Artist: Adam Kubert
Colorist: Frank Martin
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artists: Adam Kubert & Frank Martin; Jan Bazaldua & Edgar Delgado; Salvador Larroca & GURU-eFX
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 12, 2024
Someone monkeyed with a man and created Wither. Wolverine wants to know who gave him superpowers that propelled him on an insane murder spree. Wolverine thinks Deadpool knows. But Deadpool’s left town. Wolverine tracks his frenemy to Russia, where he discovers that Deadpool isn’t himself anymore. He’s let the monsters who created Wither experiment on him. Can Wolverine cure Deadpool of his madness? Or will Deadpool forever be known as Wade Wilson The 3rd? Let’s extend our claws, leap into Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2, and find out!
Story
Wade has money. His abilities and antics grant him notoriety. His body heals injuries but can’t cure his cancer-ridden appearance. His looks drive people away. The way he draws solace in diversion, ditto. A man named Delta asks, “What if I could help you achieve your potential?” Wade agrees, but he fears change. So, he left “the world’s crappiest trail of breadcrumbs” for Wolverine to follow. Wolverine’s intrusion interrupts Delta’s experiment. So Delta asks Greta to teleport Deadpool (or WWIII) and Wolverine into the wilderness and transforms a sprint into a marathon. Like Queen Victoria, Delta's investors are not amused.
In Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2, Deadpool wasn't happy, but neither was Wolverine. Perhaps neither man can find fulfillment, given the lives they lead. But Wolverine finds purpose as he tends to WWIII. His selfless sacrifice demonstrates the difference between the two men. Wade tried to buy a meaningful life. But some things can't be given or purchased. Joe Kelly's punishing story puts science in the crosshairs. It asks questions. Can man improve on nature? Are we happiest when we work at our maximum potential? Or are we happiest when we can sit quietly and be one with nature and those around us? It's a divide as wide as the gulf between the Blue Wave and MAGA, and the story tackles presumptions associated with social and economic status.
Ultimately, Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2 is a tragedy. Science tried to give both men a new lease on life. Yet all it did was forge effective killing machines. There's a term associated with doing the same thing again and expecting different results. And that word is not sanity. But then, Delta’s earlier experiment produced Wither.
Art
Like Deadpool, Adam Kubert seeks a change in orientation. So Kubert turns the pages sideways to force readers to adapt or die. Or he works across two pages, taking readers on wide-screen narrative journeys. Drones follow this experiment, even when the participants travel from Delta's compound to a land far, far away. Spectators watch the gladiators fight and endure the elements as silhouettes standing before a Drive-In Movie Screen, not the comparatively diminutive high-def replacements in your local multiplex viewing room. Greta stands apart from the onlookers with her punk attire, green hair, and tattooed skin. Her black lips are small and delicate, even when covered with a burst bubble of gum. But when she opens her mouth, it hinges wide like a snake’s in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2.
Frank Martin demonstrates Greta’s power as disembodied pink lips that dwarf characters. Like Delta's affluent patrons, she eats people and spits them out. Pink and purple dominate pages as the colors portray the new power surging through Wade Wilson The 3rd. The colors form smoke, rays of light, or tiny rectangles that hover around regenerating limbs. But the rectangles swarming around Delta are as fascinating as his purple veins. Is Delta a construct in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2? Can he even know himself if he's addicted to constantly changing circumstances?
Joe Sabino casts Weapon X-worthy lowercase black letters into white and colored balloons and boxes. Sound effects help us hear Greta’s teleportation and heighten fight scenes. Yet the red letters that accompany coughing pull on the heartstrings. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Delta entertains wealthy clients by experimenting on unhappy people. Like Doctor Moreau, he seeks to improve on the base model. But what will shape Wade Wilson's destiny more in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII #2? Wolverine’s pity or the impatience of Delta’s clients?
Rating 8.6/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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