Deadpool #9 Review
Taskmaster joins the fray.
Posted: 1 Apr 2009 9:59 pm
If you're just tuning in, here's the deal with Deadpool. During Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn stole Skrull information from him which led to Osborn's celebrated assassination of Queen Veranke - information that Deadpool hadn't yet delivered to Nick Fury in order to get his big cash payout. Now Deadpool's looking to get his cash through "Plan B," and running astray of the new head of H.A.M.M.E.R. means running astray of his band of black ops villains, the all-new all-different Thunderbolts, who just happen to be led by hot blonde Yelena Belova.
This issue features Deadpool calling in the reinforcements in the form of chronic "frenemy" Taskmaster. The main draw of this issue is undoubtedly the relation between the two anti-heroes, and the humorous game of one-up they proceed to play. Elsewhere, the issue is another "Deadpool's fallen in love" plot, which is always good for a laugh or two. Deadpool #9 is, in many ways, the prototypical Deadpool fare: things blow up, large guns are shot, there's a gimmicky development or two thrown in, and it's all very amusing. But if you came to the title from Thunderbolts fandom, you might find the tone of the "Magnum Opus" crossover wildly at odds with what you've come to expect from that book. Mileage may vary, essentially, depending on your expectations.
Once again, Paco Medina's artwork fits the subject material perfectly. His cartoony touches are able to convey the lunacy going on in these pages very well. There's a slight blip here or there, and a very noticeable editing slip-up with the rendering of Yelena Belova. Thunderbolts artist Bong Dazo depicted her with a different hairstyle and color, as recently as the recap page of this very issue. It seems like a crossing of wires that probably could've been prevented.
What it boils down to, then, is that Deadpool fans are probably ecstatic over his treatment in this storyline, while T-Bolts readers may be bristling over the newly-minted team's ineptitude in a mission against someone so brazenly ridiculous. Still, as an issue Deadpool #9 does what it says on the box and provides some chuckles and cleverness along the way.
Deadpool [2008]
Release DateSeptember 10, 2008