Marvel Redefines Deadpool's Powers

Deadpool has proven to be exceedingly difficult to kill thanks to his regenerative abilities, a tool that comes in handy when you're a mercenary. Marvel has now revealed that those powers aren't exactly what wade they thought they were.

SPOILERS for Black Panther vs. Deadpool #1 by Daniel Kibblesmith, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, and Felipe Sobreiro follow.

For a quick history lesson, Deadpool may belong to the X-Men family for purposes of film rights but he is not a mutant. He is a mutate. The difference between the two is that a mutant's powers manifest naturally while a mutate's powers are triggered by experimentation or some other external stimuli.

In Deadpool's case, he gained his powers as a result of experimentation done by the Weapon X program. Weapon X managed to infuse Wade Wilson with some of Wolverine's regenerative abilities. The result was that Deadpool gained enough of Logan's healing factor to stop cancer from killing him but also left him with a scarred body.

Flash forward to the present day Marvel universe. Black Panther is working on an experimental medical treatment called "star cells," a form of nanites that can be used in a laser-like form to cut through and heal cells instantaneously. It is currently only in prototype form.

Deadpool makes an unexpected visit to Wakanda hoping to get his hands on a chunk of vibranium so that he can save the life of beloved mailman Willie Lumpkin, who was nearly killed when he got too close to Deadpool's latest mission.

T'Challa does not trust Deadpool with the vibranium, assuming Wade want to turn it into a bullet or some other weapon. As one might expect from the title of the book, Deadpool and Black Panther fight.

The fight comes to an end when Black Panther slices off Deadpool's arm with the star cell beam. Normally, Deadpool would immediately start healing from this wound and regrow his arm over time, but that's not happening this time.

Black Panther explains that the star cells healed Deadpool's cells. The now healthy cells are not regenerating. That means that it isn't healthy tissue that grows back to replace Wade's lost parts, it's cancer. Deadpool doesn't actually have a healing factor. He has what T'Challa calls a "dying factor."

That raises some interesting questions. For example, if the cancer is what grows back, then shouldn't Deadpool, with the many grievous wounds he's suffered over the years, basically be 100 percent tumor by now? Perhaps this revelation will be explored further in future issues.

Either way, it looks like Wade is coming for T'Challa's throne.

What do you think of Deadpool's "dying factor"? Let us know in the comments

Black Panther vs. Deadpool #1 is on sale now.