Coming off of one of my favorite issues, I knew it was going to be difficult to sustain that level of fun. We continue with Deadpool being smitten with Black Widow and pursuing her, even as he is being hunted by her Thunderbolt team. It is another solid issue by Way and Medina, and though I’ve enjoyed this crossover well enough, I’m equally looking forward to being removed from it, and to move on.
What I was most impressed with this issue is the pacing. It feels rather substantial in terms of length, and doesn’t ramble as many comics with this type of story have a habit of doing. You get the idea of episodes; it’s not brisk at all, and it’s not just Deadpool’s penchant for not being quiet for extended periods. His ability to teleport and its usage enables a feeling of scene change and layering in a bit of a pseudo-cinematic sense. Beyond even that, a guest appearance by the Taskmaster gives the story that added diversion of another piquant character. Amidst the madness one aspect becomes clear. It’s difficult to decide if we are to give pass to it due to the nature of the Deadpool, but over the course of this crossover the Thunderbolts have come off as the worst (I’m assuming) covert operations group imaginable. We are offered the idea that at the end of the issue that Deadpool has been ensnared– one that involved an all out gunfight in broad daylight in the middle of the city, not to mention a plane (with banner) crash right outside of the city. I’m not sure if it bothers me within the pages of Deadpool, as when trepidation starts mounting something like a timely Death cameo makes everything forgivable, and brings us back to that feeling of reckless mirth that accompanies each issue of this series– not even forgetting April Fools’.
Having seen several recent examples of Deadpool in other titles offering different artist’s take (Messiah War, Games of Death, and in Thunderbolts) really made me appreciate Medina’s work in his own title. It’s not to say that there was anything substandard about the other renditions, it’s simply a growing admiration of the issue-after-issue Medina-consistency that strikes a balance with a character who very easily could evolve into lazy exaggeration, instead of acute bouts of vagary by the lovable merc. He has found, or rather has become, the ground and conduit for the avatar of absurdism.
Some people call me the space cowboy . . .
. . . some people call me the gangster of love
It is indeed hard for me to be acrimonious when considering Deadpool.
If there is a problem with this issue, it is an inherent problem with the character himself. Deadpool is in the very best sense of the word a gimmick. I know that sounds terribly derogatory, but let me follow that statement by adding that it – along with Agents of Atlas – is my favorite current Marvel title. In the past I’ve described Deadpool as a shot of chaos, an injection of levity that keeps the comic book fan in us honest as we – willingly – acquiesce to a more ‘realistic’ mode of storytelling around us. Because of this, Deadpool has to move on. He’s a perfect character to guest appear and crossover with, but only in short bursts. He is more than just unique. He is a character so devoid of conformity that we can accept, even if not fully process, his presence in any environment or situation. For Deadpool this is just another day, and in some way that very truth may even debase the Thunderbolts we’ve seen prior to. Will we perhaps see a new Thunderbolt member introduced to propel that title afterwards? It seems like the Bolts are going to need something to come out of this – especially since it concludes in their own title – that shakes up the early status quo/stature that at this point seems marginalized by Magnum Opus.
Deadpool himself seems ill suited for a magnum opus, and fundamentally anti-epic. He’s made to make fun of others who are in the middle of their own, mocking the fact that they have one. His playground is anywhere, and perhaps especially in the sandbox of others. It does, however, come with a time limit. I’m not sure if that limit has been reached here with this crossover, but it feels like we are nearing that point. Though I loved the previous issue, it feels like enough, and I hope in the next (the last) issue of the crossover we get that moment that gives credence to the title of crossover.
Recess is over.
- Jay Tomio
Jan-ken-pon is the time traveling, force-walking, multiverse crossing column of Jay Tomio, owner of 1/3 of everything you see currently on screen, and the editor of Heliotrope. He’ll show you his magnum opus. Some call him the Bodhisattva.
