WARNING: This article, as well as the comic that is discussed, comes with a Parental Advisory sticker attached.
You’re all adults now, but there are mature themes affiliated with the Marvel character Deadpool that will be explored as I venture through my first comic book reading. Spoilers ahead!
Last week I was at Gurnee Mills Mall and slipped into the FYE (For Your Entertainment) store in search of movies, television series, or Funko Pops.
I ended up finding a small rack hanging on the wall with the sign “The Book Club” hovering above it. Initially, I was not impressed with the selection of “books” they offered, as they were primarily selling coloring books based on different fandoms and a few comics.
However, I did walk out of FYE with several comics I was happy with, including The Walking Dead Vol. 1, DC Rebirth’s Wonder Woman, Vol. 1, and Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.
The last one? The cover certainly caught my attention, especially since it was directly behind Wonder Woman and Captain America’s face scared the living daylights out of me. Once I got over the momentary shock of the cover image, and once I took in what this comic was about, I was intrigued.
Without taking into consideration Deadpool’s regenerative powers and his uncanny ability to break the fourth wall to amuse readers, I was curious to discover how one manages to kill the superheroes of the Marvel universe without ending up dead himself?
Think about it: we’ve got the X-Men, the Avengers, Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and so many other superheroes with powers ranging from flight to skeletons made of indestructible metal. How do you kill them?
This was the question that was ringing through my head as I walked over to the register and purchased my findings. By the time I finished the comic later that night, it was mostly answered, but I wasn’t sure if I was satisfied with the outcome.
Deadpool’s murder spree of the Marvel superheroes is jump started with the involvement of Psycho-Man, a villain disguised as Deadpool’s psychiatrist who had a hidden agenda for having Deadpool in his care: to brainwash the mercenary into becoming his minion.
As Psycho-Man corrupts the Deadpool we all know and love, Deadpool is struck with a sense of clarity. He’s the only one to see the world for what it was: a world where he, and everyone else, is a puppet made to suffer and live for entertainment.
This becomes the motive behind Deadpool finding and killing any and all Marvel superheroes.
However, as interesting as this motive is, and how it resonates with his persona, I was left unsatisfied with the way Deadpool executed his killings.
Deadpool’s methods show the sophistication of taking elements from the Marvel universe itself to complete his task, but a lot of his effort falls somewhat flat and made me think, “… That’s it?” when it came to how he eliminated certain superheroes.
For example, as Deadpool gets deep into the killing spree, having already taken out characters such as Spider-Man and Black Panther, the remaining Avengers hold a meeting at their headquarters.
As it’s underway, it’s revealed that Deadpool used Pym particles – which are primarily known in MCU as the particles that give Ant-Man the ability to shrink in size – to shrink down several bombs and place them in the coffee the Avengers were drinking.
The world’s mightiest heroes taken out by a few bombs? No epic battle or even the smallest opportunity at a confrontation?
It didn’t really sit right with me, and I was left with the notion that I was cheated out of what could have been several amazing battles between Deadpool and the remaining Marvel superheroes.
However, while I felt the potential behind Deadpool’s methods were lacking, I thoroughly enjoyed this comic.
It held some incredible insight into the psych of Deadpool, even though this plotline is alternate from the main Marvel continuity.
This moment alone, where Deadpool is speaking to Charles Xavier, was particularly fascinating to read: “So what if I break the fourth wall? It’s the fourth wall that’s been breaking me, crushing me… crushing each and every one of us… for as long as we’ve been in existence.”
It really adds dimension to Deadpool’s character, seeing as how he’s the only one in Marvel fully aware of the fact that he exists in a fictional, comic-book universe.
As murder-crazy Deadpool was in this unconventional Marvel comic– though, Deadpool is canonically murder-crazy, so no surprise there – I really enjoyed the concept of having Deadpool go around killing the Marvel superheroes and seeing how he does it.
Earlier this year, the writer-artist duo behind this comic – Cullen Bunn and Dalibor Talajic – released Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe Again. I haven’t read it yet, but hopefully it’ll provide more satisfaction than the first run did.
Gisselle Lopez
Features Editor