Deadpool #51
Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Ale Garza, Sean Parsons [Inker], Dommo Sanchez Amara [Colorist]
Deadpool’s elaborate game of chess–a game he doesn’t really know how to play–keeps getting weirder and more out of control as his quest for death continues.
You see, Wade found out that there was a serum capable of negating his healing factor and allowing him to die, so he enlisted the help of his X-Force teammates to help him find it. To do so, he convinced them that the Kingpin had it. Meanwhile, he had his friend HYDRA Bob tell the Kingpin about the serum, which of course led to the Kingpin sending his agent Typhoid Mary and the ninjas of the Hand to find it. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Deadpool also told Wolverine’s son, Daken, about the serum, causing Daken to go out looking for it for his own reasons.
Meanwhile, nobody realizes that Tombstone, fresh out of prison, had the serum made so he could get revenge on Deadpool for putting him there in the first place.
Of course, with X-Force gunning for the Kingpin and Kingpin sending his henchmen to find the serum, the two factions are bound to collide, and the issue opens with a fight that includes a beautiful sequence of Wolverine and Typhoid Mary plummeting from the side of an apartment building.
Of course, having a brawl like this in the middle of New York City is undoubtedly going to attract some unwanted attention from other hero types (keep in mind here that X-Force is supposed to remain a secret), so Deadpool covers their tracks the following day by initiating a “make-believe gang war.” What he doesn’t account for is that Kingpin and Tombstone would be in contact with one another, or that Daken would figure out that Tombstone had the formula, which is sure to set up the type of shameful disaster that Wade is all too familiar with being a part of.
Overall, this issue maintains the pace of the last one while adding even more layers to the story. After 51 issues, I’m still amazed that Daniel Way has maintained the level of consistency that he has on this book. Especially notable are the exchange between Deadpool and Wolverine following Deadpool’s provocation of the gang war, and the interplay between Kingpin and Tombstone once they begin to catch on to what’s happening. The fact that you can tell Way enjoys what he does makes reading Deadpool that much more enjoyable. The switch in artists from Carlo Barberi to Ale Garza is somewhat noticeable, but not distracting, as the art still possesses a similar flow and overall style.
If you haven’t checked out the first part of this story in #50, go ahead and pick up both issues. This is shaping up to be one of the best arcs in the series.
STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10
