Deadpool (comic book)


Deadpool is the name of multiple comic book titles featuring the character Deadpool and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original Deadpool comic book series which debuted in 1997. The first eight volumes follow Wade Wilson as the original Deadpool, while the ninth volume follows Wilson training his daughter Ellie Camacho as a new Deadpool.

Publication history

Volume 1

In 1997, Deadpool was given his own ongoing title, initially written by Joe Kelly, with then-newcomer Ed McGuinness as an artist. Deadpool became an action comedy parody of the cosmic drama, antihero-heavy comics of the time. The series firmly established his supporting cast, including his prisoner/den mother Blind Al and his best friend Weasel. The ongoing series gained cult popularity for its unorthodox main character and its balance of angst and pop culture slapstick and the character became less of a villain, though the element of his moral ambiguity remained. Kelly noted, "With Deadpool, we could do anything we wanted because everybody just expected the book to be cancelled every five seconds, so nobody was paying attention. And we could get away with it." Reportedly, Kelly introduced the comic's fourth wall breaking gimmick.
The series was taken over by Christopher Priest who noted that he found Kelly's issues to be "complex and a little hostile to new readers like me" and by issue 37, he realized that "it was okay to make Deadpool look stupid." Kelly may have introduced Deadpool to breaking the fourth wall, but Priest "could be credited for establishing it as an essential part of the character's personality and worldview." Priest left the series after only one year at issue #45.
For a time, writers who followed generally ignored the fourth wall entirely, until Gail Simone took over with issue #65. Her version is remembered for the frequent use of the "little yellow boxes." Deadpool lasted until issue #69, at which point it was relaunched as a new title by Simone with a similar character called Agent X in 2002. This occurred during a line wide revamp of X-Men related comics, with Cable becoming Soldier X and X-Force becoming X-Statix. Simone notes that 'When I took the Deadpool job, the revamp hadn't been planned, so it was a complete surprise. Thankfully, we heard about it in time to make adjustments to the early scripts'. It appeared that Deadpool was killed in an explosion fighting the supervillain Black Swan. Deadpool's manager, Sandi Brandenberg later founded Agency X with a mysterious man called Alex Hayden, who took the name dubbed Agent X. Deadpool later returned to the series. Simone left the title after seven issues due to creative differences with the series editor, but then returned to conclude with issues 13–15.

Volume 2

A new Deadpool ongoing series written by Daniel Way with artist Paco Medina began as a Secret Invasion tie-in. In the first arc, the character is seen working with Nick Fury to steal data on how to kill the Skrull queen Veranke. Norman Osborn steals the information that Deadpool had stolen from the Skrulls, and subsequent stories deal with the fallout from that. Writer Daniel Way explained, "the first thing Osborn does to try and take care of the situation is to bring in a hired gun to take Deadpool down, which would be Tiger-Shark. That would be the standard thing to do, but of course everything about Deadpool is non-standard. So it goes completely awry and Norman has to get more serious about things." The story also sees the return of Bob, Agent of Hydra, "I don't want the book to become 'Deadpool and Friends' so characters will drift in and out, but Bob was someone I definitely wanted to bring in. It just had to be at the perfect moment and when I was putting this storyline together that moment presented itself." This all led directly to a confrontation with the new Thunderbolts in "Magnum Opus" which crossed over between Deadpool vol. 2 #8–9 and Thunderbolts #130–131. Thunderbolts writer Andy Diggle said, "it's a natural progression for Deadpool to go after Norman, and for Norman to send his personal hit-squad after Deadpool." In Deadpool #15, Deadpool decides to become a hero resulting in conflicts with proper heroes like Spider-Man and leading to a 3-issue arc where he takes on Hit-Monkey, a character who debuted in the same month in a digital, then print, one-shot.
A special anniversary issue titled Deadpool #900 was released in October 2009. It features stories written by several authors, with the main feature written by the original Deadpool series writer Joe Kelly and drawn by Deadpool's creator Rob Liefeld.

Story Arcs

"One of Us" (#1-3)
  • Published: September 2008 - October 2008
  • Plot Outline: The Merc with a Mouth is back, even deadlier and more deranged than before! The planet has been invaded by Skrulls, everything's gone topsy-turvy...but, in Deadpool's world, that just means it's Monday! Crazy times call for crazy men, but c'mon, this guy's insane! Like it or not, Deadpool may be the only person on the planet who can save us...but who's to say he wants to?
    "Horror Business" (#4-5)
  • Published: November 2008 - December 2008
  • Plot Outline: His mission in "Secret Invasion" completed, Deadpool goes back to business as usual, completely unaware that he's been sold up the river by a villain of incalculable guile—a villain who won't soon forget—or forgive—Wade's sins. As the Skrull War winds to its climactic conclusion, the Merc with a Mouth has no idea that the worst for him is yet ahead.
    "How Low Can You Go?" (#6-7)
  • Published: January 2009 - February 2009
  • Plot Outline: Remember when Deadpool saved the Earth from those pesky Skrulls? Well, the guy who stole the intel Deadpool worked so hard to acquire - and positioned himself as Earth's Number One War Hero - wants to make sure you don't. The last thing this guy needs is a certain "Merc with a Mouth" letting everyone know the truth of how he saved the day, and he's hired a certain maniacal man-eater to make sure Deadpool never does. Here comes Tiger-Shark! Plus, a surprise appearance by a certain palindromic pal!
    "Magnum Opus" (#8-9)
  • Published: March 2009 - April 2009
  • Plot Outline: SPECIAL CROSSOVER WITH THUNDERBOLTS! Deadpool unleashes his most insane plan yet: a full-on assault against Norman Osborn! As Deadpool storms his way to the top of Avengers Tower, Osborn is forced to pull out all the stops to save his own skin—and that means deploying the brand new Thunderbolts! Plug your ears, kids—this is gonna be loud!
    "Bullseye" (#10-12)
  • Published: May 2009 - July 2009
  • Plot Outline: Norman Osborn is through playing around with Deadpool—it's time to send in the big guns. The big, crazy guns that never, ever miss. He may be wearing a new costume, but he's still the same ol' psychopath...
    "Wave of Mutilation" (#13-14)
  • Published: August 2009
  • Plot Outline: Deadpool has ceased to exist, he's given his good-byes, he's driven his car into the ocean. They'll think he's dead, but he'll sail away. Then, he becomes a pirate!
    "Want You to Want Me" (#15-18)
  • Published: September 2009 - December 2009
  • Plot Outline: Now that he knows that a pirate's life isn't for him, Deadpool's now starting to seriously question this whole "mercenary" thing. Maybe there's something else he could do with his life. He doesn't know what that could be, but then he turns on the television, and he knows exactly where he needs to be, and who needs him most. Hello, San Francisco!
    "Whatever a Spider Can" (#19-21)
  • Published: January 2010 - March 2010
  • Plot Outline: The X-Men? Pfft! Not really Deadpool's style. Though he's still committed to doing this "hero" thing, Wade's more of a "lone wolf" kinda guy, out there doing his own thing. Y'know…thwp-thwp.
    "Do Idiots Dream of Electric Stupidity?" (#22)
  • Published: April 2010
  • Plot Outline: Somewhere in rural North Georgia, a brazen band of brigands have made the mistake of robbing Deadpool's bus, stagecoach-style. But en route to delivering a hefty comeuppance to these redneck rogues, Deadpool makes a "shocking" discovery…as will you, intrepid reader. Brace yourself for the introduction of Appalachia's own vilest of villains, the disgraceful WHITE LIGHTNIN'!
    "Tricky" (#23-25)
  • Published: May 2010 - July 2010
  • Plot Outline: Deadpool's been described as many things over the years, but "trendsetter"? That's a new one. Here he is, trying to get his hero on and guess what? Suddenly, everyone else is, too! Seems like everyone's wanting to jump on the Deadpool bandwagon lately, doesn't it?
    "Sinner Sinner, Chicken Dinner" (#26)
  • Published: August 2010
  • Plot Outline: Deadpool's quest to become a hero isn't exactly going well, mostly because…well, let's face it: Deadpool's just not a "good guy." He's done a lot of really bad stuff in the past, things that can't just be swept under the rug. But what if he was given the chance to do just that? What if he was given the chance to confront all of his past sins? What if Ghost Rider showed up in this book?
    "I'm Your Man" (#27-29)
  • Published: September 2010 - November 2010
  • Plot Outline: This may be the Heroic Age and all, but the sad fact is that sometimes the good guys, in order to do good, have to do some things that are very bad. And when they do, well…that's when they hollah atcha boy.
    "I Rule, You Suck" (#30-31)
  • Published: December 2010 - January 2011
  • Plot Outline: Deadpool blowing away vampires—how @#$%ing cool is that?! Wait…he's not blowing away vampires? He's protecting vampires? That doesn't sound cool at all.