Origin and Transformation

Wade Wilson’s journey begins ordinarily enough, born into a dysfunctional family in Ohio—a stark contrast to the extraordinary figure he would become, as detailed in Deadpool’s origin story. He ran away from home as a child and traveled across the country, receiving military training from various sources until he decided to become a mercenary. He kept changing his identity whenever something went wrong with a mission until he moved to Canada, where he resumed using his name, Wade Wilson. When he was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, he volunteered for a subset of the Weapon X program that aimed to imbue a normal human with a healing factor.

It’s a bit difficult to discuss his origins in detail since his mind became completely disturbed after gaining his powers and undergoing various tortures. His mother died of cancer when he was about five years old, and his father was an army officer who was killed while he was still a child. However, he tells another version to Cable in which his father was alive even after he became Deadpool, making it difficult to ascertain the truth.

Regardless of the origin of the Merc with a Mouth, he is about to receive another adaptation to the big screen. Today, we will explore Deadpool’s powers, his ongoing battle with cancer, and his fascination with death, detailing how these elements define the anti-hero. Wade Wilson is about 6’2″ tall, has blue eyes, and originally had brown hair before becoming completely bald and disfigured.

The Mercenary’s Journey: From Cancer to Weapon X

As most people know, Wade Wilson has a fatal and completely incurable cancer in his body, which led him to seek out the Weapon X Program. Through the experiments he underwent, his cancer was temporarily halted after a healing factor derived from Wolverine was implanted in his body. However, shortly after, his cancer destabilized again, causing deformities all over his body. This is why, beneath the costume, Wade is completely disfigured.

Thanks to this, he was removed from the Weapon X Program and sent to HPUS, a place where supposedly failed superheroes were sent. There, he was used as a guinea pig by Dr. Killbrew and his assistant Ajax, who placed bets on a game called Deadpool to see which test subject would die first. Over time, Wade attempted suicide numerous times but always came back, leading him to develop a relationship with the entity of death itself, who considered him her soulmate.

Deadpool’s Powers and Experiments

I provided all this introduction because some of the things we will discuss here in the physiology and power section are based on these experiments and his relationship with death. First, I need to talk about the insane healing factor he possesses, far surpassing Wolverine’s, which was the basis for the experiments he underwent. Deadpool has some insane feats, such as fighting all the Avengers at once, taking lethal hits, and not being taken down by them. It’s important to remember that Deadpool is not immune to pain; he just has very high resistance, so he was suffering from the attacks.

Using his necromancy abilities and advanced technology, Thanos prevented Deadpool from dying so he could never go to the realm of death. This curse was lifted once, but if I’m not mistaken, Thanos placed it on him again. Wade is resistant to all types of poisons and chemical agents and practically does not age.

Another power that is very characteristic of the character is his immunity to telepathic attacks, as his healing factor keeps his brain in a constant state of flux and regeneration. Even if his brain were invaded by a powerful telepath, his mind is completely disturbed, making any probing futile. He also has resistance to being possessed and has demonstrated the ability to withstand attacks that directly affect the soul.

Wade also possesses super strength, capable of breaking down metal doors with his kicks, easily grabbing other people, and has fought on equal footing with Wolverine and Moon Knight. He has super agility, enabling him to dodge bullets in midair and even giving other skilled fighters difficulty in hitting him, such as Taskmaster. He possesses several other above-average attributes for a human, including enhanced reflexes, speed, endurance, and everything else a human can do.

Recently, it was revealed that Deadpool is also immune and even joined Krakoa, but there have been no apparent alterations in his powers or anything of the sort.

Deadpool’s Role in the Marvel Universe and His Unpredictability

Wade is a top-tier mercenary. He has even been hired by Galactus to kill the Beyonder in a not-so-canon shell issue. He possesses great martial arts skills, able to fight and defeat characters like Wolverine and Taskmaster, who are also preeminent martial artists in the comics. He usually ends up winning these fights thanks to his unpredictability, which makes it almost impossible to read his movements. He is a master of assassination techniques, espionage methods, covert operations, infiltration techniques, the art of escape, marksmanship, and is highly skilled with various melee weapons. He is also fluent in these languages: English, Esperanto, German, Japanese, and Spanish. He can also freely break the fourth wall, thanks to the Beyonder accidentally transporting him into the realm of eternity. There, he became aware of being a comic book character, but deep down, he always knew.

Discussing Deadpool’s weaknesses might seem unusual when considering character autonomy, but given his uniqueness, it’s essential. This is because, during the miniseries “Deadpool Kills Deadpool,” we discovered that the character is one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. The Deadpool from Earth-12101, the one who killed the entire Marvel Universe, discovered that every Deadpool is the source, and all of the fragments of the multiverse are his dreams. So, if all the Deadpools in the multiverse were to die, each reality would collapse, and everything would disappear. This is confirmed in the final issue when Deadpool-616 and Deadpool-12101 meet and fight. Just before that, Deadpool-616 received a chainsaw that went through his back and tore his costume, but he was still intact. This is because the very continuity of comic book stories does not allow him to change or deviate from his status quo. Deadpool-12101 even received a stab in the chest, but Deadpool-616 never did that; he merely imagined the sword, and it appeared from one panel to another. This is a completely unconscious power, but it makes him one of the most overpowered beings in Marvel.

The Complexity of Deadpool’s Weaknesses

Despite Deadpool’s complete immortality, he does have some weaknesses that can be exploited to defeat him. One of them is his mental state. His constant cerebral healing also makes him highly unstable and prone to violent outbursts without the slightest provocation. Therefore, his greatest defense against telepaths is a double-edged sword, as he may end up attacking his allies in the process.

His chaotic mind, while acting as a defense against psychic manipulation, makes him unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. His decisions, often impulsive and irrational, can affect his effectiveness in critical situations.

Moreover, Deadpool’s body is in a perpetual state of cancerous growth, kept in check only by his healing factor. If his healing ability were ever nullified or compromised, the cancer could potentially overrun his system, posing a serious threat to his health.

Additionally, while his healing factor allows him to recover from nearly any physical injury, the process itself can be intensely painful and disorienting. In some instances, rapid and extensive healing has taken a toll on his physical and mental health, further compounding his vulnerability.

It’s also worth noting that Deadpool’s effectiveness partly relies on his access to an array of weapons and gadgets. Without his arsenal, he remains formidable due to his combat training and physical prowess but is significantly less threatening.

It’s also very rare to see him receiving help since everyone considers him very annoying. It’s no wonder his nickname is Merc with a Mouth, so he usually acts alone. Even Galactus fired him as his Herald because he couldn’t stand being near the character.