Alyssa Wong Talks Deadpool’s Body Horror, New Love Interest and Secret Assassin Society

Fans of Deadpool have had a lot to celebrate recently after Ryan Reynolds announced Hugh Jackman is returning as Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Marvel Comics has big Deadpool plans as well, launching a new series from writer Alyssa Wong (Doctor Aphra, Iron Fist) and Marvel’s Stormbreakers artist Martin Coccolo (Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War crossover). Marvel’s new Deadpool series finds the Merc With a Mouth looking to join a new group of mercenaries called the Atelier, but he first has to assassinate a prominent supervillain. There will also be a new love interest for Wade Wilson, and lots of interesting body horror.

ComicBook.com spoke to writer Alyssa Wong about launching a new Deadpool series, what type of body horror elements will be explored, the contrast between the Atelier and other teams and groups Deadpool has been a part of, his new love interest, and more. We also have an exclusive first look at pages from Deadpool #1 by artist Martin Coccolo and colorist Neerah Menon. The first look introduces the Atelier while also featuring Harrower, who appeared in last year’s Curse of the Man-Thing, and the villain Deadpool is sent to assassinate: Doctor Octopus.

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Body Horror

ComicBook.com: One of the most intriguing aspects of the Deadpool announcement was the body horror hook. What went into the thinking to make that a major part of your story?

Alyssa Wong: I love body horror. All bodies are full of beautiful horror potential! They’re incredibly intricate systems that do strange things all the time. (Did you know that there’s a very rare genetic disorder that causes all of your soft tissues to slowly turn into bone? Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is wild!) My mom used to have a subscription to these dermatology journals, and I’ve been lowkey obsessed since I was a kid.

I think Deadpool is perfect for body horror. With his regeneration abilities, he’s basically unkillable. But there are plenty of interesting things you can put someone through without killing them, and exploiting that unkillability, pushing it until it’s awful and terrifying, is so much fun.

And of course, because it’s Deadpool, it is going to be fun! I wouldn’t call this a particularly dark, grim story–just a delightful romp with some very splashy, stressful bio-horror.

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The Mysterious Atelier

Wade Wilson is gunning to join an elite group of mercenaries known as the Atelier. Whether it’s X-Force or Mercs for Money, Deadpool has a history of wanting to belong. What makes Atelier different from past organizations Wade has been a part of?

Imagine if a group of assassins were like, “What if we started a secret society and dressed like the Hellfire Gala every day?” That’s the Atelier. They’re an extremely exclusive group with a secret, limited membership. They pay incredibly well, have great health insurance, and only go after high-profile targets.

Joining the Atelier means that you’ve “made it” in the mercenary/assassin world. It comes with a certain level of respect. And who doesn’t want respect?

The one downside of the Atelier is that they’re all extremely dramatic, so working with them is kind of a pain. Big murderous diva energy. Only you can decide if the money–and the makeover–is worth it.

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New Love Interest

Love is in the air for Deadpool. How would you characterize this new romantic relationship Deadpool finds himself in?

It’s love at first sight. Or… something at first sight! We’re introducing a brand new character as Deadpool’s love interest and I’m excited for you to meet them! From the moment Deadpool lays eyes on them, he’s completely gone on them. Lots of cute flirting, unfortunate pickup lines, etc. But falling for a person affiliated with the Atelier comes with its own complications…

That being said, there’s a lot of chemistry in this book, and thanks to Martin Coccolo, it’s full of interesting, beautiful, intimidating people, so we’ll see how things go!

I think it’s always kind of terrifying to find someone who likes you for who you are–and if you’re a fast-talking, always-talking guy with a reputation for being annoying, being vulnerable can be scary. It takes a lot to work through the layers of BS and open up. I’m always curious about the lies that people tell themselves. How we absorb and internalize other people’s characterizations of us: annoying, ugly, hard to be around, stupid, freakish, whatever. That’s something I want to explore in this run.

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New and Old Faces

Will we see any familiar faces in the Atelier, like other prominent Marvel Universe mercenaries? Also, what can you tease about the famous supervillain Deadpool is tasked with assassinating?

You might see a familiar face! But you’re going to see a lot of new ones, too, because I love creating new characters. As for the famous supervillain… well, let’s just say he’s not fond of spiders.