Deadpool 24, Thunderbolts 22

Deadpool 24
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Hawthorne (a) and Bellaire (c)

It's time for Preston to go into her own body but it turns out Deadpool is having a bit of a harder time letting go than he thought. For all his solitude and multiple personalities, he had gained someone real to talk to and apparently had benefitted from that. Still, he goes to SHIELD to have the process done but, after the transfer begins, problems arise. Agent Gorman had sabotaged the machines making it harder to hold everything together as Preston's consciousness goes into her new body. To help keep everything together, Michael, Ben Franklin, and Dr. Strange travel into Deadpool's mind only to find it overrun by other versions of Deadpool all intent on keep Preston from transferring. Strange realizes that these rogue Deadpools weren't caused by the machines, they're pieces of Deadpool rebelling on their own, something only Deadpool can stop. With some reluctance, he does and he carries Preston to her new home himself, helped by one of the Deadpool versions who refuses to identify himself except as someone who he hasn't met yet before mysteriously leaving. The transfer appears to be successful as Preston later wakes up in her new body but it's not over yet as Deadpool, sulking in a bar, discovers Preston is still in his head.

One of the things people love to do, particularly with Deadpool, is show off various different versions of him. It's a thing artists and writers like to use for all characters across dimensional rifts and the like but Deadpool adds a certain layer of fun to the proceedings because, as we saw in DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL, Deadpool is such a wild card that any sort of amalgamation Deadpool you can build is a possibility. You can have Beespool, a Deadpool filled with bees, where you can't have Beesghost Rider (though Nic Cage may disagree and would likely sign on for a film combining Ghost Rider and The Wicker Man). So the book is helped by an ample dose of separate personality Deadpools, though these ones are largely tame considering what we're used to seeing. The story is the culmination of the long journey from Preston's head to Deadpool's head and finally back to Preston's head but it's hard to say that everything's over just yet as we still need to figure out exactly why Preston is still showing up for Deadpool. Is he just crazy? Probably! Crossbones may be the only one available to get to the bottom of it next time out, as he entered the bar just as Preston revealed herself.

Thunderbolts 22
Soule (w) and Barberi (a) and Silva (c)

The contract is completed and signed and the Thunderbolts are tasked with deposing Guido, the ruler of Hell, in favor of Mephisto, pretty much the actual devil. Though it's a slight wrinkle in Red Hulk's plan, he and the rest of the Thunderbolts begin the fight against Hell's Court, all the demons and monsters the create the first line of defense for Guido. It's a long and arduous fight and Ghost Rider, preferring to skip it, grabs hold of Red Hulk and the two take off to head straight at Guido. Back on Earth, Mercy attacks Punisher and Elektra. Though they manage to survive her attacks, she's immensely more powerful and seemingly unstoppable, leaving them in a bit of a bind. Back in Hell, Guido tells Red Hulk the very short version of how he got there and how he doesn't want to leave because he needs to find his soul and he's actually doing good for people, or as much good as he can, and he can't leave Mephisto in charge of that. Red Hulk convinces Guido to yield and Mephisto takes his throne. He fulfills his part of the bargain and brings Mercy into Hell, dropping Punisher and Elektra from quite a height as she's whisked away, and granting Deadpool his wish of a portal to anywhere he pleases. Deadpool uses the portal, apparently, to enter Heaven and get a new and better feather for his hat, leading an entire Heavenly Host to Hell as Mercy appears and begins to call all the souls to her. Mephisto, of course, is pissed but can't punish the T-Bolts as one of the stipulations of the contract was no retaliation. They return to Earth to find Elektra trying to save an immensely injured Punisher but, before they can come up with a plan of action, Deadpool's new feather reaches out to Frank and restores him with angel powers. Johnny Blaze officially joins the team.

More fun stuff as this book continues to be one of the best that Marvel's putting out consistently. It's found that perfect mix of action and fun without having to get too over-the-top in either. The characters are all their own and have their own distinct personalities and styles and the situations play to all of them equally. Even the sort of deus ex machina of the angel feather saving Frank's life is all built up to, making it less of a deus ex and more of a well-scripted machine. We all know how much I like this series and it just continues perfectly here but I really want to call attention to the covers now. Julian Totino Tedesco has been doing the covers for much of this recent run and he has been absolutely killing it out there. More than the fact that each cover, even aside from the fact I know what to expect from the book, makes me want to buy each issue, his covers completely mix the fun and seriousness in exactly the same amounts and ways that Soule mixes it in his writing. They're the perfect complement to this book in the same way that Mike del Mundo's covers perfectly complemented Spurrier's weird and lovely X-MEN LEGACY. Tedesco's covers unfailingly make me laugh and make me think about the book and the art itself is stunning in its own right. Marvel's been doing a great job with covers lately, from LEGACY and THUNDERBOLTS to the baby/animal variants to the noir-ish ones like WINTER SOLDIER: BITTER MARCH to the simplistically stunning HAWKEYE to anything Jamie McKelvie does. Wonderful stuff.