SuperAngelo64 said:
Okay you guys. Seriously, who the hell is Deadpool and why have I never heard of him prior to this thread?
I've seen pictures of him before but I just assumed he was some alternate-universe version of Spider-man that got his own spin-off series.
A disfigured and mentally unstable mercenary, Deadpool originally appeared as a villain in an issue of New Mutants, and later in issues of X-Force. The character has since starred in several ongoing series, and shares titles with other characters such as Cable. The character is famous for his tendency to break the fourth wall and is frequently referred to by the moniker "Merc with a Mouth."
Deadpool's primary power is an accelerated healing factor, depicted by various artists and writers with varying levels of efficiency. Said healing factor, which was artificially endowed by the Weapon X program, enables him to regenerate any destroyed tissues or organs at a super-human rate. An unanticipated side effect of the therapy was a rapid acceleration of the cancerous tumors he was suffering from at the time as well, causing them to quickly spread across his entire body as soon as his powers fully activated. Because of this, his healing factor super charged his cancer, resulting in massive scar tissue causing his appearance to be severely disfigured. Deadpool's brain cells are similarly affected, with dying brain cells being rejuvenated at a super accelerated rate. While this allows Deadpool to recover from any and all head wounds, it is also the cause of his psychosis and mental instability. For some reason, this ability also renders him resistant to telepathy. Deadpool's healing factor is strong enough that he has previously survived decapitation more than once, though in each of these occurrences, his head had to be reunited to his body to heal the wound instead of his body growing a new head (or vice-versa)... Similar to Wolverine, his healing factor also affects a number of his physical attributes by increasing them to superhuman levels heightening at least his endurance and stamina... Deadpool's healing factor also provides him with an extended lifespan by slowing the effects of the aging process to an unknown degree which cannot be measure as yet, since he is, naturally, not old enough to see any effect. However, his life span is, apparently, extended to such a degree, that he is still alive as Deadpool 800 years from the present as shown when the new X-Force encountered him in the future.
Aside from his physical advantages, Deadpool is a superb assassin and mercenary, an expert in multiple forms of martial arts, an expert swordsman and marksman, and has been said to have enhanced physical strength. It has also been discussed that, while his psychosis and dissociative identity disorder is a handicap, it is also one of his greatest attributes as it makes him an extremely unpredictable opponent. Taskmaster (who has Photo-Reflexive Memory which allows him to copy anyone's fighting skills by observation, thus making him their equal in battle) was unable to defeat Deadpool due to his chaotic and improvised fighting style.[27] Over the years, Deadpool has owned a number of personal teleportation devices. Also, during Deadpool's first ongoing comic, he possessed a device which projected holographic disguises, allowing him to go undercover or conceal his appearance.