Deadpool: The Ones With Deadpool

A swift collection of Deadpool tales pairing the Merch with a Mouth with an interesting mix of Marvel Universe characters. This volume contains 2 annuals, a Bi-annual (since a Deadpool annual had already dropped that year) and a Death of Wolverine one-shot special. Two of the team ups are with characters that you'd expect to see in an oddball caper with Deadpool. One is a pairing that explains a lot. And then there's that meeting with a team from the 1990s that's so obscure, you'll swear Marvel's only reviving them to keep the copyright from expiring!

Thrilling Adventure Hour's Ben Acker and Ben Blacker answer the long pondered question about just how did Madcap ended up inside Wade Wilson's head? 

Deadpool then teams up with Spider-Man. Only this isn't one of their normal meetings. The master of disguise, Chameleon has been running Spidey ragged to the point of exhaustion. Unable to let his guard down for a minute, least Chameleon learns that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, Deadpool dons the red and blue tights in hopes of bringing the villain out into the open. 

In perhaps the most unexpected team up of all time, Deadpool joins forces with the all animal superhero team, Brute Force! But not before first being hired by the evil aquatic theme park that the forgotten super-team of the 90s is trying to shut down! Featuring a guest appearance by Phil Coulson that kinda makes ABC'S Marvel Agents of SHIELD canon with the comics!

Lastly, Deadpool and an aged Steve Rogers are tasked with execution of Wolverine's estate. This means scrubbing any DNA trace from the Avengers Mansion. It also means a trip to Russia, when it's discovered that an AIM cell operating in Moscow has possession of some of the fallen X-Man's blood!

All four stories were hysterical romps that provided me with some much needed laughs. I appreciated the foreword at the beginning of the Madcap story. For years, I thought I had missed just how Madcap ended up inside Deadpool's head. Well it turns out that origin story had never been told until Acker and Blacker got their hands on the Merc with a Mouth. 

The appearance of Brute Force was such a pleasant surprise. I'm very interested in reading their 4-issue debut miniseries from 1990. I also have a favorite member of the team. It's the high-flying Soar, who won my heart after being constantly put down by Wade. I felt so bad for Soar. He can be my wing man anytime!

A neat twist on the Spider-Man/Deadpool dynamic. Clever way to turn the tides on Chameleon too. But I thought that the Wolverine story was unnecessary. It felt like a money grab to cash in on the popularity of Deadpool with a Death of Wolverine one-shot, instead of really moving the needle any bit.  Some funny moments. Just uninspired.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Avengers Spotlight #29

The 'Acts of Vengeance' have come to a close. In the aftermath, Hawkeye is tasked to rescue the madcap anti-hero Madcap from a group of thugs seeking payback with Daredevil. Meanwhile, back at the Vault, as the prisoners start piling in, Iron Man completes the training of the security force with some new Stark powered armor and tech.

It's interesting seeing Madcap before he became a thorn in the side of Deadpool. Compared to how the character is now, this 30 year old plus version is way less powerful and nowhere near as nutty.

I loved how the story about the Vault takes the Acts of Vengeance full circle. Dwayne McDuffie started that huge story line in the humble pages of this Avengers spin-off. And the first issue was almost 100% contained within the walls of this super villain prison. And I loved how the story closed. True, the ending was very similar to stories of police violence that we're seeing way too much these days. But I think only McDuffie could pull it off. 

Dwayne McDuffie was a black man and so his views on how the police operate is a completely different view from mine. The ending to this story is one that we the reader roots for as it's a good guy getting revenge on a baddie. But, when you think more about this, you realize that a prison guard getting their own personal form of justice and blaming the injury of the prisoner of being clumsy, is still an action of injustice. No matter how much the villain might deserve what he's got coming to him. 

A great issue with a poignant layer hidden deep under the superheroing and zany antics.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. 

Deadpool: World's Greatest, Volume 6: Patience Zero

Madcap has returned! And he's mad as hell!

Things seem to not be going Deadpool's way right now. His marriage is falling apart. His Avengers team has been disbanded. And the Mercs for Money are making money, just without Deadpool.

Now with the return of Madcap, things have gone from bad to worse. The former resident of Wade Wilson's head seeks revenge on Deadpool. The fiend has unleashed an incurable plague upon his daughter and members of Agent Preston's family. In order to save them, Deadpool just may have to make a deal with the devil...

Then jump ahead to the year 2099. The Deadpool 2099 saga comes to an end. Which of his daughter winds up with the mantle of Deadpool? Where is Deadpool's bride Shiklah? And what does the Immortal Iron Fist have to do with any of this?

This volume was not as good than the last. Things aren't great for Deadpool and I like my Deadpool to be a little more upbeat.  If I wasn't used to a funny Deadpool, then this would be great as it's quite gritty and dark.

I know things aren't supposed to be great for Wade Wilson. He's like Charlie Brown in a self-deprecating manner in which everyone thinks he's a real blockhead. He never can get ahead and if Deadpool does, he's quickly snapped back to reality.  But I read books with the Merc With a Mouth when I need a pick me up and this did not do the job. 

It's not the worst thing I've ever read by Gerry Duggan. It's just not my favorite either. The artwork by Scott Koblish on the on the hand was pretty awesome and that cover of Madcap bursting through some dude's chest is pretty wicked.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.