Deadpool by Alyssa Wong, Vol. 2

Wade Wilson is flying pretty high right now. He's got a non-binary lover, Valentine Vuong, who's also a mutant that can produce a number of poisons and antidotes with her crystalline arms. He's the owner of a massive puppy dog, Princess, who is a hybrid of Deadpool and the symbiote Spider-Man villain Carnage. He's got the world's best dog-sitter, the deadly Lady Deathstroke. And there's a really pissed off league of assassins called the Atelier out to kill him, Valentine and Princess. Things just couldn't be better for the Merc With a Mouth!

Volume 2 of Alyssa Wong's take on Deadpool isn't bad. The first segment where Wade and Valentine go on their first date was rather hilarious. Wong pushes the envelope with Wade's obsession with sex and gross humor. Though I did miss a couple of the jokes, like when Deadpool is trying to find out if were-foxes do similar things like werewolves do. I also have thought that the character of Princess was very well written and I thought the growing relationship between the hybrid pooch and Lady (Auntie) Deathstrike was so sweet and so funny. 

However, I felt like Alyssa Wong's take on this corner of the Marvel Comics Universe was more in her image and not the all encompassing world of diverse characters developed originally by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Wong is a queer writer and identifies as non-binary like her creation, Valentine Vuong. I support that she created an all-new character that she identifies with. One of the biggest arguments in comics these days is that comic creators keep retconning legacy characters into being queer instead of making new, diverse characters. With Wong creating a new character who is queer is instead of altering a beloved character's established sexuality is something I applaud. But then it seems like every character Alyssa Wong created, especially in this volume was a part of the LGBTQIA community.

As I'm writing this review, I'm starting to wonder if the Atelier was a community of queer assassins. I mean now that I think about it, all of the new characters, with exception of Princess, are members of the Atelier. They do all seem to be gay, lesbian, queer or non-binary. If that's the case, then bravo to Alyssa Wong on managing this in one of Marvel's flagship titles. And it would fit with Deadpool who does crush hard in an omnisexual way. However, if I'm totally wrong on this sudden epiphany, and Wong is just writing what they know and refusing to utilize straight Marvel characters in her stories, then we've got a problem on par with straight writers slipping into homophobia by refusing to use gay and queer characters in their stories.

Also, I need to rant a tiny bit at Marvel. I know that a happy Deadpool isn't quite as fun as a sad, lonely Deadpool. But I really hope his relationship with Valentine and his beloved Princess stick around for a long time. I'm starting to get a little annoyed with every new Deadpool series basically rewriting the character and his storyline. It's also very confusing. Where in the heck did Wade's daughter Ellie go?

I get it. People change. Change is inevitable whether you want it or not. I'm just feeling like a very fresh and exciting character like Deadpool is starting to get stale because it seems like every time we get a Deadpool #1, his entire life is toppled over and the same old rebuilding process starts all over again.

Worth Consuming!

Rating:7 out of 10 stars.