Marvel is Making You Relive Deadpool’s Worst Era in Wolverine Team-Up

Contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII! The latest Deadpool team-up in Marvel Comics with Wolverine is bringing back one of the worst aspects in the mercenary’s history. Like many other Marvel fans, I was not thrilled by Wade Wilson’s time as “Deadpool” in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), to say the least. Since I was young, it was my first introduction to the character – and it’s the worst introduction possible.

A few years later, I began a complete read-through of Deadpool’s comics and found a completely different and much more fun character. However, with Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII, the same mistake has been made with Wade’s beloved character. While the three-issue series delivers some great commentary on Wolverine’s journey and Deadpool’s perception of him, Deadpool as a character ultimately falls flat – on purpose.

Although Wade’s larger than life, zany personality and talkative nature can be tiring to Wolverine, it’s what makes him who he is. This series provides one of the best, albeit grotesque, merges of the two’s power, but it also strips away the core aspects of Deadpool that make him so beloved.

Deadpool Undergoes the X-Men Origins: Wolverine Treatment

It Actually Makes Sense for Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII, However

Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII has the creative team of Joe Kelly, Adam Kubert, Frank Martin, and Joe Sabino. The series involves the Merc with a Mouth trying to reinvent himself by undergoing an experimental procedure that threatens his life. It nearly kills him, but ultimately proves the combined strength of his and Logan’s healing factors. However, instead of being a team-up that shows the ferocity of both unexpected heroes when they join forces against a world-threatening foe, the “WWIII” label stands for Wade Wilson the third – as in the third reinvention of Wade.

This series, particularly the second issue, shines in the moments where it focuses on Wolverine and his perception of Wade as Deadpool versus the Wade he’s faced with following intervention from Delta, the villain of the day. After being directed by Wade to follow him, Wolverine finds Wade as a shell of himself with discussions that are highly out of character. With a depressive outlook and a serious demeanor, this version of Deadpool is highly depressing and unusual given his usual chaotic nature. Wolverine recognizes this and is determined to return the mercenary to his former glory.

Deadpool’s chaotic nature, banter, and tendency to be destructive are what make him so exciting to follow as a sometimes hero. His struggle to do heroic deeds but make money to support himself provides an interesting dichotomy. He can get away with numerous things other Marvel characters can’t and famously irritates iconic heroes like Wolverine. Taking his core traits away leaves a husk of what Deadpool is and what his potential could be.

Even though it leads to incredibly heartfelt moments with Wolverine, as well as immense growth and appreciation from the iconic X-Men for Deadpool, Wade’s “becoming” is less than stellar. As a team-up, this series isn’t their best traditional partnership. As a way to bring them closer than ever, it succeeds by removing Deadpool’s core characteristics – handling it far better than X-Men: Origins did, since it actually had an emotional purpose, leaving a true impact.

Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII is available now from Marvel Comics.