This is an excellent two-parter.
Achebe hires Deadpool to retrieve his Leopard, Preyy, which is being held at Avengers Mansion.
Deadpool is handsome these days, as a result of Loki’s “curse,” and so he gets a fake ID and breaks into the Mansion via the front door.
“Tom Cruise” reference!
Deadpool teleports Preyy off mansion grounds, but also accidentally teleports Triathalon, which makes the Avengers upset.
After fighting them for a bit, Achebe crashes his undercover ice cream truck through the wall, alongside Deadpool’s room-mates Constrictor and Titania.
Reading back, I now know that this isn’t really Titania–it is Deadpool’s old pal Copycat. I didn’t know that earlier and mis-tagged her. But the fact that she is in disguise adds another layer to her “name argument” with Hank Pym…
Fights!
Also, remember that Black Panther is Killmonger now–not T’Challa.
“Titania” is dating Constrictor, but apparently they’ve never slept together. Achebe tells Constrictor that Titania has a secret (she is Copycat) but doesn’t tell him what the secret is, so he spends most of this story thinking she’s really a man.
The Avengers then head to Wakanda to rescue Triathalon, while Deadpool, “Titania,” and Constrictor are kept in clear tubes.
There is a moment where Triathalon, a black super hero, realizes that even though he’s been kidnapped, it’s always been his dream to go to Africa.
I don’t think this would have happened in the hands of a white writer. Well done, Priest. It’s little character moments like this that take a comic from good to great.
Ultimately, we learn Achebe’s real goal was for Deadpool to kill Killmonger. He doesn’t.
The heroes retrieve Triathalon and leave–but not before telling Everett Ross that he has become an enemy of the state due to his taking over as temporary ruler of Wakanda (which he did at Black Panther’s request). And Killmonger, who had tried to join the Avengers last issue of Black Panther, decides he doesn’t want to after all, and stays in Wakanda.
I love all the identity stuff in these issues. It’s a Deadpool/Black Panther crossover where T’Challa never even appears!