Known for his witty remarks, brilliant regenerative abilities, and martial arts skills, Deadpool has been a fan favorite for over three decades.
But how did he get his powers? And when did his story begin?
When was Deadpool created?
Deadpool made his first appearance in Marvel’s New Mutants issue #98 in 1991, written by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld. In that issue and later issues of X Force, he was depicted as a supervillain.
With popularity, Deadpool evolved into an anti-heroic persona that made him more distinguishable. He earned the nickname “Merc with a Mouth” because of his constant use of sarcasm and wise humor. In addition, he is known for breaking the fourth wall by speaking to readers and viewers directly.
He also uses humor to cope with his trauma. Deadpool is a tortured individual and a victim of circumstance. His unpredictability and humor are tell-tale signs that he is mentally unstable.
Deadpool’s origin story is a complex subject…
Before we jump into Deadpool’s origin story, you must know that because of unreliable narration, writer retcons, and Wade’s history of mental and physical manipulation, it is hard to know what is exactly true. Depending on which comic book you read, you may get a different version, for example:
Version 1
Wade’s father abandoned his mother while she was pregnant with Wade. She took out her hurt and anger on him. This abuse turned him into a thug at a young age filling his life with trouble.
Version 2
Wade’s mother died when he was five years old, and his father, an army officer, took him in and was abusive. Wade hardened and became a troublemaker because of it.
Version 3
His father left him and his mom when he was a young kid. Wade’s mother turned to alcohol, humor, and home shopping networks to cope with her pain. As a boy, Wade ran away from home so his mom didn’t have to spend the little money she had on him.
Version 4 and most common:
Wade’s parents are still together and living in Canada. As an adult, he returned to the home he grew up in but did not recognize his parents or his childhood bedroom.
He tried to enlist in the army but was kicked out because of poor behavior.
At 19, after a failed suicide attempt, Wade was invited to join a clandestine group of CIA mercenary assassins. He agreed to join as long as all of his provided targets deserved it. With this opportunity, he refined his assassin techniques and espionage methods. As a result, Wade evolved into a brilliant infiltrator, escape artist, and marksman.
During a mission in Japan for the clandestine group, he refused to complete the assignment and, shortly after that, relocated to the USA.
In America, Wade met and fell in love with a teenage mutant girl named Vanessa Carysle. They shared exciting dreams of building a better life together. Unfortunately, Wade was diagnosed with 34 inoperable cancerous tumors shortly after that. Rather than staying in his relationship, he broke up with Vanessa thinking this was better for her than being with a terminally ill man.
Side note: we meet Vanessa in both Deadpool MCU films, but there is never a mention of her mutant abilities…
Superhuman Enhancement Project
Wade was offered a potential cure for cancer by enrolling in an experimental program called the superhuman enhanced project. The program was run by the special weapons department in Canada.
He agreed and immediately relocated. They implanted a healing factor derived from another test subject, Wolverine, that stopped his cancer in its tracks.
After a few successful tests, his healing factor stopped working, allowing his cancer to come out of remission and create damage and deformities in his skin. If you have only seen the Deadpool MCU films, you are probably scratching your head thinking, wait a second… that’s not how he got his skin deformities, it was because Ajax was torturing him…
Anyway, because of the destabilization of his healing factor, Wade was rejected from the program and sent to hospice, which was another government facility that treated failed superhuman operatives.
Little did the Canadian government know that all of the patients in “hospice” underwent experiments conducted by Dr. Kill Brew and his insane assistant Ajax. These numerous experiments were performed out of professional curiosity and the deranged satisfaction of torturing others.
Knowing that the subjects most likely wouldn’t make it out alive, patients began placing bets in a dead pool on how long each subject would live.
Wade wanted to die and attempted suicide again and wasn’t successful. He even went as far as taunting Ajax by using his real name Francis, in hopes he would kill Wade. Instead of killing him, Ajax decided to lobotomize the subject closest to Wade, a guy named Worm. Wade didn’t want his friend to suffer, so he put him out of his misery by ending his life. Under the rules of the facility, any patient who kills another patient will be executed. Subsequently, Ajax tore out Wade’s heart and left him for dead. Miraculously Wade’s healing factor was jump-started due to Wade’s intense thirst for revenge. He regenerated, escaped the room, attacked the facility guards, and shot Ajax in the chest.
That is when Wade Wilson adopted the name Deadpool
Deadpool trained for many years as a martial artist and in hand-to-hand combat.
Deadpool completely mastered bladed weapons and is typically seen carrying two swords across his back. In the comics, Wade can charge his katana swords with an energy field through his suit, increasing their durability and cutting power.
He has engaged with other skilled fighters like Wolverine and Taskmaster, in which he defeated them in hand-to-hand combat on a number of occasions.
He is one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe, not only because of his skill but also because of his unpredictability. He can change his fighting style at any moment, which takes away the opportunity for others to anticipate his moves.
Honestly, he is a total superhuman. He’s got superhuman strength, stamina, speed, reflexes, and agility.
According to the Marvel Handbook, Deadpool can lift two tons. He doesn’t have the strength that Hulk or Thor do, but he is one of the best assassins in comics.
What makes Deadpool unique is his incredible durability
Overall, Deadpool’s physiology was enhanced on a genetic level that provided regenerative healing powers, resistance to foreign chemicals, immunity to telepathy diseases and blessed him with the curse of immortality.
Deadpool has one of the top 5 healing factors in all of comics. His regenerative powers are next level, allowing him to quickly bounce back from bullet wounds, punctures, and even beheadings.
He has survived nuclear explosions and has regenerated after being fried to ash with lightning conducted by Thor. In one Marvel issue, Hulk punches Deadpool so hard that he bursts into hundreds of bloody chunks, and still, Wade has no problem regenerating. Sure, it might have taken a bit longer, but not many heroes, or anti-heroes for that matter, can do such a thing!
You just can’t really get rid of the guy!
Deadpool I & II
The first Deadpool movie was released in February 2016. It was a huge hit grossing over $783 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing R-rated films at the time.
It scored an 85% on Tomatometer and an 8/10 on IMDB.
Deadpool II premiered two years later, in May 2018. The sequel had a higher budget than the first film, estimated to be around $110 million. It grossed over $785 million worldwide and scored an 84% on Tomatometer and 7.6/10 on IMDB.
We’re impatiently waiting for Deadpool III.
It was announced that Deadpool 3 will be released in November 2024.
Ryan Reynolds released this short clip of him talking about the next movie. He is unapologetically himself, which of course, we love. Fans were stoked when Ryan confirmed that Hugh Jackman would appear in the threequel as Wolverine.
We could potentially see the X-Men and mutants enter the MCU in this film unless another Phase 5 film beats Deadpool to it!
Jackman reports that we have not seen this version of Wolverine on the big screen yet. I’m sure we can expect an angry version of him looking for any open shot at Deadpool that he can get. Ryan Reynolds confirmed that nothing from the Logan film would come into play in Deadpool 3.
