Deadpool #12 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Andrea Di Vito

Colorist: Guru-eFX

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Taurin Clarke; Rogé Antônio & GURU-eFX; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg

Production Designer: Sarah Spadaccini

Editors: Mark Basso, Tom Groneman, Cy Pedro Beltran, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 12, 2025

 

Deadpool needs weapons to murder the guy who killed him as revenge for slicing and dicing him into the heavenly home for mercs with mouths. When Agent Gao offers a high-paying job, Wade Wilson figures the world can survive with one fewer Spider-Man. But Ellie frowns on killing heroes who thwip responsibly. So, Deadpool & Daughter dispenses marvelous first aid after shooting Shift by mistake.

 

Now, Wade has a new plan. But can Wade hand Shift over to Agent Gao, grab the cash, and then rescue Miles' brother without Agent Gao sending Midas and Generic Gun Guy after him? Let's leap into Deadpool #12 and find out!

 

Story

Agent Gao is disillusioned. After Mayor Cage overturned Fisk’s Law and shut down her Cape Killers squad, Julia Gao refused to recognize the legality of self-appointed costume heroes. She offered Wade a position in her new anti-vigilante vigilante squad. Now, as she hides from her former police family, Agent Gao meets a stranger in a dark alley. He offers her a gift. She may not understand his reference to Miles’ relationship with Kwaku Anansi, but Agent Gao knows a helping hand when she sees one.

 

In Deadpool #12, Princess finds Miles' new suit hard on the canines. Brooklyn's Spider-Man bonded with Ellie through their Latin heritage and complex family dynamics. But that doesn’t mean Princess has to like the man who shorted out her sister’s shock-daggers and fried Ellie’s teleporting phone.

 

In Cody Ziglar's story, Agent Gao's recruits see through Deadpool's cunning plan and welcome him with fists of fury. Like Queen Victoria, Wade's relabeling fails to amuse Output. Midas reveals a superpower that would make a medieval alchemist drool. Wade has his back against a wall with the threat of Death Grip’s return. He is also at a romantic low point. After reuniting with Valentine Vuong, she walked out the door again. If only Midas wouldn't try to kill him! But then, murder runs in the family in Deadpool #12.

 

 

 

Art

Guru-eFX opens with a blue, purple, and pink assault from screaming squad cars. Clad in her blue jacket, Agent Gao leans against a red-brick wall with faded, peeling stucco. The vibrant yellow-and-orange graffiti adorning the wall evokes Miles’ adeptness with a bag of spray paints. A stranger wearing a grey coat and hat glows yellow when he withdraws a wicked weapon in the green alley.

 

Andrea Di Vito shows Midas and Output's excitement as Deadpool pulls Shift in a child's wagon. Shift’s bundled features evoke Deadpool’s appearance when Ellie, Task Daddy, and Doug strapped his severed sections into an office chair. Midas’ formfitting gold-and-white candy stick suit, her deftness with tonfas, and her yellow explosions make Deadpool go weak at the knees. Output, clad in red and blue, summons white-hot suns from his hands. As time-lapse photography struggles to capture Deadpool's attack, Shift's blurring left arm appears four times in one panel in Deadpool #12.

 

White balloons feature uppercase black text, while Joe Sabino fills red ones with Princess's white dialogue. Black words in green narrative boxes reveal Agent Gao’s thoughts. Words shrink for lowered voices and grow bold for inflection while Ellie’s thoughts fill pink narrative boxes. Colorful sound effects help us hear the Midas Touch, bones snapping, arcing energy, and thwipping, while Ellie’s reprimand in a spiky balloon makes Princess’s eyes and ears droop. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

As the winds of alchemy and science breathe life into his rebirth, Wade Wilson seeks love and big guns in all the wrong places. So, after Ellie and Wade lose some of their healing factors, it doesn’t help that opponents get a level-up. Amid the humorous fighting and violent witticisms, Shift steals hearts (and perhaps minds) in Deadpool #12.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Deadpool #9 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar & Alexis Quasarano

Artist: Andrea Di Vito

Colorist: Guru-eFX

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Taurin Clarke, Mitsuhiro Arita, Jessica Fong & Andy Park

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Cy Pedro Beltran, Drew Baumgartner, Mark Basso & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: December 18, 2024

 

Taskmaster struggles for jobs because clients want Wade Wilson on the case. But Deadpool's undecaying body is floating in the office kiddie pool with ice cubes and energy drinks. At least Ellie’s made a new friend at Chemocorp. Valentine Vuong promised to help Ellie use alchemy to summon Wade's soul from the great beyond. But will Valentine's boss release her from this subsidiary of (the undying) Beyond Corp? Let's leap into Deadpool #9 and find out!

 

Story

MODOK is mad. He expected to buy more loyalty from Valentine than this. Then again, most of his employees are androids, which doesn’t say much about his management skills. Still, MODOK paid for her services, and he expects Valentine to deliver. She is helping him perfect a cell regrowth formula that could dramatically change people's lives. His motives may be financial, but Valentine's products could benefit others. Still, that doesn't stop MODOK from trying to kill Valentine when she quits without giving him two weeks’ notice.

 

Valentine may have left Wade to pursue her interests, but she wants the best for her former lover. Ellie argued that her dad died from a mixture of magic and science. Perhaps Alchemy is pseudoscience. But Valentine has experience with magic and science. She knows that both fields work differently to achieve similar results. In Deadpool #9, Valentine wonders if she can combine her research at Chemocorp with Death Grip's mysticism to revivify Wade.

 

Taskmaster should be living the carefree life of a mercenary. Instead, Wade tied him down with a promotion and the responsibilities that came with it. He feels so overwhelmed that he can’t even win a stare-down with the office rat. As the financial ship sinks beneath his feet, what hits hardest is seeing Ellie injured. In Cody Ziglar and Alexis Quasarano’s story, discovering that MODOK overtaxed Ellie’s healing abilities is Taskmaster’s worst nightmare. Forget about his friend Wade. Who cares about poor client reviews? So what if they must sell the kiddie pool to buy ammunition for their next job? All that matters to Taskmaster is saving Ellie.

 

 

 

 

Art

As MODOK hovers over the smoking company van, Princess looks like she's melting from the villain's blast. MODOK sprouts instruments of death from his armor while Ellie leaps onto his back, digging into his armor with her shock daggers. A timelapse extends across two pages as Ellie avoids laser beams while somersaulting off his boxing glove. As she creates a lightning storm, he slices through her suit. But Ellie uses every skill that comes to hand to turn MODOK into a beetle blasted by a firestorm in Deadpool #9.

 

Guru-eFX lavishes a loaded palette on Andrea Di Vito’s art as gold and purple MODOK blasts through purple-blue air a la Hammerhead. Yellow and orange spark in a black inset circle, revealing the state of play in Ellie’s gray ribcage. Valentine covers Deadpool's daughter with her blue jacket. 

 

 

 

Later, when she and Princess bring Ellie to the green office, Taskmaster helps Valentine put the girl to rest on a green desk. The researcher's blue and white clothes link her with blue, white, and yellow Task Daddy. Then, the green desk becomes an altar, and a gray design fills the white floor.

 

White balloons feature uppercase black text, while Joe Sabino fills red ones with Princesses’ white dialogue. Words shrink for lowered voices and grow bold for inflection while Ellie’s thoughts fill pink narrative boxes. Colorful sound effects help us hear MODOK and Ellie's brutal battle, and white letters reveal twitching fingers as yellow dialogue balloons return in Deadpool #9. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Princess uses her body to shield her sister and Valentine from harm, Ellie discovers the limits of her healing factor. Still, her physical injuries are nothing compared to losing her dad. So, the girl makes a deal without waiting to hear what it will cost her in Deadpool #9.  

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Deadpool #7 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar & Alexis Quasarano

Artist: Andrea Di Vito

Colorist: Guru-eFX

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Taurin Clarke; Mark Bagley & Edgar Delgado; Amanda Conner & Edgar Delgado; Scott Koblish & Jesus Aburtov; Peach Momoko

Graphic Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Drew Baumgartner & MR Daniel; Mark Basso & Ellie Pyle; CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 2, 2024

 

Deadpool is dead. His body lies in the conference room. At least, all the bits that Death Grip lopped off are there. Deadpool always wanted to be the guy in the chair, but Deadpool & Daughters, LLC, needs someone to call the shots while their leader rests in pieces. Can Ellie and Princess assume all the field duties while Taskmaster ensures sufficient cash flow to keep the office rats in fresh water and throw the weekly pizza party? Let's leap into Deadpool #7 and find out!

 

Story

Ellie is acting out. She’s ignoring orders and violating Daddy's No Killing rule. But then, Daddy's not around anymore, and Task-Daddy’s laissez-faire management style during the Arseni Angeloff affair failed to impress her. Taskmaster understands Ellie's anger. But for him to stick around as the Interim CEO and CFO, Deadpool & Daughters, LLC needs income to purchase weapons and give them another shot at Death Grip. 

 

 

 

The entire concept of death comes under review in Deadpool #7. Wade Wilson may no longer breathe, but neither does his body decay. Ellie’s healing factor helps her recover from wounds that would kill others. Her recuperative abilities enhance her brain functions, making her a super student. Ellie learned how to teleport by watching internet videos. So now she's watching Agatha Harkness (or another purple-clad witch) on New Toobe in the hopes of resurrecting her father. Taskmaster warns Ellie against the dangers of obsessing over bringing the dead back to life. Ellie is young, so perhaps that explains her ignoring Mary Shelley's warnings. Besides, it's not as if Ellie can resurrect the dead responsibly like the Scarlet Witch. 

 

 

 

While people may compare Spider-Man with Deadpool, Cody Ziglar & Alexis Quasarano’s story highlights the difference between heroes and antiheroes. Taskmaster isn’t sending Ellie and her symbiote canine sister to steal a briefcase from a villain. Instead, he proposes they steal money from a biotech research firm. Taskmaster implies that stealing from a shell company is okay, as people often create them to launder money, avoid taxes, or shield their activities from public scrutiny. Ellie and Princess embrace the idea enthusiastically. But then, teenagers are scary, right?

 

 

Art

Ellie charges fearlessly into the fray on a rooftop, taking down gun-toting baddies before hurtling down a fire escape. Andrea Di Vito captures the action with time-lapse photography until Ellie reaches the street in Deadpool #7. Ellie braves pistols, rifles, and a rocket launcher while confronting baddies who should clean up their language. But questioning a foul-mouthed villain proves unnecessary thanks to a grenade down the tank top and a tail-fling into the sky. It's not purple rain, but the red shower refreshes, nonetheless.

 

 

 

Princesses' pink tongue also renews Ellie's spirits as she texts her dead dad on a blue cellphone screen. Watching a purple-clad witch on her red phone also makes Ellie smile. But trouble brews when they teleport to a forest-green building illuminated by fern-green windows. Guru-eFX’s white lightning and rain streak the blue evening sky as red, black, and brown Ellie and magenta Princess prepare to ascend the steep grassy rise and enter Chemocorp.

 

 

 

Joe Sabino pulls out all the stops in Deadpool #7. Commentary appears in pink narrative boxes and white ones bordered with pink or blue-and-yellow. White balloons feature uppercase black text, while red ones feature Princesses’ distinctive white font. The dialogue rarely shrinks or grows bold, while yellow arrows highlight Deadpool’s daughters practicing restraint. Pink music notes suggest Ellie is taking her cues from Starlord and Baby Groot, and red letters remind us of Princess' canine nature. Colorful sound effects enhance workplace destruction and people firing laser beams with their eyes. But then, how else can one diffuse contentious office encounters? Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

After Daddy’s dismemberment and death, Ellie is killing time and people, Taskmaster sends juveniles to commit Grand Larceny, and Princess catches a scent that makes her happy in Deadpool #7.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Deadpool #6 Review

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Andrea Di Vito

Colorist: Guru-eFX

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Taurin Clarke; CF Villa & Marte Gracia; Paco Medina & Federico Blee

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: MR Daniel & Drew Baumgartner; Ellie Pyle & Mark Basso; CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 18, 2024

 

Deadpool defeated Death Grip, but it cost him an arm and a leg. Death Grip's Muramasa Blade nullified Deadpool’s healing factor. While Wade Wilson hopes his limbs will regrow, the rat in the water cooler has spawned a family, and Taskmaster wants to get paid. Can Ellie and Princess boost Wilson & Daughters LLC’s prospects while Wade regenerates? Or will they think Daddy heartless for asking them to bring home the bacon? Let's leap into Deadpool #6 and find out!

 

Story

Agent Gao invited Deadpool to join the Cape Killers, but Wade Wilson was tired of ignoring orders, not getting along with his teammates, and disrespecting leaders. Wade has become a surprisingly successful captain of industry and found a reliable lieutenant in Taskmaster. Not only has Princess stuck by Deadpool, but Ellie has proved a capable warrior. If he can regain his healing ability and get Doug to clean up the office, Wade will be 100% happy! Until then, he is the guy in the chair. It will give him time to contemplate his company's and family's futures.

 

First, Wilson & Daughters LLC must generate income to replace Taskmaster’s beautiful Bula and the accompanying arrow Ellie stole from Taskmaster. (So what if Taskmaster stole the arrow from Hawkeye?) With no clients throwing cash in his blotchy face, Wade wants to grab people's attention with a high-profile theft. How better to ring in Taskmaster's term as CEO than stealing from the Russian Mafia? 

 

Cody Ziglar thrusts the Wilson girls into the spotlight in Deadpool #6. After riding to Wade's rescue in Death Grip's temple, Task-Daddy teaches them what it means to be a rookie on a mercenary team. Ellie encourages Princess’ efforts at humor, enjoys using her new weapons, and endeavors to obey her dad’s ground rules. This job is all about helping Ellie gain battlefield confidence. Building a positive corporate image for Wilson & Daughters LLC is a bonus. But then, marketing is Deadpool’s new thing!

 

 

 

Art

Ellie cobbled together a combat suit when she and Princess rode to their daddy’s rescue. This issue, she is in awe of her new suit. Ellie doesn’t wear a Taskmaster shirt and gloves. Still, Task-Daddy bestows an emblem of his pride in Ellie’s achievement. Even the rat pauses to gaze up at her scarlet finery. Later, Ellie wishes she wasn't pulling rookie duty as she rests her face in her right hand and her left arm on Princess' snout. But as Taskmaster sucks down a soda, Ellie spies a mobster popping the top off a can. She launches into battle with a head kick, and Princess protects her with a spinning-tail shield. The Wilson sisters face someone wearing a blue mask with a white star, but he's not Captain America. And Ellie rides Princess The Big Red Symbiote Dog into battle again in Deadpool #6.

 

Guru-eFX lavishes a loaded palette of bright contrasting colors on Andrea Di Vito's scenes in the rubble-strewn office and the Russian mobster's headquarters. Pink highlights on Ellie's hair match her shirt, lips, and the ribbon on Wade's gift. Taskmaster's attractive blue is echoed on Ellie's shoulder and by the new jug in the water cooler. (Not all rats like sewer water). Backgrounds shine blue, turquoise, and green, while Ellie's new weapon illuminates everyone nearby in white-yellow energy.

 

Joe Sabino stabs white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with black and white uppercase lettering in Deadpool #6. The dialogue rarely shrinks, while one character’s snoozing and another’s humming are writ large. Colorful and energetic sound effects enliven a hand-to-paw celebration, bullets striking symbiote flesh and an enormous gun preparing to fire. Well, everyone needs to compensate for something! Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

When Ellie-Bear and Princess undertake a mission, Deadpool discovers the unkindest cut of all in Deadpool #6.

 

Rating: 9.8/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

 

Deadpool #5 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Andrea Di Vito

Colorist: Guru-eFX

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Taurin Clarke; Jan Bazaldua & Israel Silva; Sergio Dávila & Ceci De La Cruz; Yasmine Putri; Annie Wu

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: MR Daniel & Drew Baumgartner; Ellie Pyle & Mark Basso; CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 21, 2024

 

Deadpool wants to protect his Human daughter. Ellie insists on being part of his life. Taskmaster continually gripes about his expenses, yet he sticks around when Deadpool blows his office renovation budget on a rooftop sauna. Princess, Deadpool's alien wolf symbiote daughter, and Doug, who keeps the office humming, are also valued members of his family. But when Taskmaster and Deadpool storm a death cult’s temple, their leader makes Deadpool fear for his life. Can Death Grip nullify Deadpool’s healing ability? And if Deadpool dies, who will care for the rat in the office water cooler? Let's leap into Deadpool #5 and find out!

 

Story

Death Grip’s desire to master his fighting skills made him hunger for supremacy. Now Death Grip worships death, and Deadpool is the ultimate prize. Deadpool's healing ability makes it impossible to kill him. But what if Death Grip could remove it? He has everything a cult leader could want: a temple, subservient followers, and the ability to kill anyone who displeases him without repercussions. But none of that matters as long as someone lives who he can't kill.

 

Ellie enjoys her life with the Prestons but yearns to reconnect with her dad. She’s a whip-smart girl with a healing ability like her father’s and doesn't need protection like a fragile decoration. Ellie can use SHIELD technology to teleport anywhere. If Deadpool sends her away, she will only return. Ellie passed Taskmaster’s combat and physical training tests with flying colors. She wants to go on field missions and won’t charge Deadpool for expenses. Yet when Death Grip invites Deadpool to his temple, Deadpool and Taskmaster leave on the down low. In Deadpool #5, Ellie and Princess are of one mind. Deadpool’s daughters are not interested in Daddy Day Care. They’re going to be part of the team!

 

 

 

If superheroes kill villains, are they still the good guys? Or does taking a life make them antiheroes? Cody Ziglar's story wrestles with what it means to take someone's life. Deadpool has bought enough shiny toys to know everything comes at a price. He is proud of Ellie's accomplishments. He is glad that cancer doesn't accompany her healing abilities. But the mercenary business involves taking lives. Like the blemishes covering his body and the burned taste buds that prevent him from enjoying his food, killing another person devours part of one's soul. Deadpool uses humor to push away the darkness and prevent him from becoming like Death Grip. But not taking things seriously also has a cost. Deadpool has paid the price for killing others and wants to save Ellie from footing that bill. But will Ellie let him?

 

 

Art

Blood streams from Deadpool’s chest as he pushes himself off the floor in Deadpool #5. Death Grip’s magical hands blast a pillar and send Deadpool flying. Deadpool tosses smoke grenades to let him get within sword reach. Death Grip uses magic to hang Deadpool upside down at eye level but doesn’t pull off Deadpool’s mask to steal Mary Jane’s special kiss. Princess stalks the office and looms like King Kong after knocking down an office door. After reading a note filled with hearts, Ellie frowns.

 

Guru-eFX’s bright palette imbues Andrea Di Vito’s taught action and character moments with ambiance and contrast. Death Grip’s white energy radiates a blue glow in the purple temple. Overhead lights allow characters to shine and cast shadows amid the green textured walls and the littered, grimy floor of Deadpool’s green office. Stippled pale red on ivory enlivens an otherwise blank background as Elie rolls up her pink shirt sleeves. Yellow, orange, and pink fill the sky as Deadpool #5 reaches its deadly end.

 

 

 

Joe Sabino stabs white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with black and white uppercase lettering. The font shrinks for lowered voices, emboldens for inflection, and swells for increased volume. Death Grip's spells appear as purple symbols in blue dialogue balloons and as white symbols against the purple temple walls. Colorful and energetic sound effects enliven Deadpool and Death Grip's deathmatch, enhance Taskmaster's holy war against priests, and help us understand why an arrow bears a smiley face. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Deadpool finds strength in being the Family Guy when Death Grip goes Godzilla. Ellie cries, "Hi ho, Silver," Taskmaster gets a promotion, and Deadpool gives Princess carte blanche to eat bad guys (because they’re so yummy) in Deadpool #5.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.