Deadpool #1 Review: Everyone Loves A Hot Lady Villain

Deadpool is no doubt one of the most polarizing of Marvel characters. Love him or hate him, we’re pretty much stuck with him for the rest of foreseeable time. Time has made him somewhat endearing, Ryan Reynolds has made him charming, and his position ONE of TWO pansexual characters in the Marvel universe has made me predisposed to be a Wade Wilson apologist. 

The few stories of Alyssa Wong’s that I’ve read I have enjoyed (I will read Doctor Aphra eventually! I have never seen a single star war though). When they announced that the new Deadpool ongoing was going to be their new project at marvel, I knew that I was going to be reading it regardless of where the story went. Many writers write Deadpool, but few actually use him in a way that is interesting.

Now again. Deadpool can be really good or pretty bad honestly. In my eyes the makings of a good Deadpool story are pretty simple. Don’t make him annoying and do make him queer. HIs fourth wall breaks can either be funny and quippy, or they can be a crutch that the writer uses to add reference that will be outdated in a few years. Polarizing at best.

Right off the bat, Wong gets going on the right foot. They have a great voice for Wade and made it very enjoyable to go along in his latest misadventure. Everything about this should have made me annoyed about the story, yet it didn’t. I have no clue what the hell is going on with symbiotes but I found myself intrigued by the possibility of Wade being a means of harvesting(?) a clone of Carnage. A hot lady villain doesn’t hurt either, but luckily she doesn’t seem to be the object of Wade’s romantic attention at least in this first issue. 

Wade’s queerness is never treated seriously. Let me be clear. He is not more or less pansexual if he had never gotten a non-female love interest. There is, however, a difference between his queerness being treated as him having a female-leaning preference and his queerness being treated as predatory towards straight men. Deadpool being pansexual is more often than not treated as a joke at best and I had hoped that an author who was queer themselves would bring an organic queer experience to Wade’s story. I have to say, Wade flailing at flirting with an attractive nonbinary person is about as well-representd as I’ve ever felt from a character. 

The new cabal of antagonists introduced seemed fun and campy, with an interesting hook of trying to assassinate Doc Ock. Wong’s voice feels right for Wade and their narrative style lends itself well to the quippy, sardonic nature of Deadpool comics.

 I had (obviously, as I plan to review it) intended on sticking with the new Deadpool ongoing even if it wasn’t my cup of tea. I want to support queer creators and especially those who are willing to tackle writing Wade. I think his story has potential but has never really been allowed to shine and I hope that the right writer can take it there. I think Wong could take the merc with a mouth to the next level and make him a character that more people are interested in beyond the surface level. If not, again there’s a hot lady villain and that should really be enough.

Images via Marvel Comics

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