Yes, I am that one fan who chose this as their pick of the week. Why? Well I do garner a lot of guilty pleasure with many C- and Z-list characters. I love it when Ricochet from the Slingers or the Fabulous Frog-Man show up in a book, it’s like find a dollar bill on the ground for me. And so when I saw a one-shot about everyone’s favorite French savate-practicing super villian, of course I had to, ahem, jump on it.

But that alone isn’t enough to make it pick of the week. No, Gillien does a great deal of character work in establishing why Batroc is the way he is, why a guy with no powers goes up against Captain America again and again, and never wins, but even more remarkably does it in way that doesn’t seem too pat. There is a moment of “I’m like this because of X” but by the end it calls that claim into doubt. People are complicated and Gillien doesn’t forget that. The plot of the story is pretty bare bones, but this is a character study first and foremost, so I have no qualms there.

The art is decent but nothing flashy, but I found most of the layouts to be good, which is good for a high-leaping villian like Batroc. Overall I think it’s a great story  for Captain America and Z-list fans like myself.