Let me start by saying that I am, as a rule, weary of hyperbole when I hear it from comic book writers and publishers, but I actually think Marvel might be able to pull off “the most epicDeadpoolstory of all time” with its upcoming miniseries, which will complete the infamousDeadpool Killstrilogy.
In an interview with IGN,Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Timeauthor Cullen Bunn – who is joined by artist Dalibor Talajić for the series – “[threw] down the gauntlet” for the series, and I find myself getting hyped despite my better judgement.
It is nothing new for creators to hype their latest project as the “best work they’ve ever done,” or “the greatest [insert character name here] story ever told,” and usually that kind of talk is all noise to me, butI am open to the possibility that Cullen Bunn’s proclamation will hold weight when all is said and done.
“Deadpool Kills” Author Cullen Bunn Promises An “Epic” Conclusion To His Blood-soaked Trilogy
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time#1– Written By Cullen Bunn; Art By Dalibor Talajić; Main Cover By Davide Paratore
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Timeis the culmination of a nearly fifteen year journey, which started with Cullen Bunn and Dalibor Talajić’sover-the-top 2011 seriesDeadpool Kills the Marvel Universe. The creative duo produced a sequel,Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again, in 2017, and now they have one more story to tell, in order to complete the trilogy. The previous two titles certainly pushed the boundaries ofwhat aDeadpoolstory could be, and now there is a great deal of expectation from readers that the author and artist will outdo themselves withOne Last Time.
While I enjoyed the previous twoDeadpool Killsstories, now I have a vested interest in finding out if Cullen Bunn’s words ultimately ring true.
Cullen Bunn acknowledged this himself, telling IGN:
I spent a lot of time researching the “worst” (meaning “the best”) variants of Marvel heroes and villains. What I didn’t realize when I set out is that we were creating the most epic Deadpool story of all time. How’s that for an escalation? How’s that for throwing the gauntlet down?
What I appreciate about this comment from Bunn is the artistic bravado of it all;the author essentially says that he wrote the bestDeadpooltale of all time without even actually meaning to – the story is just that wild, and creatively uninhibited.In the sense that his tease forOne Last Timeis meant to drum up interest for the series, I’m happy to admit that it worked on at least one reader: me. While I enjoyed the previous twoDeadpool Killsstories, now I have a vested interest in finding out if Cullen Bunn’s words ultimately ring true.
Cullen Bunn “[Threw] Down The Gauntlet” With His Latest Deadpool Story, And I Believe It Can Live Up To The Hype
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time#1– Variant Covers By Greg Land, Leineil Francis Yu, & More
Cullen Bunn’s rhetorical question, “how’s that for escalation?” is definitely tongue-in-check, to a certain extent; it is an acknowledgment of the generally held truism that sequels need to continually ramp up the stakes, action, and overall spectacle of each previous installment. The goal of a sequel, in other words, is effectively to take a story’s premise “to the next level” – andI would argue that it is fair to say thatDeadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Againdid this for the original miniseries, which makes it reasonable for us to expectOne More Timeto push the envelope even further.
Every Death In Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe Again
Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe Again features the title character going on another massacre through Marvel’s iconic superheroes and villains.
According to Bunn, this final installment of the trilogy has been in the works for a long time, and will feature Deadpool on a whirlwind, murderous tourof the Marvel Multiverse, which is an important part of why I actually, tentatively, buy into the creator’s “most epic” hype. Bunn explained:
The multiverse most certainly opens up a lot of new avenues of exploration We wanted this to be different from what you’ve seen before in the series. We wanted to show Deadpool battling different versions of Marvel heroes (many readers will have seen before, many who are new).
To me, this is especially intriguing; not only will Deadpool face off against iconic,already established Marvel variantsinOne Last Time, but the series will introduce a whole new slate ofunique versions of Marvel characters, which is always one of my favorite parts of a Multiverse story.
The Final Installment Has A Lot To Live Up To
I’d like to take a moment to scrutinize Cullen Bunn’s use of the word “epic,” because the word has taken on a colloquial usage that has all but neutralized its actual meaning. An epic, in the traditional sense, is a story with a profound sense of scope, scale, and ambition; the first twoDeadpool Killsbooks might have approached a sense of “epicness,” butDeadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Timetruly has the opportunity to live up to the meaning of the word with its Multiverse-spanning story of slaughter and mayhem, and I personally hope it does.
I am going to invest my time and energy into reading the series – and so naturally, I want it to live up to everything that has come before, and exceed my expectations.
In other words, perhaps it is fair to say that it is less a matter of me believing Cullen Bunn when he says the series will be “the most epic Deadpool story of all time,” but rather wanting this to be true. I am going to invest my time and energy into reading the series – and so naturally, I want it to live up to everything that has come before, and exceed my expectations, just like it exceeded its author’s; I want this lastDeadpool Killsseries to be the GOAT, when all is said and done.
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time#1will be available August 22, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
