Deadpool 19, Fearless Defenders 11

Deadpool 19
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c)

Deadpool, Wolverine, and Captain America have freed the mutate army and sieged the lab, leaving only Butler's fortress behind. Deadpool waits for it to open while Cap goes to stand guard for the North Korean army topside and Wolverine goes under to try to find another way in. Deadpool ends up talking through the surveillance on the door to Butler and making a logical case for why he should open the door to Deadpool. He does, allowing Deadpool access to his lab, but he remains tucked into his own panic-room lab within. He tries to remind Deadpool of an arrangement that the two had had back in his Weapon Plus days that involved Deadpool willingly supplying his body for testing to help Butler save his so-proclaimed sister. She's laid out behind him while he and Deadpool talk things through but Deadpool secretly appeals to her to open the door, which she does, allowing Deadpool the access he needs to make it in and swiftly kill Butler. The woman returns to her bed, aware that she'll die now and happy to finally be at peace. He meets up again with Cap and Wolverine and the three of them part ways amicably. Deadpool vows again to find a body for Agent Preston, though it seems like hers might be busy.

I really liked this arc on the whole and this final issue is a pretty perfect ending to the arc. I will say that I'm less excited for the next arc, despite the last couple of positive arcs, because it seems like it's going to center around Preston, who I continue not to care for and who I continue to believe weakens what is otherwise a really impressive turn around for this book, which now focuses far more on the intricacies of Deadpool as a character. Adding to the nice character development (for all of the characters involved but particularly for Deadpool) is a great looking book from Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire. Each of them is at the top of his and her game respectively  and putting them together for an entire arc was magical. I think we knew this would be a beautiful arc even just given their covers on the last several months of VENOM. There's a lot to this arc and to this issue in particular to like, not least of which is a nice little character builder for the three heroes and which sees them share a little bit of their feelings with one another. That's especially neat considering Wolverine and Cap both kind of represent different stereotypical representations of men so their nice moment with one another comes as something of both a surprise and a welcome change of pace. Really neat stuff in here and I'm glad to say this book has really come around.

Fearless Defenders 11
Bunn (w) and Sliney (a) and Gandini (c)

There's a party in New Amazonia, home of Hippolyta, and all of the Fearless Defenders are invited. After a night of dancing and real-talk (and some sleeping together by new Defender Ren and book secret star Annabelle), the morning finds the Defenders up against an attack on New Amazonia, led by Caroline Le Fey-hired Aradnea (an Atlantean) and Echidna (queen of Greek monsters). They're dispatched easily enough but not before they put the idea of the New Amazonians following a different leader than Hippolyta and thereby stirring some discord.

I continue to not really be in love with this book. I think part of the issue is that Caroline Le Fey has been the main villain pretty much throughout and we still seem to know so little about her. Her personality shifts between cold and diabolical and aloof and sassy. We also don't have a sense of her need to be involved with this whole thing. We have a little bit, over time, seen pieces of her anger and her full plan but it's both so poorly defined and so spread out throughout this series that it's kind of fallen by the wayside for the reader. Also, and this is something that has kind of bugged me at various times throughout, I love that this is an all-female team and I love that it features a woman who is openly gay because I very much believe in the idea of representation. That doesn't, though, change the fact that the representation comes from a woman who has now slept with a handful of different women in eleven issues. She's been confused and kind of swept up in the whirlwind of this so it's definitely still excusable but it has been a bit of a strange representation of her for a book that, on the outside, looks so progressive. I don't know, maybe it's just me that it's bothering but relationship turnaround in these books isn't typically that quick, particularly with someone like Annabelle who seems to (and this might be putting too much on a character who hasn't seen particularly stunning development) care about having relationships and not just one-night stands. Still not huge on this book, you guys, and it's going to have to figure out a way to wrap up all of its loose ends relatively quickly.