Wade Wilson aka Deadpool is a hard man to kill. With a mutant healing power, he’s been able to come back from every major injury that he’s ever sustained. Heck! Even his discarded body parts were able to come together to form into a second version of the man, a sort of “anti-Deadpool”. Deadpool is a demented man. He’s often found in the middle of a whirlwind of chaos. What makes his annoying antics kind of sad is that his reason for causing so much trouble is that he keeps hoping that someone will find a way to finally kill him.

Recently, a sniper managed to kill the Anti-Deadpool, who had the same healing powers as the original. This was made possible by a special bullet loaded with an unidentified serum that negates mutant powers. Of course, now that the real Deadpool knows that this serum exists, he wants to find a way to get his hands on it so that he can finally get what he wants and die.

Deadpool begins his search for the serum based on the possibly misinterpreted idea that whoever shot the Anti-Deadpool was actually aiming for the real one and didn’t know there were two Deadpools running around. Since he doesn’t know who was behind the sniper, he wants to make sure that whoever hired the hit will try it again. To that end, Deadpool begins a complicated (for him anyway) plan that involves his teammates at X-Force, the Kingpin, a Hydra agent named Bob, and Wolverine’s son Daken.

Got all that? Good. But if you don’t, rest assured. This issue catches you up enough that you don’t have to know Deadpool’s history to understand what’s going on. That makes this issue a great jumping-on point for new readers. Of course, if Deadpool’s plan actually works as some are speculating, new readers will get this one arc and then it’ll be over anyway. Of course, my thought is that no one as annoying (and strangely popular) as Deadpool will just die. I guess we’ll find out as ‘Dead’ continues next issue.

The writing on this issue was better than I expected, especially since to say that I’ve never been a fan of Deadpool is an understatment. Deadpool is one of those characters that works okay with a team or as a guest-star in someone else’s book, but when he’s on his own, he’s always just annoyed the heck out of me. I think that’s why this issue works. Deadpool is the main character, but his crazy plotting involves so many other Marvel heroes and villains that they draw attention away from Deadpool enough to make it tolerable. I’ll even admit to laughing at a few of the jokes, especially the scene with Death and the comment about Psylocke’s underwear drawer.

So, I guess writer Daniel Way has done the impossible with this issue since he manages to provide a Deadpool issue that I actually (sort of) recommend. Of course, I just can’t bring myself to recommend buying a Deadpool comic, so for now, the verdict will be…

Verdict: Borrow

DEADPOOL #50
Written by DANIEL WAY
Art by CARLO BARBERI and WALDEN WONG
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON and NICK BRADSHAW