Okay! This story references one of the best stories of Fabian Nicieza’s run on Deadpool (probably even of his entire career). Strap in.
We start with Deadpool needing to find Taskmaster, and so he interrogates various associates–all of whom would have no reason to know where to find the master criminal mercenary. DP visits with Blind Al, Weasel, and even the offices of Marvel Comics.
Deadpool just wants to punch him in the face in front of a bunch of people that don’t think highly of him. Like his old drill sargeant, ex-GFs, etc. Also people who he wants to encourage to hire him.
Typical Deadpool.
He learns that Taskmaster is in prison. So Wade busts him out.
Then they fight for the rest of the issue. Deadpool wins.
But after all that, it turns out that being kidnapped and held hostage doesn’t inspire confidence. Deadpool still can’t get a job.
Despondent, he decides that if he can’t be a merc, he’ll be a superhero. And, on TV, he sees…
“Hey! That’s my old keychain!”
Rhino. The guy Deadpool shrunk and used as a keychain.
Only this time, Rhino is ready for him–and tricks Deadpool into being shrunk. He takes Deadpool to the “Three Strikes Bar” (a supervillain hangout), where Deadpool manages to beat up everybody.
He then goes to rescue Agent X from Hydra. And that’s where we meet Hydra Bob for the first time.
He becomes Deadpool’s new sidekick.
Hydra has made Agent X fat.
T-Ray was behind the kidnapping and fattening of Agent X.
We haven’t seen T-Ray since Joe Kelley ended his run, which was the most complex one in the character’s history, and one of the best written as well. In his final arc, Kelly completely claimed the character–and his history–by telling us that he wasn’t Wade Wilson after all, he was a vicious rapist.
Well, in this story Fabian Nicieza reclaims the character he co-created by saying that all that stuff Kelly wrote about never happened…
So T-Ray returns, but this time Deadpool knows the truth.
He’s always been Wade Wilson, and that whole, deeply psychological (and disturbing) story by Joe Kelly was bullshit.
Hm. Retcons are usually copouts, but in this case it’s very meta: The original creator of the character takes him back to what was originally intended. Fascinating.
Given all that baggage, Deadpool kills T-Ray by stabbing him through the head.
Fabian Nicieza is notorious for writing a million stories at the same time, throwing tons of stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. It drove me crazy when he was writing X-Men. I couldn’t keep track of anything. For Deadpool, though, this works.
English (US) · 