cash from Saint Dominic’s Cathedral for a while. They host an annual black tie benefit, it’s a thousand dollars a head and the upper class get to see their pictures in the papers the next morning all while believing their cash is going to those in need. But the reality is that the father in charge is crooked as hell. He used to run money laundering scams with the poor, utilizing his guys to break legs to collect debts, only to realize how much easier it is to steal from the rich when you give them a lie they are willing to believe. It’s all cash, and the father has a deal with the bank downtown to stay open later so they can immediately count and deposit the money that night. But this year Simon had a connection at the bank and knows when the armored truck will be there. The crew arrives soon after the armored truck does and gets the bags of cash inside. Mallory and Grey show up soon after in a priest and nun costumes claiming they are from the church and that they forgot a bag. The bank attendant quickly ushers them in to deliver it only for the pair to immediately pulls guns on the bank attendant and guards before they can realize something is up. All the while Nelson was standing outside dressed as a Santa collecting money and he promptly joins them to round up the cash. Everything would have gone according to plan, two minutes in and out…but Tracy calls the cops four minutes ago. As Mallory is delivering the first bag to the getaway car, she sees the lights from the cop cars and Tracy pulls her inside the car and drives away, leaving Nelson and Grey behind. Nelson and Grey immediately realize the jig is up and Nelson fires on the cops with Grey quickly joining him, the two opted for death by cop and the remaining cars pursued Tracy and Mallory. It was a bit touch and go with how pissed off Mallory was at Tracy for leaving the others, but they were able to successfully evade the cops and get away. All the while the man hunting down Tracy is listening on the police scanner and has figured out exactly where they are heading.

Tracy drags Mallory to his old, and now boarded up, childhood home. Mallory fully admits she knows exactly who he is after following him to the graveyard. She also recognizes where he brought her, as Ricky used to come here when he was drunk. What Tracy wants right now, with a gun in hand, is for Mallory to tell him the truth and to explain why. Mallory then goes into the tale of Ricky Lawless. She describes the type of man he was, how he never had any trouble hurting her or anyone else and that’s what she liked about him at first. She was the only one that saw something buried deep inside of him, a kind of sweetness. Except, the more she saw of that side the meaner he would get when he was drinking. It wasn’t the first time he hit her and he had a way of making it feel like it was her fault and to feel sorry for him as he is just a blameless kid inside. But then last year, Ricky and Simon started getting into it worse than usual. The night of the Tramwell heist Ricky screwed up some deal but even Mallory was surprised when he planned on taking the whole score and running for it. Ricky knew Grey and Simon would come after him so he decided he was going to take them out. When Mallory tried to stop him he knocked her out, probably saving Grey’s life as Ricky just beat him in vs shooting him. When Mallory came to the only thing she remembers is hearing his voice telling her to get in the car. He told her he loved her and she is coming with…that finally did it. She couldn’t take that kind of love anymore and shot him. She finally realized it was never going to end. He just hated himself too much. But the one thing he loved was that half picture he carried around of his badass army big brother, she would have been disappointed if he didn’t show up, lol. And that’s it, all of the truth is out there. But Tracy already knows, Simon told him, and so here he stands after killing all the wrong people…but as Mallory prepares herself for death…Tracy does nothing except tell her to leave. She calls him a bastard and promptly exits. Tracy takes a moment, standing in the shadows of the past. The one thing he feels remorse about, and he knows he never should have come back here.

But as Tracy steps outside he finds more trouble, the man who was sent after him is currently holding Mallory at gunpoint…promising to put a bullet in her if he tries anything. There is a man Tracy needs to talk to, and the guy takes Mallory as his hostage and has Tracy drive close behind to the meet. There Tracy is formerly introduced to the man he stole the counterfeit money from, a man he actually recognizes as he met the man when he was a kid, Sebastian Hyde. Hyde has Tracy’s military file. He was involved in the murder of 27 men in Bosnia, according to Tracy they were running a camp. But then there was the incident that got him swept under the rug, heavily redacted there is a part about three US soldiers killed in Baghdad, which is also where we see glimpses of him saving a girl from a fire and getting his scar. He was able to save her but not her family and he was thrown in a hole to cover up another disaster in Iraq. But getting back to the matter at hand, Tracy has embarrassed Mr Hyde. The money he took was a sample delivery from a new supplier and now he looks terrible for immediately having it stolen. They found Tracey because he drove his getaway car to his old home, never do that as there is a high chance someone is going to know who he really is…like the man currently holding Mallory at gunpoint. Tracy wants her let go and Hyde can see to that, but he wants to make a deal with Tracy. He isn’t going to kill him, he wants Tracy to work with him. His brother apparently owed Hyde a lot of money and would like to use Tracy’s skills in his own business. And that’s how the story ends, Tracy makes a deal to work for Hyde…just as his father once did, and Mallory would be sent on her way never to be seen again with what is left of the score from tonight.

“Revenge. That’s what he had come home for…but it didn’t really exist, did it? Just empty regret and bitter heartbreak wandering the streets. The city around him, white and gray and cold, felt suddenly so small. Hyde have been right about family, there was no escaping it…even when there was no one left to run from.”

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

#10 – “… because Father Brian Grant, who ran Saint Dominic’s, was crooked as hell.”
Super finale!