In many ways, writer Cody Ziglar’s Deadpool #1 reads like treading old ground. Some of this is unavoidable. If you follow a particular comics character long enough you’ll see them revert to their status quo eventually. But after writer Alyssa Wong’s brief run took Wade Wilson’s character in genuinely unique directions and offered a number of fun new elements to Deadpool’s ongoing narrative, to see him return to a place we’ve seen before feels like a significant letdown.
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Despite their relationship with Wade being the crux of Wong’s run—which ended with said relationship being in a healthy place—Valentine Vuong is long gone at the start of this issue. This means, at least for now, they’re just the latest in a long line of relationships Wade has botched over the years, and he spends the bulk of Deadpool #1 sulking over that.
Surprisingly, one thing Ziglar did keep from Wong’s run is Princess – the Carnage-like symbiote-dog Wade gave birth to last year (yes, really). At first, I figured she’d be labeled as too weird of a concept for creators to maintain after her initial storyline, but she proves to be a fine compliment for Wade as her simple yet optimistic nature lifts the mood of the comic book against Wade’s depressed internal monologuing. By the end of Deadpool #1, Wade is ready to try and build another mercenary team and I think she will be a fun inclusion in that future endeavor.
Complaints aside, formulaic Deadpool is still fun Deadpool and Ziglar has his comedic timing nailed down. The action scenes are swift and bloody, the fourth wall breaks are funny without becoming too annoying and there are some genuinely good jokes. Even the villain introduced near the end of the comic book, Death Grip, seems interesting and has an eye-catching design. Although I don’t believe this is either of the other two characters who have gone by that name before in Marvel Comics history.
Deadpool #1 didn’t grab me. But the comics world is better off with an ongoing series centered around the Merc with a Mouth. This may not have broken any new ground, but it delivers on what it’s aiming for and readers will certainly receive a few laughs. Sometimes that’s enough.
Published by Marvel Comics
On April 3, 2024
Written by Cody Ziglar
Art by Roge Antonio
Colors by Guru-eFX
Letters by Joe Sabino
Cover by Taurin Clarke
