Wes Serafine
Equinox Staff
There are superhero characters who were made to exemplify the ideal human being. Characters who are selfless and serve as role models for their readers, both young and old.
Characters who have solidified themselves as legends over time and have gone down in history as icons. Today… we aren’t talking about any of those guys — we’re talking about Deadpool.
Where do I begin with Deadpool? Back in the ‘90s, comics were… weird. At the time, there was this period when several writers and artists attempted to pander to what is commonly referred to by fans as “The Extreme Crowd.”
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Instead of traditional superhero-style characters like Superman, readers got several characters who were equipped with massive and often ridiculous looking guns, heavily stylized costumes or armor and gruff attitudes. One character to emerge from this particular movement was Deadpool, also known as the mercenary with the mouth.
When Wade Wilson, or Deadpool, was diagnosed with cancer, he was offered a cure by a shady organization known as Weapon X. What he ended up with was a healing ability that made him virtually immortal, as well as enough scars, both physical and mental, to drive him totally and completely insane.
Wanting to take advantage of his newfound powers, as well as his military background, Wilson donned the mantle of Deadpool and became a mercenary for hire.
These days, Deadpool has gained so much popularity that he has appeared in almost every major Marvel comic and tangled with nearly every hero or villain in the Marvel Universe.
In 2009, Ryan Reynolds portrayed a version of Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”
Unfortunately, Deadpool fans were let down due to the directors’ apparent disregard for the character’s legacy.
Deadpool, as I mentioned, is not a model superhero. In fact, the character is morally ambiguous, has little to no regard for human life, including his own, and resorts to dirty, underhanded tactics to solve his problems.
Yet despite the character being written as such, there is still a certain degree of charm to him–a lot of which is due to his penchant for breaking the fourth wall–that makes him lovable and helped him survive through the wasteland of ‘90s comics into modern day.
This week’s issue starts with Deadpool searching for Marvel Supervillain and fellow mercenary, Taskmaster. To find him, he asks the people who would know better than anyone, the Marvel writing staff.
The reason Deadpool is looking for Taskmaster, or Tasky as Wilson calls him, is because Deadpool hasn’t had a job in a long time and he’s flat broke.
He feels that if he proves himself against Taskmaster, who is considered by many to be the best mercenary in the business, certain parties would be more inclined to hire him. So how does Wilson go about this?
He breaks Taskmaster out of prison and kidnaps several government officials and terrorist leaders.
Wilson then has his roommate Weasel tie them to chairs, brings Taskmaster to an arena and challenges him to a fight, with his own hands and feet shackled together.
The only thing more insane than the plan itself is the fact that Wilson pulls it off.
Unfortunately, the hostages are not inclined to hire Wilson after being kidnapped, Taskmaster leaves showing both disdain and respect for Wilson and Weasel reveals that he has lost the handcuff keys. This is a fairly simple story, but a fun one nonetheless.
Even though he’s portrayed as a comic relief character, Deadpool is also a hell of a fighter and that’s always nice to see.
Deadpool is just as lovable as ever, doing despicable deeds but always maintaining that wit that makes this character so enduring and endearing.
Another solid story. Deadpool is one of those characters that any reader can enjoy, I would highly recommend picking up an issue when you get a chance.
Overall:
5/5
Wes Serafine can be contacted at
wserafine@keene-equinox.com
