Deadpool: Everyone's Favorite A-Hole

Marvel's Most Dangerous Smart-ass, and our favorite Merc.

The man has his priorities straight.

 Today we're gonna venture out of the DC Universe and into the Universe of Marvel. While I may have started with DC titles, my love of Marvel Comics is what started me in comics, and the character of Deadpool will be our first stop in the land of Marvel. Deadpool for those of you who are not familiar with the character, Is often called "The Merc with the Mouth" and earns his nickname with constant use of sarcasm, puns, and enough one liners to put Arnold Schwarzenegger to shame. The character of Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, is almost unique among comics, as he often breaks the "4th Wall" and speaks directly to the reader, often at times when he is erstwhile engaged with someone else, often leading to moments of hilarity. So with that in mind, lets dive into a little history first, shall we?

Nothing Personal, but Hippity-Hops aren't free.

 Deadpool first appeared in the Marvel Universe in 1991, in New Mutants #98 in the role of a villain. Deadpool was created almost as an homage to the DC baddie Deathstroke, who also happens to be a mercenary and constant thorn in the side of good in the DC Universe, Deadpool was actually given the real name Wade Wilson as a sort of joke as Deathstroke's real name is Slade Wilson, but that's about the end of the similarities. So on his first job Deadpool is hired to hunt down and kill his future partner on Nathan Summers, more commonly known as Cable. Of course, Pool doesn't succeed, but that doesn't stop him from carrying on and becoming a legend among mercenaries and the criminal element in general. He shortly after became a recurring character in the X-Force series and then in 1993 he got his first miniseries called, The Circle Chase, which I will review sometime soon as it was the first Deadpool I ever read many many moons ago. In 1997 Deadpool received his own ongoing series.

What horrors lie beneath that mask...

Now that we covered a bit of the character's history, let's get to one of the biggest draws of Deadpool, the humor. When it comes to villains and anti-heroes, we often find all types of people, from Psychopaths, Geniuses, Vigilantes, Etc. Etc., however we often these often entertaining and interesting characters lack something, they're often humorless. While I love Dr. Doom for being the egotistical, genius/master sorceror he's got no sense of humor and while that makes him a fine villain and occasional hero, it leaves me from time to time wishing he would just crack a one liner to make the heroes feel just a little worse for ending up in the predicament.

...yep that's pretty f@%king scary.

 With Deadpool, you never have that, he's trash talking from the get go, and often makes you wonder, "How the hell did he get so good?" or "Is this guy really a threat to anyone?" But, his wise-assery and aloofness do in fact make him very good at putting people off their guard long enough for him to shoot them dead, well... sometimes, Deadpool is not the best of shot, but his skill with a blade leaves little lacking, and you couple that with his amazing healing factor and it becomes a lethal combination. Its always fun to listen to the voices in his head, as it gives you a look into the psychosis that Wade deals with on a regular basis. One of his biggest draws though is the constant breaking of the Fourth Wall. The Fourth Wall refers to an imaginary wall that the reader/viewer views all the action through and the characters have no idea of its existence, save for Deadpool, who will speak directly to the reader, not just in his head, but out loud when other characters are present. 

 Deapool gives readers a little bit of everything and fans of comics in general usually enjoy his antics, and new readers sometimes find themselves a little lost, but quickly warm up to the Merc With A Mouth and find themselves wanting to explore some of the other characters(and there are a metric ton of them) that often have dealings with or find themselves dealing with ol' Deadpool. So I highly recommend you find a Deadpool title and dive in. As I mentioned before, I'll be reviewing a few of the Deadpool Mini Arcs in the future, namely Circle Chase and Suicide Kings which I love, as well as some Deadpool and Cable. So keep reading for more fun with Deadpool.