Deadpool Might Be Marvel’s Most Honest Character (Here’s Why)

Deadpool has had an interesting road to superstardom. Deadpool has joined the ranks of Marvel‘s most popular heroes, and has taken his place among the most popular fictional characters of the last 30 years. Deadpool is one of those characters who started out with all the momentum in the world; he was created by Rob Liefeld, the biggest (at the very least loudest) creator of his day and that helped strap a rocket to him. Deadpool was a character that was all style and very little substance, but that worked for fans back then. However, Deadpool would start to become a better character as the years went on, when good writers took the character and added everything that everyone likes about him. Deadpool has grown into something very special, and he’s taken a unique place in the Marvel Universe’s hierarchy.

Deadpool isn’t always a good character, and during those times there’s something about the character that often gets left behind — the honesty of Deadpool. Deadpool breaks the fourth wall constantly, to the extent that he’s basically the mouthpiece for not only the creators but also the readers. Deadpool is known for his outrageous speech, and there’s often times a lot of truth to what he says. Deadpool is able to talk about the Marvel Universe at another level that most characters can’t and that’s why the character is valid.

Deadpool Fills An Important Role in the Marvel Universe

Deadpool’s fourth wall breaking wasn’t a thing for his entire existence. In the early days of the character, he was just a wisecracking mercenary. Things about the character would get more interesting as the yeas went one, when writers like Mark Waid (yes, that’s right, Mark Waid, DC historian and Silver Age lover) and Joe Kelly brought the character to a new level. Joe Kelly wrote Deadpool’s first ongoing series, and it was in issue #28 of 1997’s Deadpool that Kelly wrote the first fourth wall break, with Deadpool talking to the readers. This was the beginning of the most important trait to the character. Deadpool became a different type of character from what he was before, and it would lead to the truthful Deadpool we have today. There are lots of versions of Deadpool, but all of them have become something special because of the fourth wall breaking that gives them the same point of view as the reader. Deadpool knows that he exists in a fictional universe, and can look at the insanity from a level that other characters can’t. This allows creators to comment on the Marvel Universe.

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I think one of the things that we forget about Marvel is that it very much an editorially controlled environment. Only the highest level writers get to tell editors what they want and then get to do it, and honestly, that doesn’t really exist for anyone but Jonathan Hickman, and even there are levels to that. The editors are the caretakers for the characters. They make a lot of decisions and the creators have to enact those decisions. There’s collaboration, but that collaboration comes from the position that the editors are the ones in the driver’s seat. So, Deadpool allows creators to have freedom they don’t always have. Marvel does superhero stories, and while that sounds like a no-brainer, I mean it in a deeper way: Marvel uses superheroes as the lens through which it looks at other kinds of fiction. DC doesn’t do that; superheroes are a major part of it, but some of the best DC books aren’t really what you would call superhero books. Whereas most Marvel books you can think of are superhero books before anything else. Deadpool has the freedom to look at things in a different way in his stories. Creators don’t always get to tell stories the way they want, and they can use Deadpool to talk about that. Deadpool is played as a fan of the Marvel Universe, and he can talk about the things that annoy all of us. This is when Deadpool’s at his best, and that’s even true in the movies. Deadpool said things about the MCU in Deadpool/Wolverine that fans did and not all of them were positive. In the comics, Deadpool can do the same thing. Deadpool is the character that shines a spotlight on Marvel, and that’s when he shines the most.

Deadpool Gives Creators a Unique Voice That No Other Character Does

Deadpool is definitely not my favorite character, but I appreciate him because I get to read about a character that looks at comics like I do. I get to read about a character who creators can use to give their point of view on Marvel in a way they can’t with other characters. Marvel doesn’t mind that Deadpool makes fun of Marvel because it sells. In the end, Deadpool telling the truth about Marvel is a good thing for the publisher, even at his most ruthlessly honest.

That’s why it can be so disappointing when Deadpool is just the funny, violent guy. Deadpool has transcended his simple roots and can be used in ways that he never could have in the years before. Deadpool’s honesty is his best quality, as it allows us to see the Marvel Universe in new ways.

What do you about Deadpool? Sound off in the comments below.