Deadpool #53
Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Ale Garza [Penciler], Sean Parsons [Inker], Dommo Sanchez Amara [Colorist]
After setting in motion a plan that involved his X-Force teammates, HYDRA Bob, Kingpin, Daken, and Tombstone before quickly spiraling out of control, Deadpool has finally been injected with a serum that can make him killable.
Having been seemingly betrayed by his best friend, HYDRA Bob, Deadpool teleports (with Bob) to an undisclosed location shortly before Tombstone can snipe him. Bob reveals that, having seen the mayhem Deadpool was creating, he could take no more. For some reason, he thought giving Wade mortality would make him step back from the ledge. (Remember, Deadpool wants to die.)
Anyways, the Merc With a Mouth telports out of the conversation with Bob long enough to gloat to X-Force about how he won, and to apologize for Wolverine getting shot with the “mutant-negating” serum, as well. Wolverine, however, is alive and well, and he and the rest of X-Force–now in on the lie–inform Wade that the serum only works on him.
Now with his X-Force teammates out to kill him, as well, Deadpool teleports back to Bob, who brings him around to the realization that he hasn’t considered how his death will impact others. Bob, for one, will most likely be killed by Tombstone, since the deal he made to get the serum centered around Bob setting Deadpool up for the kill.
This scene in particular has anti-suicide undertones in it, and they’re done pretty well. One thing Daniel Way does well when the opportunity arises is inserting subtle morals in these stories, which isn’t something you’d expect when you’re reading a comic about a hideously deformed paranoid schizophrenic mercenary with a Wolverine-like healing factor.
While the web of disaster that Deadpool has tangled himself in here can be hard to summarize in words, it has also been expertly spun by Way. It’s a lot to digest and could have been extraordinarily confusing, but he’s laid it all out in a way that is extremely easy to follow. Paired with what might be my favorite art on this entire series so far, and “Dead” continues to be the highlight of Way’s run with the character.
STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10
