When we talk about a superhero or vigilante, whether from Marvel, DC, or another family, we usually judge them by their powers and abilities. Iron Man, BatmanOmni-Man, Patriot, Superman, Spider-Man…There are enough examples to fill decades of stories. And despite this, there is one whose best quality is not exactly a superpower, but something intrinsic to his personality.
Wade Wilson, known as Deadpool, Massacre or Mercenary with a Mouth, is one of the most curious vigilantes in the history of Marvel and superheroes in general. He has a lot of powers and abilities that make him an almost immortal being, similar to what happens with Wolverine or Wolverine. Hence, they both spend the whole day blowing each other up: there is no real danger of death and that is fun!
The fantabulous Deadpool
Deadpool's superpowers can be summarized in a genetically enhanced physiology: superhuman strength, speed, endurance, agility and reflexes, longevity and his body always stays in shape… or gets back into shape after binge eating and excesses. The highlight is the healing factor of him: quasi-immortality, immunity to diseases, chemical attacks, biological and radiation. They include excesses with alcohol, drugs and other substances.
He also has underrated resistances to telepathy, mind reading is chaos, and possession of any kind. Venom and Xaphan couldn't quite handle him. And other skills to complete the resume: martial arts master, firearms expert, born assassin, polyglot (Esperanto, German, Japanese and Spanish) and an absurdly good knowledge of our Pop Culture.
Night of the Living Deadpool #1, referencia a la canción “I Think We’re Alone Now”
An amazing mind
None of these powers and abilities surpass his best quality: the personality. He is a real ball player and super self-aware. Deadpool knows that his reality (comics, series, movies…) is just a world created by writers and artists. In a way, he is the only superhero who knows our reality or universe.
And where does this way of being come from? How did it reach this level of consciousness? It's a little sad. There are several factors that have ended up taking their toll on him mentally and that have ended up driving him crazy. The main one is his mutation, which affects his brain cells and turns him into an unstable person (in every sense), impulsive and completely unpredictable. That's why it's so difficult to read his mind.
Deadpool references to Batman and DC
All this has enhanced his sarcastic personality based on using humor to mask all the physical and mental pain he suffers. On the other hand, his life experience also takes its toll on him: doing the atrocities he has done (killing, robbing, suffering torture…) and accumulating such an amount of suffering (shootings, stabbings, explosions, loss of limbs…).
Remember that Deadpool he feels ALL the pain they cause him, he even feels growing pains when he regenerates. He has developed a great tolerance over the years, but he is not immune to the psychological impact. And as a detail: he has a phobia of cows.
Breaking the fourth wall
Much has been written about why Deadpool He is aware that he is in comics, series and movies. Although it is something that he has always known unconsciously, Deadpool has had several confirmations throughout his history, although he has always played dumb/crazy so as not to reveal that he knows more than necessary.
- When the Beyonder transported him to the Foundations of Eternity (Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #11). There he knew with complete certainty that he was in a comic.
- When he joined Loki in Deadpool #37 (2000) to conquer the universe and the god revealed to him that “none of this is really happening. There's a man with a typewriter.”
And this is how Deadpool breaks the fourth wall to address us and uses a thousand references during his adventures in comics, series and movies, especially to mess with other characters. If you want some examples, take a look at Deadpool (2016) y Deadpool 2 (2018), or the lack of Wolverine that we recently shared.
In VidaExtra | Deadpool and Wolverine have another pending account: proving that Daredevil created the Ninja Turtles
In VidaExtra | The 14 craziest things you can do in the Deadpool video game
In VidaExtra | This Daredevil story explains why Batman's decision not to kill Joker is much more strategic than you imagine
