Antebellum Marvel: Cable & Deadpool #30
Previously in Thunderbolts #104
I’m traveling the road to Civil War with Marvel so I can be caught up by the time this storyline hits the big screen. Please do not comment with spoilers if you’re familiar with this particular story arc, but you are welcome to provide non-spoiler answers to any questions I may ask in the review. If you are interested in following along, here’s the reading order I’ll be following.
Who’s In It:
Wade Wilson (Deadpool), Captain America, Cable, Daredevil
What Happens:
Confession: This was my first Deadpool book and I am in love. This issue was a fun deviation from the heavy content in the previous Civil War issues. It was laugh-out-loud funny and tied into the ongoing story in an organic way.
Hoping to cash in on the upheaval caused by the SRA, Deadpool takes it upon himself to apprehend renegade heroes. He thinks the government will be so impressed they’ll offer him a full-time job doing it.
His plan works out, but not in the way he expected. Deadpool’s intel is outdated because the group of supes he tries to bring in have already registered, and they end up delivering him to the government instead. He’s offered the job as super hero bounty hunter.
As he’s preparing to find his first target, he speaks with Cable, who he assumes is above the fray. Cable reports back to Captain America almost immediately and offers - again - to get him and the other rebel heroes out of the country. Cap declines, refusing to run. Cable is in possession of some valuable information: the new secret identities of rebel heroes like Daredevil.
He’s also sure that Cap is not seeing the big picture. Cable is concerned decades - or even centuries - from now, the government will be using them as militarized weapons. They part ways with Cable assuring Cap that his offer will always stand, and with Deadpool watching from the shadows, and now in possession of Daredevil’s new identity.
When Deadpool tries to apprehend Daredevil, the two fight and also debate the merits of being on either side of the SRA. Deadpool doesn’t understand why heroes can’t just do their jobs without having secret identies. Daredevil counters he doesn’t understand why they should have to, and reminds Deadpool that not everyone is doing it for the money.
Deadpool isn’t as smart as he thinks he is, because Captain America and other rebel heroes arrive and reveal it was all a setup. Deadpool predicts he’s about to get his ass whupped. Deadpool is probably right.
Overall Thoughts:
- Like I said at the start: I’m in love. This was one of the funniest comic books I’ve ever read. There’s a great bit about Deadpool’s first person narrative not working. He thinks he’s the only one who can hear his inner monologuing, but everyone can.
This was a great issue to “meet” Deadpool. It wonderfully displayed the many parts of his character: goofy, perverted, greedy, but also smart and diabolical.- Loved Cable’s insight into how people aren’t really looking at the big picture and how inaction is sometimes as dangerous as action.
- The art is top-notch with an exciting splash page and a few visual gags.
- This is the first tie-in that made me want to go read the issues before and after.
