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Filmmaking brothers Joe and Anthony Russo have undeniably shaped the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from their MCU debut “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on, and they’re returning for the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Secret Wars.” But not every comic book adaptation the Russos have touched turned to box office gold.
The brothers produced the 2019 Syfy series “Deadly Class,” a 1980s-set action-black comedy based on the Image Comic series by writer Rick Remender and artist Wes Craig. Remender was showrunner of the televised “Deadly Class” himself; influenced by his own history as a punk rock Gen X-er, he pitched the series as “what if Richard Linklater had done ‘Kill Bill.'” (There’s a reason the comic’s first volume and the series’ pilot are called “Reagan Youth,” after both Remender’s generation and the punk band.) Sadly, “Deadly Class” was canceled on June 5, 2019, only making it through one 10-episode season before flunking out.
In 1987, homeless teen Marcus Lopez Arguello (Benjamin Wadsworth) is enrolled at King’s Dominion Atelier of the Deadly Arts, where the curriculum teaches how to be a master assassin. Students are heirs of the world’s deadliest criminal syndicates and intelligence agencies, from the Yakuza to Mexican cartels to the KGB. Rounding out the cast is Headmaster Lin (Benedict Wong, who misses “Deadly Class”).
What’s Marcus’ dream assassination? He wants to kill Ronald Reagan. His reasons are slightly more logical than John Hinckley Jr. trying it to impress Jodie Foster, too. Marcus and his parents fled Nicaragua due to the death squads (funded by Reagan), and then his parents died when a mentally ill person jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge onto their car (Reagan cut mental health services to the bone). Lots of punks may joke about killing the President, but Marcus is getting the education to do it.
Deadly Class captures ’80s alienation
“Deadly Class” Season 1 ends on a cliffhanger with Marcus and his love interest Maria (María Gabriela de Faría) in mortal peril. Unlike many canceled TV shows, there’s an answer to what happens next — just read the comic. But know what you’re getting into. While “Deadly Class” discusses ’80s pop culture, especially comics (like 1989 Marvel Comics crossover “Inferno”) and music (Marcus wears a Nirvana shirt on issue #45’s cover), it’s not a pleasant nostalgia trip.
While “fantastical school” is one of the most common young adult story settings, “Deadly Class” isn’t “Harry Potter” or even “Naruto.” You know the formula: Students turn rivalries into friendships, even gruff or trickster teachers are caring mentors, and everyone comes together to stop a bigger evil. Here, the school is the evil, faculty and student body alike. It’s more like “The Hunger Games,” because these kids kill each other, and Marcus, Maria, and Saya’s (Lana Condor) love triangle carries deadly risks.
A “Deadly Class” plot synopsis states that “a group of damaged Gen X teens [fight] a system determined to transform them into monsters.” That system is bigger than their education. Most prep schools don’t teach dismemberment or poisoning, but King’s Dominion’s purpose is the same as other elite institution: “teach” (indoctrinate) children into getting comfortable with running a system that makes victims of everyone else, and with stepping on each other to advance.
Students like Marcus who don’t come from rich, evil families are called “rats,” evoking the phrase “rat race” that suggests spending your life working and following the rules to get ahead is fruitless in a system as rigged as the one we live under. In “Deadly Class,” selling out can crush your soul almost as much as having to kill a friend.
Deadly Class is a perfect Rick Remender introduction
The “Deadly Class” comics leave a mark thanks to Wes Craig’s stylized drawing. His action scenes are beautiful chaos — the more bullets flying and acrobatic assassins flipping across the page, the better. His paneling is just as striking. In “Deadly Class” issue #48, an earthquake hits King’s Dominion, and the panels themselves shake out of linear alignment. Complementing Craig are colorists Lee Loughridge and Jordan Boyd; the different shades really pop with their flat coloring.
Rick Remender’s effort to bring his story to TV didn’t last long, but he got to conclude the comic in 2022 at issue #56. It’s worth highlighting that the “Deadly Class” show ran while the comic was ongoing, and there’s a recursive effect. In the last dozen issues, the story moves from a period piece up through 2023, and you see Remender’s concerns about the present bleed through. In issue #54, Marcus, who has grown up into an author, has a dispiriting experience of seeing one of his books adapted into a product placement-fueled TV show. If “Deadly Class” the show had lasted longer, it feels like the comic might’ve ended differently.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Remender’s experience with “Deadly Class” turned him off Hollywood, but it didn’t break his creative spirit. The double-edged sword of being a Rick Remender fan is how often he spreads his attention across different projects. As of 2026, he’s writing:
- “The Seasons,” a Hayao Miyazaki-esque fantasy series (drawn by Paul Azaceta)
- “Escape,” a World War II comic starring talking animals (drawn by Daniel Acuña)
- “Hammerfist,” a horror-crime thriller (drawn by Steve Epting)
Even if a “Deadly Class” revival series is unlikely, it’s still a win if it made people read the comic or anything else Remender has written.
