Deadpool the Duck #1

So… this is a thing that happened. How and why it didn’t happen sooner is anyone’s guess, but here we are, let’s get right down to it.

We open with our favorite Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool checking out his nifty new S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house and excepting his latest contract from Agent Mary (don’t bother learning the whole name, no one ever remembers it). We also learn that out of the many voices in Deadpool’s head, the latest is actually Wolverine. I guess Wolverine is still dead (that has to be a record or something) and Deadpool missing the hairy lug, so now a version of Wolvie lives in his head. Anywho, Deadpool is really excited about his next assignment, so much so that he’s breaking a personal rule and pulling his old teleportation device out of mothballs. In a joke that went right over my head, Deadpool questions whether or not he’s allowed to say “mothballs” in a Marvel comic. If anyone would care to explain that one to me, I’ all ears.

Elsewhere, we join Howard the Duck driving through the middle of nowhere in his old jalopy. Oh, if you don’t know who Howard the Duck is, well, it’s a long, confusing and mostly silly story. Right now, all you need to know is he’s a talking duck from an alternate dimension with a bad attitude and a mastery of the ancient and deadly art of … *sigh*, Quack-Fu. Anywho, Howard monologues to himself about how life is beginning to be too much for him and how he just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately, Howard isn’t so lucky as none other than Rocket Raccoon crashes his spaceship into Howards car, turning it into a convertible in the process. It also turns out that someone injected Rocket with a deadly strain of space rabies, and yes, that’s actually what the comic calls it. That’s when Deadpool enters the fray, Rocket being the target to which he was assigned. So, we have a psychotic mercenary and a rabid space raccoon fighting while an anthropomorphic duck tries to keep the piece. What even is this comic?

Howard, being Rocket’s friend, tries to reason with the rabid rodent, but he’s clearly to far gone for him to get through. That’s when Deadpool sneak attacks with the teleporter, remarking that the only reason he stopped using it was because it’s too awesome. Head-Wolverine agrees. However, Rocket takes a big bite out of the device causing a blinding flash of light. When everybody comes to, Deadpool and Howard have apparently been merged into a single being. Said being throws up in disgust at what he has now become.

What Works: This comic was hilarious. Seriously, a pairing of Deadpool and Howard seems like a match made in heaven. The humor is sharp, with just the perfect tinge of juvenility to it, which is perfect given the two characters involved.

What Doesn’t:

Seriously, what was up with that mothballs joke?

Overall: 5/5

As silly as this setup is, it actually delivers in a fun and interesting way.