Deadpool’s first solo book. It is a miniseries by Fabian Nicieza (with Joe Madureira on art), who has thus far been pretty much the only guy to write Deadpool (other than co-creator Rob Liefeld). It’s cool when Marvel lets a creator control a new character and really flesh him out over the course of years before diluting him with stuff by other writers.
And although the ’90s were not always kind to X-Universe books, Deadpool is a crowning jewel of the ’90s Marvel story.
In this book, the merc is himself hunted by mercs—in Sarajevo. He proves he can do more than kill–he can sustain a book on his own!
When we get to the actual story, we learn that “Mr. Tolliver,” the guy who hired DP to kill Cable back in New Mutants #98, is now dead, leaving Deadpool without a client.
With the help of Weasel, Deadpool finds Tolliver’s will and learns that if he is the winner of “the circle chase” then he’ll get the most powerful weapon in existence. Madness ensues.
Of course, Deadpool is not the only one in the chase. Kane shows up (and we learn that both he and Deadpool were in the same Weapon X program together). And speaking of programs…Black Tom was almost killed by Cable, so Juggernaut brought him to a research project that saved his life but turned him into some kind of human tree.
A new mutant from India named Black Box runs a merc program (and Deadpool has to kill everyone in it).
Oh, and there’s this guy:
Copycat is involved–and she breaks up with Deadpool.
That actually ends up being a turning point for Deadpool. Copycat’s apparent death is what Deadpool needs to be motivated to try to be a better man–not just a killer.
Although there’s a ton of underdeveloped characters here (something far too common with Niceiza’s work), it’s nice to have it all happening outside of the larger context of the X-Verse–with all of its own drama and ongoing storylines. It makes the tale easier to follow.