Still on the Shelf #20 - Giant Sized Deadpool/Agent X

This was a special column for me, my longest to date. As with the "Betty and Veronica" column, this piece also included a poll - "Who is (was) your favorite Deadpool/Agent X supporting character?" The winner, by a signifigant margin, was Agent X's Outlaw. Please click on the various "Craig's Picks" logos throughout the column, for small, supplemental additions that appeared with the original column.

Originally published August 12th, 2003 on www.ComiXtreme.com. This work is, of course, © Craig Reade.

If you are at all like me, there is one title or character that drew you into comics. Something that made you want to visit a comic store each week, sampling other books all the while waiting for that one week each month your book hit the shelves. Something that you stuck with through thick and thin, no matter how bad the book got. Something that, once cancelled, made you take a second look at your obsession with comics.

For me, it was Deadpool. While I picked up a comic book here and there over the years, it was Deadpool that made me a regular at the comic shop, prompted me to get on a weekly pull list, and to become an avid comic collector.

The day I learned of Deadpool’s ultimate cancellation about a year ago was an angry one. Gail Simone’s work on the title beginning at #65 signaled a renaissance for Deadpool in my eyes, as she added a quality of storytelling to the title I had not read since Joe Kelly’s run. But the glory was short lived; only five issues. It is true that the Agent X series had the same characters with the same creative team, and a protagonist that was in all likelihood Deadpool. But to me, it was nothing but a marketing gimmick on Marvel’s part, and it annoyed me all the more.

It was the first time I had ever written a letter to a comic publisher, and this certainly was an unpleasant one. I had seen one too many titles I avidly followed cancelled by Marvel for a marketing gimmick under the guise of low sales. While admittedly my letter was not exactly professional, the response I received was less than enjoyable. I was basically informed that the general public did not want Deadpool, so Deadpool was cancelled.

Upon reflection, the cold, capitalist part of my heart won out, and while I did not agree with their decision to replace Deadpool with Agent X, I realized that if the title was not pulling in the profit that they wanted, it was only natural that they cancel it. I still did not like it, and I decided to respond in a likewise capitalistic manner. A good half of the Marvel titles on my pull list were removed, and replaced with comics from other publishers.

The entire experience altered how I looked at the comics I bought. No longer did I remain ultimately loyal to a publisher, and virtually all of the titles I subscribed to became subject to scrutiny. I did not pick up new books easily, and those that dropped in quality were quickly dropped, no matter what the prestige of the title.

Deadpool still remained the exception to this. Even though Deadpool was gone, Agent X was close enough for me. Agent X slowly grew on me, as Gail Simone wrote the book very much in the spirit of what I felt Deadpool should be like.

Unfortunately, Agent X took a turn for the worse after Simone and UDON left the title. The art was often poor, and the writing was average. Many things in the title just did not work, and the title was soon up on the cancellation block. Mercifully, Marvel extended the title and brought back Simone and UDON for a final three issues, featuring no less than the return of Deadpool. This news, along with the announcement of a new Deadpool/Cable series really made my day. Deadpool would be returning to a regular series. I could have received no better news out of Marvel.

In light of this, I decided to honor the return of Deadpool with this retrospective. I have found that many readers today are either unfamiliar with Deadpool all together (having read only Agent X), or know only the later issues of the Deadpool ongoing series. Since Deadpool and Agent X combined for nearly 100 issues, it would be very difficult for a new reader to catch up. As I want for all of you to not only check out the final three issues of Agent X, but to pick up the new Deadpool/Cable ongoing, this column should serve as a perfect jumping off point for anyone who wants to give the new series a chance.

With that in mind, Still on the Shelf presents an Agent X/Deadpool retrospective. This column will be quite long, so I invite you to read it in parts if you like. I would also like to apologize in advance to dial-up users for the large number of photos (NOTE: these images have been removed), hopefully this does not slow things down too much for you. In addition, may things will be “linki-fied” (including the seemingly pointless images throughout this column), so please, check out these links, they will enhance your enjoyment of this column. With that being said-

Who is Deadpool?

Deadpool, or the “Merc with a Mouth” is a sometime villain, sometime hero who hails from Canada’s Weapon X Program. Specifically, Department H, considered the dumping ground for rejects and failures. Deadpool was a small-time merc who found out that he had cancer. He entered the Weapon X program as a means of finding a cure- but as often happens, the cure is worse than the affliction.

Deadpool was given an artificial healing factor (similar to Wolverine’s) by Weapon X. While this does keep his cancer at bay, it causes severe and continuous scarring all over his body. This is the reason for his costume, which covers ever inch of his skin. He even considers his mask “his face,” and often completely panics when he loses it in a fight.

Deadpool is not a mutant. Other than his artificial healing factor, there is no evidence that he has any other enhanced attributes of any kind. Regardless, he is a highly efficient killer who has tangles with, and bested, some of the Marvel Universe’s more powerful and dangerous heroes and villains.

It is tough to say whether Deadpool is, at the core, a hero or villain. He has flirted with both, but it is likely best to say that Deadpool’s morality lies in that gray area in the middle. He has no qualms about killing for a buck, or for his own interests, but he has never been known to do anything outright evil. He has put his own life on the line to prevent catastrophe, but he does have a tendency to do some not-so-savory things in order to accomplish something he feels is for the greater good.

Deadpool – Villainous Beginnings

Deadpool made his start way back in 1991 in New Mutants #98. Fabian Nicieza wrote and Rob Liefeld did the art (Liefeld was also the “idea-man”) for this issue with a cover price of $1.00 (man, who remembers that?). In this issue, Deadpool is sent by Tolliver to take out Cable. Deadpool almost succeeds when he is taken out by Copycat (then posing as a newly introduced Domino), and he gets Fed-Exed back to his boss.

Deadpool’s initial run appearing as a henchman of Tolliver in various X-Force issues, as well as Avengers #366 lead to his own 4 issues mini-series, The Circle Chase. Tolliver was dead, and all of his former operatives were competing for his will, which was a roadmap to an ultimate weapon of war. In the end, the first hints of Deadpool’s potential heroics were sowed.

The Road to Redemption

A slow year followed for Deadpool, as he only appeared in an X-Force Annual (a pin-up), the now classic Silver Sable #23, and three horrid issues of Secret Defenders. Things were looking up again for ‘Pool, however, when the first issue of “Sins of the Past,” a new four-issue Deadpool miniseries hit stands in late 1994.

This mini-series focuses a lot on Deadpool’s next step in becoming a hero, as he is paired with Siryn to track down Tom Cassidy. Tom has enlisted (forcibly) the services of Dr. Killbrew to cure him of the wood-virus that is taking over his body. To do that, Killbrew needs Deadpool, or pieces of him, to recreate his artificial healing factor in Tom to take control of the virus.

Dr. Killbrew was the doctor in Department H who experimented on Deadpool, and is responsible for his healing factor. While it is true that this healing factor is what keeps Wade’s cancer at bay, the inhumane and often torturous conditions Wade was subjected to in Department H (caged like an animal) are the source of deep hatred in Deadpool.

The end of this mini sees Deadpool with Dr. Killbrew at his mercy. Instead of killing him, much to Siryn’s approval, Deadpool spares his life.

In The Circle Chase, Deadpool takes his first step to being a hero by saving the life of Vanessa (Copycat), who he once loved. This mini has Deadpool take that mercy to another level, by sparing the life of a man he hates with a passion, and has dreamed of killing for many years.

Following Sins of the Past, with the exception of Wolverine #88, Deadpool’s appearances were largely heroic, often appearing in X-Force along-side Siryn in some fashion.

Joe Kelly's Golden Age

In late 1996/early 1997, Deadpool was given his own ongoing series. Joe Kelly penned the series all the way through issue #33, in what some consider to be the Golden Age of Deadpool.

In issue #1, we are given the clear impression that the focus of this title at the start was Deadpool’s transition from a villain to a hero. The initial story sees Deadpool hired to take out “Project Michelangelo,” which is a giant gamma reactor in Antarctica, headed by Walter Langkowski (Sasquatch). When confronted with the fact that his actions have started a meltdown of the reactor that would irradiate the entire southern hemisphere, he dives into the core to stop the breach.

It turns out that the Antarctica job was a “test” for Deadpool, given by Landau, Luckman, and Lake. They believed that Deadpool was the Mithras, the hero destined to protect the alien Messiah who was to come and usher in an era of peace and prosperity. This subplot was in the background of each of the Deadpool story arcs until it was finally resolved in Dead Reckoning – issues #23-25.

Deadpool is to face off with Tiamat, who L,L,&L believe to be the one who is going to kill the alien Messiah. Unfortunately the Messiah, S’met’kth, is not as benevolent was expected, and in the end, Deadpool is faced with a choice that teaches him that being a hero is not as black and white as it might seem. I am going to avoid spoiling this arc for you, but I have to say this. If you are ever going to pick up any back issues of Deadpool, these three issues are the very first you should get.

The rest of Joe Kelly’s run, up until issue #33 was good, but not nearly as great as the first 25 issues. After the “Mithras Directive” was settled, Kelly never really settled into an underlying motivation for the title. Many of the stories were good, but they lacked the focus the title once had.

The Revolving Door

The final thirty-six issues of Deadpool saw six different writers taking up the mantle. While there were some long runs, the series was plagued by some mediocre writing, marketing gimmicks (Agent of Weapon X and Funeral for a Freak, for example), which really gummed up the continuity of the title. Added to that was the unfortunate tradition that began when Christopher Priest and Paco Diaz took over the title of basically starting from scratch. All of the ideas, supporting cast, and future plot plans were ceremoniously tossed in the trash. While this is good from a writer’s standpoint- as it gives some flexibility in creating a good story and allows new readers to easily jump in- it left a great deal of dangling threads, most of which were never tied up.

This is not to say that Deadpool’s days after Joe Kelly were all-terrible. There were some great stories there. There was a “Three’s Company” scenario that saw Deadpool rooming with Tatiana and the Constrictor, a run where Deadpool was “cursed” to look like Thom Cruz (misspelling is intentional, I believe), Deadpool’s kid side-kick, and of course, Gail Simone’s run on the book- all of which were great reads.

Death and Rebirth

Gail Simone’s work on the last five issues of Deadpool was outstanding. It signaled a real turn-around in the title in my eyes for the book, and I had not been that optimistic for the future of Deadpool for a long, long time.

Sadly, chaos would ensue with the reboot of Deadpool, Cable, and X-Force into Agent X, Soldier X, and X-Statix. All of these titles featured characters that were creations of Rob Liefeld, so naturally the rumor circulated that Marvel rebooted these books to avoid paying Liefeld royalties (a rumor that, though denied by all involved, still persists on circumstantial evidence alone).

Agent X, or Alex Hayden, showed up on the doorstep of Deadpool’s old “Deadpool, Inc.” assistant Sandi, who takes him in. He has no memory of his past, and it is unclear whether or not he is Deadpool. While this initial premise was somewhat weak, Gail Simone did a tremendous job keeping Agent X’s true identity a question. Deadpool and the Black Swan were blown up at the end of Deadpool #69, and throughout the Agent X run, it has been completely plausible that Alex Hayden is, in fact, either one of the two (or both!). Of course, I have my own theory as to who Alex Hayden is, but something tells me all will be made clear in the next, and final three issues of Agent X.

Simone and UDON (art) remaining on this title after Deadpool ended was the only reason I, as an avid Deadpool fan, was able to stomach it. The supporting cast from the end of Deadpool was the same, the writing style was similar, and Agent X, just from the way he was portrayed, had to be Deadpool. Sadly, Simone and UDON’s run on the book came to an end at issue #7. Fortunately, that was long enough for me to put Agent X under the protection of my “Deadpool loyalty,” and I kept buying the title over the last 5, mediocre issues.

Issues 8-12 were likely the worst Deadpool-related issues I have ever read (outside of the Secret Defenders, of course). The art was really bad at times. The story suffered a great deal, as the foundation of this title so carefully laid out by Simone was ripped away in favor of random “merc-gigs.” The only shining moment I can think of in these last 5 issues (penned by 3 different writing teams, no less) was the Agent X/Fight-man story. Their interaction was humorous, and very reminiscent of classic Deadpool, but everything surrounding that story was all-wrong. The very fact that the idea of Agent X and Sandi being romantically involved in any way, let alone a tawdry sex-capade after a hit says it all about how low this book went in quality.

Mercifully, Simone and UDON agreed to come back, and Marvel extended the title three more issues. In the next three months, not only is Agent X going to go out with a bang (rather than the whimper we were looking at), but also we are going to see the return of Deadpool, leading into the new Deadpool/Cable series.

The Future

The news of the upcoming Deadpool/Cable series is indeed old at this point. Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool’s co-creator (he penned New Mutants #98, along with a lot of X-Force) will be writing this title, Mark Brooks of UDON will do the art, and Rob Liefeld (much to just about everyone’s surprise) is returning to do some of the covers for this new series.

From a personal standpoint, I am pretty excited about this series, for obvious reasons. Beyond that, Nicieza’s portrayal of Deadpool was perhaps my favorite. Deadpool was at his best when he was outright lethal, efficient, and sadistically humorous, not the mere goofball he was often portrayed as in his ongoing series. Aside from that, Deadpool and Cable have always had an adversarial relationship, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in this new series.

The most common reason Marvel gave for the cancellation of Deadpool (and Cable, for that matter) was lagging sales. That being the case, Marvel may have hit a stroke of genius by putting these two characters with loyal fan-bases in the same book. With any luck, that will boost sales high enough so that we do not have to endure another cancellation/reboot for a long time to come. I may not have wanted Deadpool cancelled, but this is not to say that I absolutely insisted that he have his own title. When it comes down to it, it is the character I love, and if having Deadpool in a “team” book is the best way to keep him around, then so be it.

Bottom Line

While many, many writers and artists (both good and bad) have worked on Deadpool over the years, my loyalty has remained constant. As my thoughts and opinions are already plain to all of you at this point, I thought I would simply take this opportunity to thank Marvel for bringing back Deadpool. It may have taken over a year, but they finally came to the right decision. I invite you all to reward them by picking up both the final three issues of Agent X, and the new Deadpool/Cable series when it comes out.

Agent X #13 is out tomorrow, August 13th. This is a great place for new readers to jump in, as Gail Simone is a proven writer for this title, UDON’s art is top-notch. and the next three issues are sure to serve as a lead-in for the new Deadpool/Cable series.

The opinions in this editorial column those of the writer alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Comixtreme, it's staff, ownership or affiliates. The writer would also like to take this opportunity to thank each and every person ever involved in the production of a comic featuring Deadpool- good or bad, I was always happy to see Wade in four colors.