Deadpool: It’s Not Easy Being Crazy

Deadpool: Wade Wilson. The Bea Arthur-lovin’ Merc-with-a-Mouth. The Regeneratin’ Degenerate, the Sassin’ Assassin. The pop culture reference-makin’, fourth-wall-breakin’ smart-mouth. The … well, you get the idea. He’s been getting more attention of late than Justin Bieber after a bender. Once a cult character, Deadpool is quickly becoming an almost a mainstream phenomenon. Love him or you hate him, there’s no in-between.

Sad to say, there have been more haters as of late. “It’s not Joe Kelly’s Deadpool!” they scrawl through pseudonyms on the interwebs. “He’s become a cheap gimmick,” they type sadly, with half-hearted fingers. It’s fun to break it to the haters: Deadpool is like sex … he sells, sells, sells. And for good reason: Deadpool is the comedic light shining bright through a surplus of serious modern comic books.

One of the most beautiful things about comic book characters is that they have forever-changing creative teams. Of course some last longer than others, but for the most part these teams stay true to who a character is and where they came from. Not a lot of creative freedom has been allowed with these characters personalities, at least from the Big Two (Marvel and DC), except for Deadpool, not only because of interest in the character and expectations of sales in the beginning, but because of something in regards to the character himself.

Something to keep in mind with Wade is that there is no one “true” version of the character. There can’t be, mostly due to the constant decay and simultaneous healing of his brain causing an instability in his psychosis and general mental state. This flux allows for writers to have their fun with Deadpool and an explanation for his forever-changing personality.

So many different creative teams have taken the reigns of Wade’s crazed mind since his creation in the early ’90s. As is the case with Deadpool himself, even his various creative runs have been loved and hated. From the original creators of Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza, to current ongoing writers Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn, Deadpool’s mind has been a melting pot of creative juices. What sets this apart from any other character, and much like Daniel Way’s interpretation, is there’s a method to the madness.

Obviously, as comic book enthusiasts, it’s tough for us to accept a change in the status quo in our favorite characters. Sometimes it’s just not the way we envisioned the character, but it’s not up to us; so have some fun with it. Sometimes we’re lucky to get characters like Deadpool where we can think of fun ways to explain the constant change.

The aforementioned flux in Wade’s brain is what allows us to enjoy such vast differences in each run. We can always count on a writer trying their hardest to further Wade in his constant endeavor to become more than just a comic book character. Even he can’t take himself seriously. So before you hate, keep in mind that this is one of the many chapters in Deadpool’s story, and one of the many personalities we will see.