With Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds’ merc has finally joined the MCU. The team-up with Hugh Jackman’s iconic X-Men character also serves as a fond farewell to the Fox era of Marvel movies, and is filled with cameos from top to bottom. But once you get out of the theater you might find yourself in Deadpool withdrawal. That’s where comics come in.
Both of the titular leads of Deadpool & Wolverine have a long history in the comics, and if you’re craving more of one, the other, or both, then there are plenty of stories to choose from. To make it easier on you, we picked the eight comics you should read first after watching Deadpool & Wolverine.
Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Dalibor Talajic
So much of Deadpool & Wolverine’s fun comes in just seeing the irreverent antihero interact with a long list of characters from across the Fox universe of movies, with no holds barred. It’s not like there will be a new Fox Marvel movie anytime soon, so Deadpool is going to go as wild as it wants. If you enjoy that all-encompassing multiversal mayhem, then there really is no better option than Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe.
The name says it all with this iconic limited series. In it, Deadpool just goes out murdering all your favorite superheroes. The X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Hulk, and more all get violently done in. There is a reason for it all: He’s been brainwashed by super-villain to do this, but that doesn’t really matter. The comic gives readers the signature Deadpool humor mixed with a big dose of outrageous action. This arc also gets bonus points for making Taskmaster, one of the coolest villains Marvel has to offer, as a major antagonist.
Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe is a short, four-issue series so you don’t need to commit a lot of time to reading it all. However, if you want more, then good news: this is actually the first of a three-part arc called the Deadpool Killogy. The rest of the trilogy pits Deadpool against famous characters from classical literature, and himself—it’s a wild ride from start to finish.
Wolverine/Deadpool: The Decoy
Writer: Stuart Moore
Artist: Shawn Crystal
Fresh off the Deadpool & Wolverine movie, many will want to see more shenanigans from the titular duo, and comics have a lot of stories to satisfy that hunger. If you want a perfect distillation of the partnership between the two, then check out Wolverine/Deadpool: The Decoy. The elevator pitch goes like this: An evil robot wants to kill Jean Grey, and in order to stop it, Wolverine—against his better judgment—turns to Deadpool for help. Hilarity ensues.
This is a one-shot that’s a great time. Deadpool delivers his signature jokes while Wolverine plays the comedic straight man, and it works to excellent effect thanks to writer Stuart Moore’s incredible handle on both characters. The story is also a great action showcase, with energetic panels showing off the duo in a high-octane battle against the evil robot.
Throughout their long history together, Deadpool and Wolverine’s best moments have been in random issues in larger series. The two have often been ships passing in the night. The Decoy embraces that one-off nature to deliver a short but pitch-perfect encapsulation of why everybody loves the oddball team.
Secret Agent Deadpool
Writer: Christopher Hastings
Artist: Salva Espin
Deadpool is a character who works better when he’s put in the most outlandish scenarios imaginable. So when Deadpool murders a James Bond parody and takes over his identity in the first issue of Secret Agent Deadpool, you know it’s gonna be good.
Like a lot of Deadpool’s best arcs, Secret Agent Deadpool is a silly and basic premise. But it continues to one-up itself in every issue, to the point things are so off-the-rails you can barely remember how it got there to begin with. Watching Deadpool throw himself into a story riddled with spy movie cliches is a delight, with fancy cars decked out with gadgets, secret island bases, laser beams, and every other thing you remember from every James Bond movie ever made.
Sure, Secret Agent Deadpool isn’t the usual superhero fare you get in a Deadpool comic, and surprisingly it has less violence than the character usually engages with, but it works nonetheless. It just goes to show that Deadpool’s humor and cavalier approach to any situation is what makes him such a great character, regardless of what genre he finds himself in.
Wolverine: Origins
Writer: Daniel Way
Artist: Steve Dillon
Let’s focus on Wolverine for a second. You may know and love Hugh Jackman’s thoughtful portrayal of the X-Men character, but Deadpool & Wolverine gives us a slightly different version. He’s a bit more gruff and depressed than in the past (though I suppose not as gruff and depressed as in Logan), and really doesn’t want to deal with Deadpool’s crap. If watching Deadpool & Wolverine reminded you how much you love the clawed hero, then pick up Wolverine: Origins.
Not to be confused with Wolverine: Origin, Origins is a sprawling historical epic about Logan’s long life. It deals with his time in World War II and the Weapon X program, up to his time as a member of the X-Men. The story is tied together by Logan’s quest for revenge on all those who wronged him throughout his life, which is a long list of names.
Origins nails the brooding persona of Wolverine, while digging into the emotional trauma of his past in fresh ways. It also acts as a great tour of the character’s messy comics history. There are a lot of cameos here too, including a substantial multi-issue showdown with none other than Deadpool.
Uncanny X-Force
Writer: Brian Posehn
Artist: Jerome Opeña
Not only have Deadpool and Wolverine teamed up in the past as a duo, but they’ve been part of superhero teams together. Most notably the pair were a part of X-Force, the black ops branch of the X-Men, during Uncanny X-Force.
This run, by Rick Remender, is probably best known for the Dark Angel Saga, which is incredible. Though what makes that arc, and all of Uncanny X-Force’s arcs work, is the team. Wolverine acts as the leader, with Angel, Psylocke, Fantomex, and Deadpool making up the squad. Elsewhere, Deadpool is often so outrageous as to not be conducive to anything beyond a short team-up with one other character, but here he’s an integral piece of the puzzle.
This version of Deadpool is more understated,but he still puts on a facade of humor that covers a deeper emotional vulnerability. Watching the character actually learn to work with others in service of something beyond his own selfish goals is excellent. The book also gives us some incredible action scenes that build on the teamwork aspect, allowing us to watch Deadpool rip through enemies when he has a handful of friends to back him up.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Writer: Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn
Artist: Brian Posehn, Declan Shalvey
Want to see more of Deadpool teaming up? Well this isn’t quite the same scale as X-Force, but Deadpool: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly brings together the merc with a mouth, Wolverine, and Captain America for their own adventure. Like Uncanny X-Force, this book is a more serious take on the character and it digs heavily into what makes Deadpool tick.
The story revolves around the Weapon-X program, which ties together the three main characters in the book, and how it has affected all three of them in unique ways. Captain America as the original Super Soldier has to deal with how the world turned to gruesome scientific experiments to recreate him, while Wolverine and Deadpool have to sift through the trauma that the program inflicted upon them directly.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly uses each character to hold up a mirror to the others in the cast. What makes this work is how multi-dimensional it allows that introspection to be. There are still quips and fights to enjoy, but this arc packs some surprising emotional punch
Healing Factor
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Udon
Gail Simone has always been one of my favorite comic writers, thanks to her incredible talent for getting in the head of a character and turning them into the most compelling version of themselves for readers. Her short, amazing run on Deadpool is no different.
Healing Factor pits the character against Black Swan, an assassin gifted with telepathy. The showdown between the two includes a bunch of other assassins, and cameos from some great characters (like Taskmaster again, yay!), but ultimately ends in a stunning showdown.
Simone turns Deadpool’s penchant for fourth-wall breaking and all-round weirdness into the antihero’s greatest strength, with a climactic battle where Deadpool’s personal hell is weaponized, so messed up that nobody else can handle it. It’s a great plot point centered around something only Deadpool could pull off.
Deadpool Vs. Old Man Logan
Writer: Declan Shalvey
Artist: Mike Henderson
If you just want to see Deadpool and Wolverine annoy and beat the crap out of each other, then pick up Deadpool Vs. Old Man Logan. This series pits the merc against the version Wolverine from the comic that inspired Logan.
Logan has a mission to complete, and Deadpool won’t stop getting in the way. This premise is just an excuse to see the two do what they do best: piss each other off. The art is great, the action is superb, and the story is a perfect five issues. Sit down for an evening and enjoy watching Deadpool and Wolverine duke it out. What else do you need?
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