So who is this Deadpool character?

Deadpool is a Marvel character set to feature in his own movie as part of the X-Men universe. Known as the “Merc with a Mouth,” he has been kind of the jokester of the Marvel Universe since he first appeared in the early ‘90s in the waning days of the original New Mutants series. On film, Ryan Reynolds played him back in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Deadpool (real name Wade Wilson) is sort of a parody of the DC New Teen Titans villain Deathstroke the Terminator (real name Slade Wilson) in both appearance and powers. The code name Deadpool is an answer to the question “Where do you do the deathstroke?” He started as a supervillain and later became an anti-hero.

Deadpool, whose face is scarred and hidden by a mask, was endowed by the Weapon X program (the program that created Wolverine) with healing ability and agility. He is a highly trained martial artist. He’s named “Merc with a Mouth” because he’s a mercenary who won’t stop talking.  

The other fun part of Deadpool is that he is aware that he is in a comic and will break the fourth wall a lot. His stories have always had an air of humor and parody to them and his various titles have always been a little jokey, with names like Deadpool Corps or Deadpool Team-Up or issues with labeled as fake “#900” (which means the title would date back to before the debut of Superman). There have been related characters who are wacky parodies of superhero names, like Lady Deadpool, Kid Deadpool (Kidpool) and Dogpool.

The main thing to remember about the character of Deadpool is fun. Comics have gone somewhat darker over the past few decades, with heroes acting more like antiheroes and doing terrible things in the service of saving the world. Deadpool is like a breath of fresh air, puncturing that doom and gloom, and comics are richer for having him in them.