Deadpool #2 Review

Written by: Alyssa Wong
Art by: Martin Coccolo
Colors by: Neeraj Menon
Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover art by: Martin Coccolo, Neeraj Menon
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: December 14, 2022

Deadpool #2 finds Deadpool grappling with his mission to assassinate Doctor Octopus while a Carnage symbiote embryo continues to grow (and burst) from his body.

Is It Good?

Uh oh. That didn’t take long. I was pleasantly surprised with the first issue (read our review here) because Wong managed to set up a unique premise and capture the tone of Ryan Reynolds’s version of Deadpool without getting too weird. Deadpool #2 is a step back.

Why? The voice and personality of Ryan Reynolds’s version of Deadpool are all but gone, replaced by non-stop jokes that don’t land and don’t fit the moment of peril Deadpool finds himself in at the moment. This is silly billy, irritating Deadpool.

Next, the entire issue is one long fight between Deadpool, Harrower, Doctor Octopus, and Lady Deathstrike, an addition who comes out of nowhere and claims to have been part of Deadpool’s mission the whole time. What was the point of obscuring Lady Deathstrike’s partnership with Deadpool? Was it meant to be a gag? Was it supposed to be funny when you find out she was always there, but Deadpool was too self-absorbed to notice? It comes off as a random event that changes the dynamic of the plot, and if it was meant to be funny, it didn’t present as such.

The Carnage symbiote continues to grow, sprouting arms that “help” Deadpool during the fight. When it looks like the assassination isn’t going to get done, Deadpool and Lady Deathstrike skedaddle in different directions. In short, there’s a fight, and Deadpool runs away when it looks like he’s not going to win. The end.

In fairness, there’s an epilogue where Deadpool reaches out to another character for help with his symbiote problem, but that’s a story for another issue.

Coccolo’s art is good to great, and Menon’s colors are well-executed, but Menon went with a faded color palette that lacks pop. The art structure is present, but the energy is lacking.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Deadpool #2 takes a step back from issue #1 by reverting the titular to silly, obnoxious Deadpool and creating an issue-long fight that ends in a draw. In other words, the tone and personality of the first issue are gone, and the plot goes nowhere.