By Kevin Mahadeo
We all go a little mad sometimes. However, when it comes to the scarlet-clad assassin Deadpool, madness comes in spades. And in the latest arc of his self-titled series written by Daniel Way, the mentally unstable merc shares his special brand of crazy with the X-Men.
"The first super arc of DEADPOOL was basically Deadpool proving that he was the world's greatest gun for hire," recaps Way. "And he did, if only to himself and a few other people who would never mention it. So, he ended up with all the money and he's top dog. And then, nothing. It was over and it became boring. The way I see him, Deadpool is a reaction. Without action, he doesn't exist. The most intriguing thing to him, the most impossible challenge, is to become a hero. But he didn't realize that until he saw Scott Summers on television making this mission statement to people. In his mind, Cyclops was talking directly to him and off to Utopia he went."
The first part of the story from October's issue #16 saw the Merc with a Mouth submitting his application for membership to the X-Men. According to Way, Deadpool's justification lay in the idea that he saw the X-Men as fellow freaks who would welcome the unbalanced assassin with open arms. Not unexpectedly, mutant leader Cyclops didn't see eye-to-eye with Wade Wilson.
"The reason why [Cyclops] won't allow Deadpool on Utopia and the reason why he wouldn't allow him to join to X-Men is because Deadpool is just too volatile, especially in a contained environment," explains Way. "Not even Deadpool knows what he's going to do next, but you can almost guarantee it's going to be fatal. Cyclops is a general and he's leading an
army. He can't have this completely disruptive and unstoppable force that is Deadpool in the middle of his island nation. It'd just cause chaos."
Despite Cyclops' attempts to the contrary, chaos ensued as Deadpool took his rejection as an incentive to prove himself worthy of X-Man status. His plan: kill Ellis Kincaid, father of the X-Man Mercury and a man currently causing legal woes for the team. The story continues with the release of issue #17 on November 11 and Way seeks to carry on the title's tradition of crazy-enough-to-work planning when it comes to Deadpool's schemes. Last issue saw Deadpool cooking a giant stack of pancakes out of boredom that provided cushioning for Domino after she fell through the roof later in the day.
"I think when I'm hitting on all cylinders on the book, that's the way you should always be thinking," says Way. "The reason why Deadpool's plans almost always work is because his opponents are constantly trying to make sense of what he's doing. That's impossible and is also part of the plan. He can see and execute these insane plans because he is insane. They make perfect sense to him. The reason that they work out is because of him. It's always hard for characters and hopefully readers to see what the goal is until it's there."
Coming up in the next issue of DEADPOOL: a train scene rivaling the one from the Academy Award winning film "The Untouchables," a rooster attack and Deadpool showing off his talents of the musical variety.
"I always keep a short list of one-word bullet points of things I want to get into the book," admits Way. "One was pancakes. I wanted him to say, 'I'll
be your Huckleberry,' and I got that out in the [WOLVERINE: ORIGINS] arc. I wanted him to sing 'Lime in the Coconut song.' And he sings a little Eddy Grant in this arc."
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