Why Deadpool is trying to kill Spider-Man

The Marvel Comics series Spider-Man/Deadpool sees the Merc With a Mouth trying to kill Peter Parker — which could be a bit of an issue for Spider-Man.

Despite his track record as an assassin, Deadpool has always idolized Spider-Man. The feeling definitely isn’t mutual, though, as the wall-crawler hates Wade Wilson and his cavalier attitude toward … everything, really. A healing factor that will help you recover from any injury has a tendency to affect your outlook on life, it seems.

The love-hate dynamic between the two heroes has existed pretty much from the start, but it’s become even more complicated in the current Spider-Man/Deadpool series by writer Joe Kelly and artist Ed McGuinness. That’s because Deadpool has been hired to kill Peter Parker and thinks he needs to do it, believing that he’s responsible for some truly despicable science projects.

(Spoiler: He’s not, but some rogue employees in his company, Parker Industries, look like they are.)

A step back might be necessary here for anyone unfamiliar with the status quo for both heroes. Spider-Man has essentially taken over the Iron Man role in Marvel Comics, as Parker Industries is now a super rich, multi-national corporation. Think Marvel’s Apple but with even cooler tech. Peter no longer has the worries he had as a teenager, but success has brought it’s own problems, and he’s been spread so thin that he sometimes needs Hobie Brown, the Prowler, to stand in for him as Spider-Man.

Deadpool has even more improbably become the most popular superhero around, aided by his shameless merchandising efforts. But he’s using his wealth for surprisingly noble pursuits, including bankrolling the Avengers and having a team of mercenaries work at his behest in various trouble spots that others wouldn’t touch. The checks still have to clear, but hey.

Kelly and McGuinness are using these elements as the set-up for a truly wild ride so far. In Spider-Man/Deadpool #3, which hit stores this week, Spider-Man spends a whole day tagging along with Deadpool and trying to learn the truth about him — aided by a device of his own design that will zap Wade if he tells a lie. Teaming to battle the villains Styx and Stone in Bolivia, Spidey comes away grudgingly impressed, and even more so when he meets Deadpool’s daughter.

Alas, it’s all a ruse. Unaware that Parker and Spider-Man are the same person (an impression ironically aided by Parker using Brown as a substitute), Deadpool is convince he needs to take out the web-swinger to be able to kill Peter, and he used the entire buddy session as a fact-finding mission.

Lest you incorrectly think this is all serious business, rest assured that thanks to Kelly’s continuous barrage of puns and one-liners and McGuinness’ larger than life visuals, it’s more like an action-comedy with a huge budget. One that has scenes like this in it:

Just three issues in, it’s definitely not too late to jump on Spider-Man/Deadpool while the first arc, “Isn’t it Bromantic” is still going strong. It’s guaranteed to be the best time you’ve ever had seeing one superhero try to kill another. Honest.