Deadpool Classic by Various

This book reprints some of the early Marvel Comics stories of Deadpool, the "Merc with a Mouth"- another produce of the Weapon X development project, one that left him with a mutant healing ability similar to Wolverine, but a horribly scarred face and body.

The first story is the introduction of Deadpool in the pages of "The New Mutants", where he is sent by a man named Mr. Tolliver to kill Nathan Summers, better known as Cable. Neither is able to overcome the other, though Cable wins with the assistance of the New Mutants and a new female character known as Domino.

Next is a Deadpool stand-alone comic where Tolliver is dead, but has left behind the greatest weapon in the world. He also leaves behind clues to the location of the weapon on two floppy discs, which are sent to two of Tolliver's associates to keep safe. But Tolliver knew many mercs and employed them, and all of them, Deadpool inciuded, want to get their hands on this "ultimate weapon" before anyone else does.

So Deadpool, accompanied by his associate, Weasel, plays tag-team around the world, trying to recover the location of the weapon. On his tail are not only Black Tom Cassidy and Juggernaut, but a killing machine known as Slayback and Deadpool's former love Vanessa Carlyle, also known as Copycat. But when they track the weapon to a holding of Tolliver's in Nepal, the battle between Deadpool and Slayback inadvertantly powers up the weapon. But can Deadpool stop it before it kills them both?

The next story pairs Deadpool and Banshee's daughter, Siryn, on the trail of Black Tom Cassidy, who is dying of a strange disease that is turning him into something like a plant, with spines and bark growing on his skin. Juggernaut wants to save his partner from the Virus that is so obviously killing him, but the Doctor who says he can cure Black Tom, Killebrew, needs something of Deadpool's to save Black Tom. In a word, some of Deadpool's cells, whose healing factor might overcome the virus infecting Black Tom. And when Deadpool gets his hand chopped off, that seems to be the part of him that Killebrew will use. But can Black Tom be cured, and can Deadpool save Siryn from her Uncle's mercenaries?

Ending out the book is a tale of Deadpool sent to Antarctica to break into a secure facility down there. But the facility, headed by Dr. Walter Langkowski, better known as Sasquatch, a former friend and mental health provider to Deadpool. The facility is meant to drain off gamma radiation from the atmosphere and sequester it so it can't affect people on earth. But when Deadpool and Sasquatch's fight breaks the containment field, they have to work together before the entire southern hemisphere becomes irradiated, causing all the people living there to get cancer or die horribly. But can Deadpool, a mercenary, bring himself to work for free and help?

It was interesting to see how the early Deadpool stories differed from the later ones I have read. Deadpool now seems just this side of sane, breaking the fourth wall constantly and making asides to himself just about as often. But when he first appeared, he wasn't that way at all. In fact, he was quite menacing and not such a figure of fun. It's not until nearly the end of the graphic novel stories that he started to have those qualities at all. so reading the past stories might not satisfy as much if you are used to the current Deadpool.

But you can definitely see the progression starting in the story with Siryn, which is much more jokey and bantering than the stories that have come before. But even in the last story in the volume he isn't quite his usual schizophrenic self, though he does have his usual sense of humor. What is interesting is the picture we get of Wade back before his face turned into a mass of blisters, and he looks an awful lot like Cable. In fact, I wondered what Nathan was doing in that story, until I realized it was supposed to be Deadpool.

This graphic novel is interesting, even if, like me, you aren't all that in love with the character of Deadpool. It's an interesting journey into the origins of the character, although if you like him, you may have trouble recognizing the barely sane character you have come to know and love. I found it interesting, though hardly a must-read. Someone who is a real fan of the character may see things differently, of course, so YMMV.