Wait, a bunch of my favorite lesser-known Marvel characters bouncing around in one story? And also Deadpool? This I have to see… Your Major Spoilers review of Deadpool And The Mercs For Money #1 awaits!
DEADPOOL AND THE MERCS FOR MONEY #1
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Iban Coello
Colorist: Guru eFX
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Editor: Jordan D. White
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Deadpool And The Mercs For Money: For those jobs when one super-lunatic for hire won’t get ‘er done, there are the Mercs For Money! Stingray! Solo! Slapstick! Foolkiller! Terror! Masacre! And their leader, the Canadian regenerating mutant not known as Logan, Deadpoooool! But what threat could be big enough to require their combined skills?
ONE TEENAGE GIRL
It’s interesting that I read this issue immediately after watching the Deadpool flick, as there are a lot of parallels to be had. This issue opens with a contemplative Wade seeking guidance from an old friend, Domino, who can’t believe that he’s taking his leadership of the Mercs For Money seriously. ‘Pool is not growing well into leadership, and the unpredictable nature of his soldiers isn’t helping, as we quickly see when they take on their latest mission: Capture a dangerous “radioactive” superhuman by the name of Negasonic Teenage Warhead…
…who turns out to be just a young woman living in the suburbs. Whatever her powers are in this continuity, she quickly outmaneuvers the Mercs, regardless of their teleporting, leaping and flying around powers, and nearly escapes, until convinced to go with them by Deadpool.
ONE MASSIVE MORAL DILEMMA
The main thrust of the story is whether or not the people who have contracted the Mercs have good intentions, as it is pretty clear to everyone BUT Wade that they don’t. In a moment that’s both funny and awful, an important pep talk comes from Masacre, who delivers his wisdom in Spanish (reminding Deadpool that he’s not a bad man, but their new employers are, and that if he keeps trying to strong-arm the team, they’ll revolt on him) which Deadpool doesn’t understand. Indeed, he immediately turns on the drill sergeant act, leaving his men even more resentful. The final page delivers a terrifying vision of Negasonic being tortured by the faceless men who hired the Mercs, a scene only slightly undermined by the cartoonish lines of Coello’s art. One the one hand, it fits Slapstick, Deadpool and Terror (who looks as good as he ever has, although he’s a gross character to look at), but leaves Stingray, Foolkiller and any normal people less believable. I will say that Coello’s rendition of Domino is also great, and some of the storytelling choreography is excellent…
THE BOTTOM LINE: MORE COMPLEX THAN I EXPECTED
In short, this story has a lot of layers to it (as does the main character, something I don’t always get from his adventures), and it seems certain to end up in a bad place, even though Negasonic’s future visions make it seem like Deadpool might get it right in the end. Deadpool And The Mercs For Money #1 doesn’t do a lot to differentiate between the half-dozen members of the team, but does establish Deadpool as a character trying to do right, with mostly okay art and a serious bilingual bonus for the readers, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. If nothing else, it’s the only place we’ll see Stingray for a few years…
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