Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: deadpool, excalibur, marvel, x-force, x-men, X-ual Healing - The Weekly X-Men Recap Column

With Great Power ComesGreat Responsibility in Deadpool #4 [XH]

Three X-books this week. Which was the best: X-Force #9, Excalibur #9, or Deadpool #4? Read on for recaps and analysis…

Sworn to sell comics for Marvel executives who feared and hated the fact that Fox owned their movie rights, The Uncanny X-Men suffered great indignities, but thanks to a corporate merger and a line-wide relaunch, the X-Men can finally get back to doing what they do best: being objectively the best franchise in all of comics.

DEADPOOL #4
DEC190916
(W) Kelly Thompson (A/CA) Chris Bachalo
DEADPOOL VS KRAVEN!
• King Deadpool enters single combat to save his entire kingdom!
• If Deadpool became king of the monsters when he killed the previous king, will Kraven become king when he kills Deadpool?
Parental Advisory
In Shops: Mar 18, 2020
SRP: $3.99

What happened in Deadpool #4?

More than half the issue consists of a battle between Deadpool and Kraven that should reasonably have been completed last issue. Lots of back-and-forth banter occurs, but the main gist is that Deadpool is very upset with Kraven for killing his friend Bellus. Deadpool really cares about the monsters on Monster Island, even if the book is only four issues in, and even if those issues were extremely decompressed. Eventually, as more and more of Deadpool's monster allies join in, they overwhelm Kraven and he's eaten by sea monster.

Two days later, Deadpool buries Bellus and prepares to leave Monster Island with Jeff the Land Shark, upset at being responsible for the deaths of eleven monsters, but Elsa Bloodstone shows up and gives him a pep talk, so he decides to stay. In an epilogue, Steve Rogers watches Deadpool's Monster Island commercial, in which he dubbed over Steve's voice to give an endorsement to the island. He's not pleased. In Alaska, in another epilogue, the sea monster crashes through the ice and Kraven fights his way out, vowing revenge on Deadpool. Finally, the issue ends with a short comic where Jeff the Land Shark drags Deadpool to a costume store and gets Deadpool to put on a Gwenpool outfit.

Was it any good?

I have to admit to being pretty annoyed that the first half of this issue consisted of the conclusion of a battle that should have ended last issue. The second half of the issue, ending this first story arc, served to fully establish Deadpool's new status quo, his dedication to leading the monsters of Monster Island, and his acceptance of responsibility after several of them were murdered in his first days as king. And I suppose the goal was to have that stuff take place this issue, but it feels like the battle between Deadpool and Kraven was stretched out over two issue just to pad the space. Why? Just another example of the weird pacing that takes place when comics are produced with the eventual collected edition as the end goal, rather than with the single-issue experience as the primary focus. I'm not saying I didn't like where the story ended up, and I did appreciate the epilogues, but at least an entire issue could have been shaved off this story and it would have been smoother.

Next: the Wolverine's Weiner X-Pick of the Week!

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