In an exciting adventure, penned and drawn by none of the creative teams working for Spider-Man or Deadpool, Peter Parker is back and is need of help from his greatest ally… Deadpool?
Deadpool Annual #2: Spidey-Pool
Writer: Christopher Hastings
Artist: Jacopo Camagni
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: David Nakayama
Editors: Frankie Johnson & Jordan White & Mike Marts
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso
The Story: After a weird encounter with Spider-Man, the Amazing Wade Wilson learns that the Chameleon is driving his best bud Spidey insane by playing mind games and getting him to attack innocent people. When Spider-Man attacks an innocent woman, Deadpool stops him… only to discover that she actually is The Chameleon, who injec
ts Spider-Man with something that causes him to pass out just after he stops Deadpool from killing The Chameleon. Deadpool decides to help Spider-Man by posing as him in an attempt to draw out The Chameleon. He ends up fighting a classic animal themed villain (a snake controlling villain called The Massster) and things get insane when the Massster and his snake minions turn into a giant mouse. They go on a rampage in Manhattan but Deadpool is able to stop them, thanks to Chameleon’s goons and their helicopter. Chameleon confronts Deadpool, but is caught off guard when Spider-Man attacks him, dressed as Deadpool. Chameleon poses as Deadpool as well, forcing Wade to choose which one to shoot; he makes the right call after the real Spider-Man tries to stop him from shooting the other guy. Spider-Man thanks Deadpool for his help and is surprised to learn that Deadpool actually made New York start to trust Spider-Man again.
Thoughts: I had never heard of Christopher Hastings, Jacopo Camagni, Matt Milla before this annual, but someone seriously needs to get them an on-going title, because they killed it with this issue. Their ability to tell a light and humorous story is noticeable immediately, when Spider-Man starts the issue by taking out a bit too much anger on Deadpool and the subsequent panel sees him adjusting his head back into its normal place. He then proceeds to shoot himself point blank to prove he is really himself to Spider-Man. Things only get more and more fun as Deadpool begins to masqerade as Spider “The Champion of Dumb” Man and reaches a pinnacle of insanity when Deadpool is forced to fight a giant mouse while battling a helicopter full of hired mercenaries.
They’re also very aware how ridiculous Deadpool posing as Spider-Man is (they constantly have the mask distorted thanks to the uneven layout of Wade’s face so that he never really looks the part), but damn, if they don’t do a good job showing Deadpool being able to think on his feet and adjust to the fact that he doesn’t have Spidey’s super strength or spider-sense. You’ll believe by the end that Deadpool is capable of being the hero that Spider-Man needs to redeem his tarnished reputation.
And while the story is quite light, they also do wonders for Chameleon. He comes off as genuinely sinister and creepy, which plays well off of Deadpool’s light nature. Watching him toy with both Peter and Wade is fun and the way Deadpool takes him out isn’t exactly original, but it’s a nice character beat for both Peter and Wade that comes down to Peter’s “No-one dies” motto.
Verdict: This was a fantastic issue, for fans of Spider-Man, Deadpool, and The Chameleon. With two great supervillains (one played for laughs, one played serious), a kinetic art style that distinguishes whose beneath the mask (Peter’s mask is constantly contorted as if he’s in pain, while Wade’s is constantly contorted in different ways because of his scars), and some nice heart-warming moments between Spidey and Deadpool, this is an annual you don’t want to miss.
Pros:
- Great team-up
- Fantastic new creative team
- Chameleon is sinister
- Fun Battle with The Massster
- Witty jokes
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I loved that Marvel’s following up with Sinister Six loose thread from Superior Team-Up. First Electro, now Chameleon. Can’t wait to see where and how the others are going to show up.
@#2 – Yeah I get that. Thanks for the response. The art was certainly good and the Chameleon was well portrayed. I wouldn’t protest to seeing these guys give a Spider-title a shot.
Christopher Hastings writes a great webcomic “Dr. McNinja,” utterly awesome, like Deadpool but more awesome and insane.
When I first read it, I was originally going to give it around a B.
But after reading the first couple issues of Amazing Spider-Man, I found I liked this a lot more than those issues, which I also think rank a B. I also laughed at pretty much every joke in this issue, while Slott is very hit n’ miss with me.
And then I thought about how Humberto Ramos keeps adjusting and refining his art style on ASM, even though he’s been like the lead artist for years now. This team, right from the get-go, seemed to be firing on all cylinders and I felt a unity between the creative team (who worked on Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe before this) that I have never felt when reading ASM. I feel like this team could be the next Fraction/Aja, Gillen/McKelvie, Synder/Capullo if given the chance.
Surprised by this getting a A+. I thought it was alright, kind of generic annual fodder.