Wait Till They Get a Load of Me.

For this weeks post I will be introducing what we at Gaber’s Two Cents like to call, Rojo’s Pick of the Month. With this individual pick, once a month we at Gaber’s Two Cents will analyze a piece of media, whether it be mainstream or a hidden gem, and see how there quality reflects on the Cent Scale. So let’s get started and talk about Marvel’s one shot story event, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.

Truth be told I have always admired the fourth wall breaking merc with a mouth that is Deadpool. I mean what’s not to love, with the blend of comedy and action being this characters bread and butter. Deadpool has several unique storytelling characteristics within his arsenal. However, some writers tend to use him in ways that don’t benefit just how much he stands apart from his other hero counterparts. For example, writers that tend to put too much focus on story beats that deal with Deadpool narrating his own adventure and repeatedly breaking to the fourth wall. Again, this is a trait that makes the character who he is, but it is not used to it’s best ability when it is more patronizing than charming. Luckily this is not the case with Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, as it turns out this very well may be one of the best stories the character has ever appeared in. Let’s dive in.

The story starts out with the X-Men having their mentally troubled pal Deadpool, committed to an insane asylum. There he is treated by the main physician who turns out to be the super villain Psycho man. Psycho man attempts to control Deadpool’s mind and make him a slave of mass destruction. However, things don’t go as planned and a voice in Deadpool’s head begins to speak to him. The words said to Deadpool throw him even deeper into insanity, where he realizes it his his true purpose to kill every hero and villain within the Marvel Universe.

As far as exposition goes it’s not too bad right? The story starts off fast and hits the ground running. In fact, it never loses this steam throughout it’s four issue length. A detail that is quite impressive, seeing as the whole “Kill the entire Marvel Universe” idea has been explored several times in the past. This particular story stands out because of the remarkable fluidity with which it juggles its themes. In the opening scene you have a battered Fantastic Four team that has been brutally attacked while the cosmic character The Watcher observes the events that are unfolding. After killing The Thing and Mr. Fantastic, Deadpool shoots and kills The Human Torch right in front of Invisible woman. Her brothers blood splatters onto her invisible self and exposes her position, leading to her demise. If that sounds like a horror movie I don’t blame you, it’s pretty dark stuff since the usual vibe of a F4 comic is spotlighting the family oriented dynamic that all four characters share. The transition from the horrific panel to the comedic tone in which Deadpool spots The Watcher, a character who supposedly cannot be seen, and kills him is genuinely hilarious. It’s clever writing that spotlights some of the more glaring weaknesses of characters who seem to have impenetrable plot armor.

You can tell writer Cullen Bunn had a blast writing this story and it shows in every altercation Deadpool has with another hero/villain. The true fun comes when that new voice in Deadpool’s head begins to explain why this must be carried out to the very end. In what my opinion is a brilliant use of the fourth wall, it’s revealed that Deadpool’s real enemy is the reader. So in this case me. There are even some panel’s with him directly looking at the reader and making threats. Another panel has Deadpool walking in on Writer Cullen Bunn whilst he is Narrating the own story in which he is writing. It’s all great stuff and allows the usual Deadpool schticks to not wear down so easily.

Are they any Qualms in the book you ask? Not much if I am being honest. If there was one criticism I could make, it would be how easily some of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe get dispatched. For example, Doctor Doom, arguably one of the most dominant and intelligent villains in comics, gets regulated to a one panel kill that fails to mention how he died or if he held his own. A couple of other characters meet this ambiguous fate, but it does not detract from the story as a whole. If I am being honest it would drag the story down if scenes like this were included, it is Deadpool’s book after all.

Easily the best aspect of the book is the inventive and absolute brutal ways in which Deadpool takes these characters down. A good example representing this uncanny originality is how Deadpool succeeds in killing the God of Thunder, Thor. Deadpool steals some of Antman’s tech and proceeds to berate Thor before asking the question, “What’s stronger? Your Hammer, or your Flesh?”. As Thor’s Hammer balloons to the size of a building before being thrown back and crushing the Thunder god. Brutal and horrific, yes. Simultaneously hilarious, yes. It’s not just Thor either, there are some really great moments that answer a lot of interesting questions. Like how to humble and humanize characters that are seen as unkillable.

All in all, there is a lot of fun to be had in this book. Is it the most essential Marvel read ever? No. However, as a Deadpool story it does more than enough to warrant a read from someone that is unfamiliar with the character or just wants to check out a wacky Marvel Elseworlds tale. All this and more is why Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe received this particular Cent Score.

Cent Score: 3 Cents

The pros outweigh the cons, sit back, don’t think too much and you’ll be fine.

Thanks for checking out this weeks Rojo’s pick of the Month. Feel free to tap that thumb’s up button down below and subscribe if you want to be notified for new posts each week. Check back next week for an all new Video Game piece. I’ll see you all next time on Gaber’s Two Cents.