Deadpool’s Worst Fear Was Just Realized (And He May Never Forgive Himself)

Deadpool clearly is one of the biggest names in Marvel Comics. Ever since his inception in 1991, he has stood out for his love of violence, combined with his zany, dark, and fourth-wall humor. Yet, underneath all of the jokes and bloodshed, some of the Merc With a Mouth’s best stories involve the tragedy of his character. And while in recent years many Marvel writers have leaned too heavily on the comedic aspect of his character, the new series Wade Wilson: Deadpool takes the iconic anti-hero back to his roots by revealing the sadness beneath the mask. Deadpool has never been an upstanding citizen, but in Wade Wilson: Deadpool #4 he crossed a line for which even he may never forgive himself.

At the beginning of the Wade Wilson: Deadpool series, the Merc With a Mouth is shown to be dealing with immense emotional pain. Overcome with depression and suicidal thoughts despite being unable to die, Deadpool is tormented by grief and regret over a then unknown event involving his daughter, Ellie Camacho, aka the second Deadpool. What specifically happened to her was kept a mystery, but what is known is that she’s somehow gone. Now, we know Ellie’s tragic fate, and it’s all because of Deadpool’s worst flaw.

Deadpool Accidentally Kills His Own Daughter

In the previous volume of Deadpool comics, his daughter Ellie developed her inherited healing factor. She took on her father’s mantle to be a mercenary and anti-hero like him. Together, they became an unstoppable, lethal father-daughter duo. However, with Deadpool as a dad, it was only a matter of time until he led Ellie into disaster. In the present Deadpool is dealing with mysterious prophetic notes and the crime-lord Hammerhead threatening the anti-hero’s roommate, Blind Al. At the same time, flashbacks reveal the events several months ago that led to Ellie’s death.

Wade Wilson: Deadpool #3 and #4 feature flashbacks showing Deadpool taking a job to steal a mysterious briefcase from a plane. Despite Ellie’s attempts to talk her dad out of the job because of the number of other mercenaries also gunning for the briefcase, she still ends up going with him. On the plane, Ellie desperately tries to get Deadpool to back out of the mission from fear for the safety of the innocent passengers, but he ignores her. Ellie’s worries are proven to be accurate when all hell breaks loose and all the mercenaries on the plane try to kill them to get the briefcase. Although Deadpool and Ellie manage to escape the plane with their lives and the briefcase, they’re not out of the woods yet.

As Ellie continues to chastise Deadpool for his reckless and uncaring behavior, her father decides to take a peek at what’s inside the briefcase. Naturally, this turns out to be a horrible decision and costs Deadpool everything. Inside the briefcase was a collapsing black hole. Before Deadpool can even react, the black hole swallows Ellie, and she’s lost to the void. Although Ellie’s “death” isn’t visually shown, Deadpool believes that he did indeed just inadvertently get his own daughter killed, and he has no one to blame but himself. If there is a way to bring Ellie back, Deadpool will have to undergo his most intense and emotionally impactful redemption arc in the character’s life.

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Deadpool’s Biggest Weakness Cost Him Everything

The loss of Ellie in Wade Wilson: Deadpool #4 forces the Merc With a Mouth to deal with his biggest flaw: his selfishness and recklessness. Deadpool is a character defined by his tendency to act solely for his own self-interest, whether to get a massive payday or just genuinely to annoy the people around him. Deadpool also tends to act without thinking of the consequences, which is understandable for a character as mentally deranged and unkillable as he is. And while Deadpool will oftentimes face some form of comeuppance for these actions, Ellie’s death is the true wake-up call he needs to understand how his actions hurt others and how he must change.

As one can probably imagine, Deadpool is anything but a good father. While he genuinely sees Ellie as one of the few good things in his life, his antics more often than not put her in danger. Deadpool sometimes acknowledges this and, for the most part, does his best to ensure that she has a normal life by keeping her away from him. However, Ellie wants to honor her father, so when she developed her healing factor, she became the next-generation Deadpool. Even though Deadpool felt pride in his daughter’s accomplishments, he still had an underlying fear that something would happen to her if she continued down this path and hung around him. Wade Wilson: Deadpool #4 saw those fears come to fruition.

Ironically, by spending so much time with Ellie, Deadpool became too comfortable acting like his old self. Instead of constantly trying to steer her away from this lifestyle, Deadpool actively tries to include her more in mercenary work. And as he becomes more comfortable, he let his worst qualities take control more often. Throughout the mission, Ellie was begging for her dad to take things seriously and to be cautious. Deadpool just ignored her and decided to see what was in the briefcase so they could potentially get more money. Even worse, Deadpool understands the real reason why he opened the briefcase despite Ellie’s wishes: his obsessive compulsion to annoy everyone, including his own daughter.

If Deadpool has any hope of becoming a better person, then he’s going to have to fully commit to being less selfish. We’re already seeing this development as he saves Blind Al from Hammerhead. Whether all of this will lead to Deadpool going on a mission across all of time and space to find Ellie is impossible to say right now. Even if he does manage to save Ellie, the unbearable guilt he’s been feeling will likely lead him to once again cut himself off from her to keep her safe. This entire story arc shows how, underneath all the quips and one-liners, Deadpool is a broken man who has lost everything.

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