Whether you’re an old school Deadpool fan chillin’ in your Rob Liefeld Levi’s 501 Button Fly Jeans and Fabian Nicieza underoos or a brand-new one reeled in by his record-breaking movie, one thing is certain: 2016 was a good year for Deadpool.
Before you can form any lasting memories of the regeneratin’ degenerate for 2017, take a look at our list of the best ones from 2016:
Deadpool sets up a piano-wire booby trap for Sabretooth [Deadpool v4 #8]
Writer: Gerry Duggan | Art: Mateo Lolli
The fight that follows pales in comparison, but just take a look at this setup.
Writer Gerry Duggan shows us what happens when Deadpool thinks you killed his family and you keep ducking out on him. Even if your name happens to be Sabretooth.
Why This Made the Cut: Uninitiated Deadpool fans know him for his “OMG so random” clowning and unhealthy obsession with the word “chimichanga.” This storyline conveys key constituents in the character’s nature that have been there since his first appearance: his acumen for analyzing an opponent and his surprisingly fastidious preparatory ability.
Before Deadpool piano-wired Sabretooth off his bike, he scouted both Sabretooth and Magneto but chose not to attack as a result of the latter’s presence. Good looks, DP:
Favorite Quote: “Ugh. Creed looks like a Pez dispenser. Not a headless body.”
Read our full fight analysis:
Deadpool Runs Over Mysterio [Spider-Man/Deadpool #2]
Writer: Joe Kelly | Art: Ed McGuinness
Why This Made the Cut: Deadpool sings the following song while driving the Dead-Buggy up the face of a skyscraper:
And then proceeds to run Mysterio’s ass over:
Read our full review:
“Who’s the man now?” [Deadpool & Cable Split Second Infinite Comic #002]
Writers: Fabian Nicieza, Reilly Brown | Art: Reilly Brown
Remember when Cable was more popular than Deadpool? Those of you old enough to remember the Gulf War, grunge rock, Monica Lewinsky’s semen-splotched blue dress and dial-up internet sure do. At one point, Cable was the most popular character in the entire Marvel universe, and perhaps as a result of this, Deadpool ended up getting the shit end of the stick during their battles.
But it’s 2017 now. Shit done changed. You probably could have guessed that from Deadpool’s pervasiveness in the current Marvel landscape (Deadpool, Deadpool & The Mercs for Money, Spider-Man/Deadpool, and a leading role in Uncanny Avengers just to name a few); or the fact that Deadpool has a record-breaking R-rated superhero film to his credit and Cable doesn’t; or from the name placement alone of this series (Deadpool & Cable, not Cable & Deadpool) alone; whatever the case, this issue signifies a bittersweet moment in the annals of each character’s history which —
Oh, who the hell am I kidding?
Finally, Deadpool beats Cable’s ass. Who cares if it’s enfeebled old man Cable with only a fraction of his former power? If you’re a fellow day-one Deadpool fan, this is the kind of shit you’ve been waiting for since Cable physically mailed Deadpool back to his employer Tolliver at the end of New Mutants #98 and then bragged about it like he’d airdropped canned goods to starving children in a third world country.
Why This Made the Cut: Suck it Cable.
Favorite Quote: “I let him win because I knew eventually I’d be more popular than he is and it’d look good on my resume.”
Deadpool Highway Scene
Director: Tim Miller | Screenplay: Rhett Rheese, Paul Wernick | Deadpool: Ryan Reynolds
We could fill this list with great scenes from the film, but props to director Tim Miller and crew for establishing the character’s inimitable tone from the get-go; true to the regeneratin’ degenerate’s form, Deadpool made it clear that it wasn’t going to be another formulaic, cookie-cutter superhero movie; although the action is intense, skillfully choreographed and brimming with grisly violence — what sets Deadpool apart from the pack is, naturally, the titular Merc with a Mouth, whose every interaction with the assailants whose asses he beats is suffused with biting banter and deranged energy.
Favorite Quote: “I’ve never said this, but don’t swallow!”
Deadpool Battles Black Panther [Deadpool v4 #15]
Writer: Gerry Duggan | Art: Mike Hawthorne
If you didn’t know about Black Panther before Captain America: Civil War — now you know.
Black Panther is a bad dude. He’s not only one of the Marvel Universe’s most dangerous fighters (check out our Black Panther 101 for proof, highlights of which include: Black Panther bitch-smacking Wolverine; Black Panther beating Steve Rogers, Captain America in a sparring match; Black Panther nerve-pinching Luke Cage to the pavement and more) but also “the 8th smartest man in the world.”
So what happens when Deadpool, a character not usually regarded for his unparalleled mental proficiency, takes on a genius warrior-king?
Deadpool #15 answers that question when Deadpool wingsuit sneaks into Triskelion, the Ultimates Headquarters to have an impromptu chat with the precognitive Ulysses during Civil War II.
On the way out he bumps into Black Panther, who isn’t too keen on the intrusion:
The ensuing throwdown spans eight pages, including an awesome (and hilarious) staggered, ten-panel double-page sequence that at one point sees DP drop a certain WWE legend’s Diving Elbow Drop and… possibly something else, when the fight spills into the Triskelion restroom:
Why This Made the Cut: Deadpool is often played for laughs, with his healing factor the catalyst and rationalization for him to absorb cartoonish amounts of punishment, but in this battle with T’Challa he shows glimpses of why his fighting prowess should never be underestimated.
That, and this whole fight could have been easily avoided if Deadpool had just contacted the Ultimates beforehand through “regular channels,” as Black Panther notes. That’s our Deadpool! ::laugh track::
Favorite Quote: “I get it. I’m used to silly fights. Every so often a man has to test himself against the best. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Deadpool Gets Even [Deadpool #7]
Writer: Gerry Duggan | Art: Scott Koblish
Deadpool isn’t called the Merc with a Mouth just to sate people with hard-ons for alliteration. (I’m looking at you, Jason; you alliterative adept, you.)
Throw shade at Deadpool at your own risk. Iron Fist learned that the hard way.
As well as the elite ninja order (and longtime Daredevil foes), The Hand:
Why This Made the Cut: See what happens when you get on Deadpool’s bad side?
Favorite Quote: “I can’t remember very basic stuff about my past. But I remember practically every time someone throws shade my way.”
Deadpool and Spider-Man Dance Off [Spider-Man/Deadpool #4]
Writer: Joe Kelly | Art: Ed McGuinness
Comic book historians will one day look back on this and dub it, “The moment Spider-Man and Deadpool truly became friends #teamspideypool”
Why This Made the Cut: Writer Joe Kelly, Deadpool-writing boss that he is, didn’t take the lazy route and make Spider-Man and Deadpool friends from day one; Wade and Peter Parker kicking it in Hellhouse, having a few drinks and then dancing together in their skivvies for the entertainment of two demi-goddesses, as freaky as that might sound, is one of the defining moments in their burgeoning friendship.
Favorite Quote: “Spidey, listen… I know this is a big step. Even thinking of trusting me probably gave you a rash… But I’m not gonna screw it up. I want you to see we could be friends. Merc’s honor.”
Read our full review:
Deadpool takes on the Sinister Six, Amazing Friends-style [Deadpool Annual #1]
Writers: Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan | Art: Scott Koblish
Ever wondered what it’d be like if you took Deadpool and plunked him directly into an episode of the 1981-1983 Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends animated kid’s show?
Every bit as reprehensible and hilarious as you imagined, thanks to the reunion of writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan.
Why This Made the Cut: Stories like “Deadpool and his Insufferable Pals” really make me miss Brian Posehn writing the character alongside Duggan as he always imbued Deadpool with ideal amounts of biting wit, irreverence, recondite pop culture references, salvos of nonsensicality and of course, over-the-top violence.
This one ranks right up there with Joe Kelly’s satirical anachronistic masterpiece, “With Great Power Comes Great Coincidence” from Deadpool v1 #11 (1997), which saw Deadpool travel back to 1967 and switch places with Peter Parker — high praise, considering it’s in contention for my favorite Deadpool story of all time.
Although “Deadpool and his Insufferable Pals” resides on the more farcical end of the scale with jokes and sight gags aplenty, Posehn and Duggan offset the expected preposterousness with just the right amounts of dark humor that you’d expect when sissified versions of the Sinister Six face down what they’d never see coming in a million years: a gun-toting maniac out for their blood.
Favorite Quote: “I hope you kids with televisions have as much fun watching my cartoon as the Asian kids that had to draw me did.”
Read our full review:
Deadpool saves Peter Parker’s soul from Limbo [Spider-Man/Deadpool #5]
Writer: Joe Kelly |
Art: Ed McGuinnessYeah, Deadpool might’ve technically been the guy who put him there in the first place (by shooting Peter Parker square in the face at the end of Spider-Man/Deadpool #4.
But a friend willing to admit he made a mistake and let his wife temporarily turn him into a human shish kebab just so he can machine gun blast phantasmal versions of Gwen Stacy and Uncle Ben to pull you from the desolate chasms of Limbo is a friend worth having.
Technically, this is the third time Deadpool has killed Mysterio on this list.
Favorite Quote: “Where in the Hell, literally, is the soul of Peter Parker?”
Read Our Full Review:
Deadpool prevents a girl from killing herself [Deadpool #20]
Writer: Gerry Duggan | Art: Mateo Lolli
Deadpool. Motor-mouthed merc. Incorrigible asshole. Man of… compassion? That’s right, Deadpool stops a girl from taking her own life — but he does so in a way that’s different than you might expect.
From our full review:
Duggan nearly made me tear up with the last few pages as well. Deadpool, in very Deadpool fashion, expresses the perfect advice for anyone who wishes to take their own life. It’s poignant, touching, and real.
Why This Made the Cut: The greatest Deadpool moment of 2016 was also the most heartfelt. Deadpool doesn’t try to lecture the girl from the ledge with some contrived bout of sympathy. He’s just there for her — which, as it turns out, can be exactly what a person in that position needs.
Favorite Quote:
Read our full review:
There you have it, folks.
Did we miss any Deadpool moments from 2016 that you think should have made the cut? Want to acknowledge how awesome our choices were? Talk amongst yourselves in the comments.
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