Preamble
Thank You writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan for making the impossible happen!
Thank you artist Mike Hawthrone for giving those words life!
Thank You Mark Brooks for a cover that is completely unforgettable!
Thank You All for the Best Christmas Gift Ever!
Situation Report
Deadpool has troubles thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D. and he plans to get his in “Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.” First, he has the small problem of dead Agent Preston still floating around in his head. Second, Agent Gorman still has not paid his fee for unaliving the army of zombie American presidents! Deadpool explores two paths to free Preston from his mind. Magic, with Doctor Strange consulting his magical library for a cure. Science, with Agent Adsit looking into a Life Model Decoy (LMD) to hold Preston's living mind. However, Adsit discovers that a Preston LMD was already ordered and he passes this information onto Gorman. Gorman being the super nice guy he is naturally puts a $10 million hit on our heroe's head which leads to a Deadpool versus Crossbones throw down. The cherry on this whole adventure is capped of BY THE BEST LAST PAGE OF A COMIC EVER.
Level Seven Analysis
Seriously, I might be a little excited. Seriously just a tad. Ever since Agent Ben alerted me to this arc I have planned to review it. And just let me sit back and applaud these creators who have pleased both the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Deadpool fan in me. I accidentally spoiled myself with the last page, but I still had a great time reading this story. Honestly, this is a time for me where anticipation and final results lined up perfectly.
There really is a ton of S.H.I.E.L.D. in this book, and that helped me forgot that Deadpool was absent for several pages. Adsit visits a LMD shop, where a somewhat familiar LMD is being constructed. The front for the LMD shop made me chuckle and I think that Adsit and I would have a very similar reaction. We also learn that Adsit's security level would not let him onto one of the key secrets of Tuesday nights.
Honestly, I loved the guest star at the end. I question if a line or two were in character. But honestly they could have been delivered with the right wit to make it fit. I really really want to tell you who it is, but I just cannot do it. But it is the sort of surprise that will make S.H.I.E.L.D. fans happy. Maybe I will not tell Agent Ben who the surprise guest star is so he has to read a Deadpool comic!
Conclusion
How long do I have to wait for issue #22? Seriously, I really do believe that Agent Preston will somehow be able to lead a normal Deadpool free life in the future. I believe now because this creative team has given me Christmas awesome and they have given me hope again that Preston can be more tangible than the ghost of Benjamin Franklin in the future! My peanut butter and chocolate of Deadpool and S.H.I.E.L.D. have been mashed together to give me hope that anything is possible.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Roster
Agent Preston, Agent Gorman, Agent Adsit, NAME RETRACTED
S.H.I.E.L.D. Associates
None
I finally grabbed a copy of this (and #22) because of your mention of it in the podcast and ZOMG SO AWESOME (in both artwork and story)! I totally want a poster of the cover. I’d been meaning to look into Deadpool for a while and obviously have some backreading I need to do because the character is as entertaining as I was led to believe he was.
I hope Adsit makes it too – He’s great and I love the r/l story about his inclusion.
I have to admit being a little thrown by the decision to put a hit out on Deadpool… What am I missing? A quick crash course in the character tells my he can’t die so why would someone put a hit out on him? I usually could care less about plot details, but for some reason it is really bugging me.
I think that #22 answers some questions about why Gorman put out the hit. And the big quesiton is of course how can he afford it!
In short, Wade Wilson (Deadpool) had cancer. He was a mercanary and elected to go to Weapon X in Canada to find a cure. They basically grafted Wolverine’s DNA on him and gave him a healing factor. His cancer however is so agressive that it is cconstantly fighting his healing factor, hence the mask. Because oof well, all of this, he has become a little cray cray. Issue 21 does a good job of bringing you into the story. The other thing you may have missed that is key is Deadpool killed some zombie ppresidents for SHIELD and has yet to be paid. And he had a dead female SHIELD agent stuck in his head.