The Deadly Class: 8 Things To Know Before The Series Premiere

Just a few weeks shy of the fifth anniversary of its original publishing, Rick Remender, Wes Craig, and the team over at SYFY have dropped the pilot episode of their new Deadly Class adaptation ahead of its television premiere.

Fans of the comic have been waiting for the premiere since the original announcement of the adaptation. For those of you who haven’t read the comics or anyone who just needs a bit of a refresher before the series premiere in January. Let’s go over a few things that you’ll want to know before diving head first into the series on SYFY.

8. Plot

So the first thing you’re going to need to know about Deadly Class is what it’s all about. Deadly Class follows vagrant teenager with a dark past, Marcus Arguello, as he navigates the complex world of high school. This high school, King’s Dominion, stands apart from most other high schools in the area as it is the only school with a set of deadly extra-curricular activities. King’s Dominion is a school for the children of the deadliest people in the world whether they be criminal kingpins, CIA & FBI agents, or just your everyday street tough with a checkered past.

7. Setting

Deadly Class is author Rick Remender’s love letter to the 'lost generation', generation X. Marcus and his classmates inhabit the world of San Fransisco circa 1987. As you can imagine, the show, as well as the comic, is filled with all sorts of pop culture references from the killer '80s-inspired soundtrack. Everything is here from The Smiths to The Cure, to the obsession with President Reagan and his effect on the United States, particularly his closure of government-funded mental health care facilities. Remender feels that there’s never been a story told that really unpacks what it was like to live as a teenager through the Reagan years, so prepare for '80s references galore.

6. It Already Aired (On Youtube)

If you’re looking to be one of the first to see the series premiere of Deadly Class, well, you’re too late. But because SYFY dropped the series premiere a few weeks before it’s official premiere date of January 15th, those who were lucky enough to catch it before the premiere in a little over a week are going to have to be extra-patient. They'll be the ones dealing with the agony of having to wait at least a couple weeks longer for episode 2 because apparently television shows come out on a weekly basis and not all in one bingeable chunk like on streaming services. Who knew?

5. The Russo Brothers

So there are these two brothers who are kind of big in the comic book adaptations scene called Anthony and Joseph Russo. They’ve made a couple of good films. Maybe you’ve heard of some of them? The anticipation for Avengers: Endgame is reaching dangerous levels and still the Russo brothers find time to work on this smaller, creator-owned, comic project for SYFY. Seems legit. The Russo brothers have stated that they were both so blown away by the original comic that they simply had to be a part of the project. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the series can continue the Russo brothers' winning streak.

4. Expanding On The Original

We all know that sometimes adaptations aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Sometimes the characters don’t look anything like they should. Sometimes M. Night Shyamalan comes along and decides everyone should be using a soft 'A' for no good reason. Sometimes it just doesn’t come together even though it should’ve been amazing. These are all mistakes the cast and crew are trying to avoid by recognizing the differences of the new medium. Things move a lot faster on television, but conversely, that gives the team time to really explore the characters and locations in a way that we haven’t seen in the comic. More Deadly Class could hardly be considered a bad thing.

3. Creator Run

One of the major concerns when any fan hears about an adaptation of one of their favorite comics, is the unshakable feeling that whoever is in charge of the damn thing is gonna screw the whole thing up. The only thing worse than no adaptation is a poor adaptation. The good news for fans of Deadly Class and the series itself is that Rick Remender himself will be co-running the show along with Miles Orion Feldsott. That means that fans will not only receive a faithful and thoughtful adaptation but they’ll also have the world of Deadly Class expanded upon by the man he dreamt up the whole thing himself.

2. Chester “F**kFace” Wilson

Chester “F---Face” Wilson has a big problem with Deadly Class’ main character Marcus Arguello. Growing up in an abusive boys home may not have had many advantages, but the one advantage it did have was forming the unbreakable bond of an archnemesis. Chester is not what you’d called the picture of mental health, especially after having half of his face burned off in the fire that ended the aforementioned boys home (but more on that later). Now, with the boys home in cinders behind him, Chester is out for the kind of revenge that most people couldn’t even dream up.

1) Marcus Lopez Arguello

Marcus is being set up to become the hero of this dark version of 1987. He’s got all the trademark hero life events like his parents dying right in front of him, Master Lin’s call to action, and a series of horrible and traumatic events following his parents' death. Marcus isn’t the typical hero though. He’s untrained for the most part. Marcus spends most of the first episode homeless and wandering around San Fransisco. He is (allegedly) responsible for burning down the boys home where he lived and killing over a dozen people in the process. Oh, There’s his obsession with killing President Reagan. That’s just some of the stuff you’ll learn in the first episode. It seems like Rick Remender is getting ready to lead audiences on quite an adventure. If it’s anything like the comic you can bet there will be loads of fun...and blood. Lots of blood.

NEXT: 7 Differences Between The 'Deadly Class' Premiere And The Comic