For a person with a face so difficult to look at that he keeps it under a mask at practically all times, Deadpool has a surprisingly vibrant love life. There was Copycat and then there was Siryn, and he’s even courted Mistress Death herself. Currently, he’s married to Shiklah, the powerful demon succubus who was intended to be the bride of Dracula.
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Now, as of Uncanny Avengers #22 by Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz, Deadpool can add an Avenger his list of loves. Well, another Avenger actually. There was that time with the Wasp on Battleworld during Secret Wars, as revealed in Deadpool’s Secret Secret War, but Deadpool was pretty then and he later wiped his presence from everyone’s memories so that Janet Van Dyne wouldn’t have to live with the shame of having slept with him after seeing how he usually looks.
Anyway, this instance of Deadpool getting involved with an Avenger is different for two reasons. First, this Avenger is also a mutant and a former X-Man. Second, Deadpool is as ugly as ever and she doesn’t seem to mind and might even have a solution to the problem.
The Avenger in question is Rogue, who has been leading the Avengers Unity Squad since the latest series launched following Secret Wars. Early in the series, Rogue seemed constantly exhausted and annoyed by Deadpool’s presence and couldn’t understand why Captain America invited him onto the Avengers. However, as the series has progressed, Rogue has gotten to know Deadpool better and seen his more heroic traits.
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During the previous issue’s final showdown with the Red Skull, Deadpool made a huge sacrifice. The Red Skull couldn’t use Professor X’s brain to mind control Deadpool’s unusual psyche, but he was able to put Rogue under his thrall. Deadpool allowed himself to be beaten to a pulp by Rogue so that he could get close enough to her to put one of Magneto’s old helmets on her head, thus blocking out Red Skull’s mind control.
During the victory celebration/disbanding of the Unity Squad, Deadpool is still nursing his wounds pretty heavily and Rogue keeps an eye on him. When he tries to sneak out, she follows. What starts as an awkward and tense conversation about trying to make things right after the beatdown Rogue put on Deadpool ends up being a confession about how the two of them feel about each other, with Deadpool finally admitted that “I dig you too much to ruin you–which I would do, okay?”
That proves to be Rogue’s cue, and so…
As a bonus, Rogue uses her powers to absorb Deadpool’s cancer, which seems to allows his healing factor to repair the damage from his fight with Rogue pretty quickly and leaves him looking handsome, though Rogue’s face becomes littered with his usual scars and tumors.
But Rogue makes it clear that this wasn’t just about fixing what she broke. Deadpool tells her she deserves better than to absorb his “crap.” Rogue tells him that she doesn’t care about how she looks. When Deadpool insists that she only likes him because she doesn’t know him that well, Rogue kisses him again, sees his memories, and comes out smiling and tells Deadpool that she’s a “big girl” and can handle it.
It seems that Rogue and Deadpool may be exactly the right kind of damaged for each other. They continue enjoying a romantic evening until something goes weird and Deadpool finds himself face to face with Wonder Man, who was absorbed into Rogue’s psyche in a previous volume of Uncanny Avengers. That, however, is a story for the next issue.
Uncanny Avengers #22 is on sale now.
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