Image Comics' Deadly Class has had more than it's fair share of betrayals, twists, turns, and turncoats. While the last three arcs have seen our surviving cast of original characters trying to mend fences after the brutal Freshman Finals arc, there have still been some downright awful acts committed by our core cast of characters.
One such character is Saya, the katana-wielding badass who initially recruits Marcus into Kings Dominion Atelier of the Deadly Arts. While Saya is one of the "good guys" she has nonetheless committed some truly atrocious actions against both friends and enemies. With that in mind, here are the seven worst things Saya has done over the course of Deadly Class. Be warned, there are *SPOILERS* ahead.
7 Killing the Cop
Yes, the cop Saya dispatches in the first issue of the series has a gun on Marcus. And yes, the cop himself was a terrible person, that much is evident from the brief dialogue he espouses before his skewering. But should Saya have immediately resorted to murder?
We all know she is more than capable of dispatching a target without outright killing them, so her first kill in the series registers as an unneeded death. Evidently, Saya feels the same way, if the momentary shell-shock she displays is any indication.
6 "Killing" Marcus
Ah, Freshman Finals. The most harrowing and jaw-dropping arc of the series saw the deaths of numerous core characters, such as Billy, Willie and *gasp* Marcus himself? At the blade of Saya no less? It was a game-changer for the trajectory of the series, wiping the slate clean to develop a new cast of Freshman the following semester. But the true kicker came far later, when it was revealed that Marcus was still alive, Sayas blade missing his heart by only a few inches, and living in Mexico with Maria (also alive after her apparent death).
While it ultimately turned out to be an elaborate plot by Saya to get Marcus out of the school, Remender let the audiences sit with the idea that Saya had murdered him in cold blood for a full 5 issues before revealing the truth. That kind of resentment is hard to forget, even after finding out Saya did what she did for noble reasons.
5 Dating Willie
Young love is so volatile and hard to understand. In easily the oddest pairing of the romantic side of the series, Saya begins to go steady with Willie after the events of the raid at F@#kFace Manor. Despite Marcus' infatuation and their shared history, she opts to be with someone else, which pushes Marcus even further into a depressive cycle following Maria's disappearance.
The couple never seem particularly on the same page, or outright romantic, and both Willie and Marcus espouse the idea that Saya did it to drive them apart, before their deaths in Freshman Finals. Perhaps Saya did actually have strong feelings for Willie, but it certainly reads as ulterior motives from the way it's presented.
4 Hooking Up with Marcus
This one was just all-around not cool. Despite her feelings for Marcus, if she ever really had feelings for him, Maria is supposedly her "best friend." Yet she still feels it's okay to hook up with Marcus after a night at a punk show?
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It's an altogether two-faced move and not something we expect from someone who supposedly cares for Maria. However, Saya certainly experiences some karmic justice during the following raid at Chester's house, in which Maria and her have an admittedly epic battle. Still, not cool. Shame on Marcus too! You have a girlfriend, dude!
3 Killing the Informant
When Marcus spills the truth about Willies pacifism to a member of Willies crew, the "informant" sets out to expose the truth. However, he doesn't get far, as Marcus comes across his corpse strung up outside the school as a pretty obvious message from Willie and Saya: Watch Your Back.
We know Willie wasn't the one who killed him, so it stands to reason that Saya did the deed herself as nothing more than an intimidation tactic, and a ploy to protect Willies reputation. That's pretty cold, even for her.
2 Killing Quan
While Saya certainly had every right to do what she did, Quan's betrayal landing her in the clutches of her abusive and powerful brother, watching Saya stab Quan through the heart still felt downright shocking. Seeing as Quan was the one to help her escape, something Saya would've been incapable of doing otherwise, it seems like Remender was building him towards a redemption arc. But nope!
Instead, Saya slays him and drops his corpse off the side of a boat. It was brutal and morally questionable...but also mildly satisfying. Quan was a jerk, and Wes Craig uses the same framing he did when Saya stabbed Marcus in a nice visual callback to one of the ost shocking moments in the series.
1 Forcing Willie to Kill
Easily the worst thing Saya has ever done. Willie was a devout pacifist throughout his time in the series. His no-kill, no-fight rule let him act as a bastion of morality to his friends in a school that completely lacked it. But when Finals arrive, Saya forces him t break that code in a tense action sequence involving rogue members of Willies own crew, the Final World Order.
Putting herself in danger so that Willie will have no choice but to gun them down, Saya manipulates Willie to kill and he sees through it right away. In his heartbreaking final moments atop the roof with Marcus, he admits that he thinks she could've gotten to her sword in time. If his theory is true, Saya corrupted the only morally pure character only moments before his death.