X-23 #9 & Deadpool #36

Two more reviews out of me today, and then we'll see what the weekend holds. I have a few trade reviews I could post, but I also have a ton of new stuff to try to get through, so we'll see how busy I wind up being tomorrow. If I'm really busy, then I'll post a trade review. If tomorrow tends to be on the quiet side, then it'll be reviews for the new books. There you go!

Deadpool #36:

Summary: So Deadpool has become bored in space and has decided to return to Earth, figuring the people of Earth loved him due to his lofty amount of followers on Twitter. However, Deadpool's brain warns him that just because people are following you on Twitter doesn't mean a)that they love you, and b) that you're important. Pool decides to test that theory by heading to some of his old friends to see what they think about him. He starts with Hydra Bob, and all is right in my world again because Hydra Bob is here. Pool accidentally destroys Hydra Bob's giant popcorn kernel upon arriving, and asks Bob if he loved him.... While holding a knife to Bob... HA! Bob admits that he's mainly afraid of Pool, while telling Pool that his other friends hate him. Pool is shocked by this, and Bob reveals that Macho Gomez(the bounty hunter Pool thought he killed before going into space) had assembled a group of Deadpool's “friends” who wanted him dead. Who are these friends? Weasel, Big Bertha(HA!), Blind Al(YES!!!), and Sluggo(?!). While talking to Pool, Hydra Bob texts Macho and the We Hate Deadpool Club, telling them that Pool was with him, even though he didn't actually join the team. The We Hate Deadpool Club arrives on the scene and attack Pool, with Pool managing to avoid any read damage by picking his “friends” off one by one, or in the case of Blind Al, misdirecting her. Eventually Weasel accidentally blows Sluggo up(um, that's a BIG accident!), but that act allows the rest of the Club to surround Pool. Pool drops his weapon and asks his so called friends if this is what they really wanted. They respond by riddling Deadpool with bullets. Pool makes a quick side trip to Death's domain, and she explains to him that it wasn't what his friends wanted, but what Pool wanted, to be killed by his friends. Death then sends Pool back to the land of the living, where he wakes up surrounded by his blood and Hydra Bob. Bob tells Pool that his “friends” had left, figuring Pool was as dead as he was going to get. Pool realizes that Death was right, that he was crazy, that he wanted his friends to kill him since the sweet taste of oblivion was what he's always craved, and that by killing him they'd show they cared about him. With this revelation, Pool casually shoots Hydra Bob in the knee for betraying him to the Club, before leaving to find a friend who would help him end it all.

Thoughts: Woooo, I LOVED this issue! First of all, Blind Al was here, which automatically makes this comic at least a 7! Secondly, Daniel Way did a fantastic job of tying in so many little pieces of Pool's past here. From Weasel and Hydra Bob, to Blind Al and Sluggo(!), right down to Pool craving Death's embrace. I mean there was a Deadpool annual back in the last Deadpool series where we got a great insight into Deadpool's special relationship with Lady Death. I honestly had no complaints about this comic whatsoever. The story was good, plus there were several moments where I chuckled, or even laughed out loud as I read it, a must for any Deadpool comic. Great stuff here, with the future looking really, really good!

Score: 9 out of 10.BLIND AL!!!


X-23 #9:

Summary: We kick things off with Malcolm Colcord taunting the recently captured(as of Daken: Dark Wolverine #8) X-23. From there he has a meeting with Daken, and we discover that neither one of them trust each other very much. Colcord shows Daken a file basically detailing X-23's life growing up in the Facility, while revealing to Daken that he had made a copy of the trigger scent that turns X-23 feral. Daken asks Colcord if he was planning on restarting the Weapon X Program, which is apparently counter to whatever deal Daken and Colcord had made, and Colcord answers no, since a yes answer probably would have led to Daken decapitating him. From there, Daken heads to the lab X-23 was in and taunts her, while subtly cutting at one of her bonds, ever so slightly. Daken leaves the room and the mad scientists begin slicing at her back with a chainsaw... Yes a chainsaw, the tool of choice for mad scientists everywhere. Unfortunately for the mad scientists, X-23 gets free of her loosened bonds and does some slicing of her own, and she's way better at it than those scientists are... Daken chooses this moment to reenter the room with a some files, which leads to X-23 punching him a few times. Daken drops the files, and X-23 realizes that they contained information on her formative years from the Facility. Totally confused by Daken's actions, X-23 asks him why he was assisting Colcord in restarting the Weapon X Program. Daken denies that he was, claiming he had no idea that Colcord was restarting the Program, and that once he figured out Colcord's plans, he decided to betray him. Daken explains that he allowed Colcord to capture X-23 to see where Colcord was going to take her, so he could take down Colcord's plans... So is he lying or not is the question... The two walk along the hallways of the Colcord's warehouse, scaring random scientists as they went until they entered a hallway lined with closed doors. The two get sealed in the hallway and all of the doors open, with deformed experiments rushing out to attack.

Thoughts: Ahhh Daken... You are one confusing, conniving bastard! So we know that he expressly told Colcord NOT to restart the Weapon X Program. We really don't know what his agreement with Colcord was(I still say he wanted Colcord to repeat the adamantium bonding process on him), and in this issue he betrays Colcord, after having fake betrayed Colcord in Daken #8, and then betraying X-23... And then people wonder why I love this character so much! Now, I can't imagine that Daken was unaware that Colcord was trying to restart the Weapon X Program, which means he wanted the Program restarted... But to what end? My guess is that he'll use X-23 to eliminate Colcord for him in Daken #9, and then take control of the Program himself... But with Daken, you NEVER know! I have to admit, I really enjoyed this comic, mainly thanks to how well Marjorie Liu writes Daken. Daken #9 marks the end of Liu and Daniel Way's run on the Daken character, so I have some serious mixed feelings about that issue... I'm sure it'll be a blast, but it's definitely going to be bittersweet...

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.Daken's line at the bottom of this page made me crack up... God do I love Daken!