Welcome to the D-List: Lady Deadpool
Deadpool first appeared in New Mutants #98 in 1991, and has since been featured in numerous comic books, trading-card series, action figures, bust statues, and a blockbuster movie. Wade Wilson has steadily climbed the ranks from a C-list character to the B-list and is now making his way into the A-list. And who would question his new status? (Maybe Hugh Jackman.) He’s crazy and deadly, but a fun and loveable character. So why the hell am I discussing Deadpool on the D-List?! Because he has inspired many spin-off characters, none of which have been given much character development throughout the years, with very few exceptions. (Give SquirrelPool his own ongoing series, dammit!)
Wanda Wilson was given a very brief introduction before she joined the Deadpool Corps in their own eponymous comic book series. Because having one Deadpool just wasn’t enough, Marvel used the mighty magic of alternate universes to explain her existence. Wanda brought an interesting dynamic to quite a ridiculous team of different ‘Pools, so it’s time for the D-list to shine a spotlight on the prettiest ‘Pool of them all – the lovely Lady Deadpool.
Wanda Wilson first appeared in Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7, published in January, 2010. Created by Victor Gischler and Rob Liefeld, Lady Deadpool had the same healing factor and a similar (split) personality as Deadpool has. Wade was trying to return his alternate-dimension-zombie-head, (aka Headpool), back to his home world when he accidentally stumbled upon the United States of Earth-3010. Wade witnessed a woman dressed in a copy of his costume kicking Captain America in the face. Deadpool joined in the fun and the two ‘Pools beat Captain America unconscious and then shared an extremely disturbing kiss. Though only the lower half of her face was shown, it was apparent that, like Wade, Wanda’s body was covered with scars. The only visible differences between Wade and Wanda were that Lady Deadpool had boobs and a blonde ponytail. (So a couple of double-D differences, catch my drift? Please don’t leave me…) Though both Deadpool and Headpool left the alternate world, Lady Deadpool would be seen again shortly thereafter.
In the book Prelude to Deadpool Corps, it was explained that the United States of Earth-3010 had a Congress divided in anger and the country was in such turmoil that many states were declaring independence. Rebel forces openly fought against the authoritarian United States’ loyalists and blood spilled in the streets. (Some of this sounds strangely non-fictional…) Before the mayhem, Wanda Wilson had been a mercenary, but after it, she sided with the rebellion’s forces without charging them a fee for her services. Wade arrived on her world again claiming that he had been charged with a mission and needed Wanda’s help.
By Wanda’s own admission, she joined the insurgents simply because they asked her to – because to her, it was the right thing to do. This was an interesting contrast to Wade, as he wasn’t exactly a morally upright person. This showcased a sense of nobility in Lady Deadpool that had been largely absent from Deadpool. Ever a badass, however, she was shown singlehandedly destroying loyalist military tanks and helicopters for the rebels.
With Lady Deadpool and Headpool in tow, Wade recruited both Dogpool and Kidpool from other alternate universes for his team. Two extraterrestrial elders tasked this new Deadpool Corps with destroying a cosmic power that had been devouring consciousness throughout the galaxy, which the elders dubbed the Awareness. Lady Deadpool assisted the Corps in gathering information about the Awareness, primarily through violent means. Like Wade, Wanda loved guns and swords, and made good use of both by killing mind-controlled aliens and saving her teammates from harm. Throughout the Deadpool Corps comic, Wade often came up with asinine plans of attack that rarely made sense, but Wanda stepped in and took charge when needed. Lady Deadpool was frequently the voice of reason in the group. (Psh, even fictional women mature faster than men.)
When the Corps battled the Awareness, it attempted to control their minds, causing each of the Deadpools to hallucinate. Wanda took off her mask, revealing a flawless and beautiful face. In fact, all of the scars on her body were gone. Though the team broke free from the illusions and defeated the Awareness, Wanda’s newfound beauty appeared to be permanent. Lady Deadpool decided to keep that information from her team should it provide her with a tactical advantage in some way. (Spoiler aler: it did.) Learning of the Deadpool Corp’s victory, an Intergalactic Federation hired the team to kill a dangerous space-pirate, the Blue Buccaneer.
Wanda devised a plan to infiltrate the Buccaneer’s ranks by operating undercover. Since the Corps and their trademark costumes had become so well-known throughout the galaxy after defeating the Awareness, Lady Deadpool’s plan involved her wearing plain clothes. In a scant and sexy warrior-woman outfit, Wanda single-handedly killed an entire bar full of aliens just to get the attention of one of the Buccaneer’s recruiters. The plan worked, and Lady Deadpool was invited onto the pirate’s ship. The Buccaneer took an immediate interest in Wanda and invited her into his bedroom, where the two did nothing but talk. In fact, when Wanda began to give him a shoulder massage, he fell asleep. (Um…it happens to all guys, right?!) As the pirate was nodding off, however, Lady Deadpool managed to get the ship’s self-destruct codes out of him.
This arc really showed Lady Deadpool as a powerful, intelligent woman. Though already a badass in her own right, she was more self-confident with her good looks. She certainly still had her funny moments, but it was often Wade that was the focus of humor to the point of ineptitude, and Lady Deadpool contrasted that with a natural knack for leadership. Wanda Wilson was showing herself to be the strongest asset on the team.
After their victory over the Blue Buccaneer, the Intergalactic Federation hired the team to kill rebels on a planet that they governed. When they arrived, the Corps easily defeated the rebels and then decided to discuss political matters with the King. The indigenous race, known as the Krook, were a simple, agricultural civilization led by the King and his daughter, Princess Teela. The royalty were tired of their people working as slaves in order to satisfy their oppressors, so Wade agreed to double-cross the Federation and help the Krook. Though the Corps was successful in freeing the Krook people, the King and his daughter had a fundamental disagreement regarding their way of life.
The Krook King believed that the primitive ways in which his people lived were adequate, but Teela wanted to turn the Krook into a technologically advanced civilization. Because of his greed and libido, Wade sided with Teela, but Wanda sided with the King, claiming that it wasn’t up to the team to decide what was right. Both Wade and Wanda argued themselves into a fight, and Wanda drove a sword through Deadpool’s torso before running away. Lady Deadpool later snuck into the Princess’s chambers and beat her into submission, forcing Princess Teela to relinquish control over the Krook and stop defying her father. (Geez, alright, mom.)
It was amazing to watch Lady Deadpool battle her 616 counterpart. I would have imagined both Wade and Wanda to be evenly matched, but that was not the case. Also, by her own admission, Princess Teela had been trained as a warrior since the age of 7, but Lady Deadpool still managed to best her in a fight. Wanda obviously had plenty of combat experience while fighting for the rebels, and her healing factor made her quite the deadly adversary.
After Deadpool Corps was cancelled, Marvel began releasing a number of Deadpool miniseries that pitted the mercenary against various opponents, including himself. In Deadpool kills Deadpool, various Deadpools from alternate universes joined a Dark Deadpool to kill all Deadpools in order to end existence, because for some reason, the entirety of existence hinged on the collective Deadpools’ existence. Wanda put together a team of Deadpools that were willing to fight Dark Deadpool’s forces and recruited Wade. Unfortunately, Dark Deadpool found Wanda’s base-of-operations and killed all but a few of the other Deadpool’s that she had enlisted. Because all Deadpools were now in one location, Dark Deadpool summoned Galactipool to consume all of the Deadpools. To buy Wade some time, Wanda flew the Deadpool Corps’ ship into Galactipool, killing him, and herself in the process. (Please pardon this plethoric ‘Pool paragraph.)
Wanda Wilson prepared for something that threatened the entire multiverse and then sacrificed herself to save said multiverse. She knew it would cost her life, but she didn’t flinch from the chance to commit a fatally noble act. That’s a true testament to the kind of character that Lady Deadpool was. Though a bit unhinged at times, she never felt like a copy of the character that she was actually supposed to be a copy of. Over time, she seemed to develop an instinct to (usually) do the right thing regardless of the circumstances, and that helped Wanda Wilson become the amazing character that she was within such a short period of time.
Though Lady Deadpool didn’t make too many appearances or have much character exploration, it was genuinely fun to read about her. With the recent explosive popularity of another Deadpool spin-off, Gwenpool, it’s not likely that Wanda will be revived anytime soon. However, it is clear that people love Deadpool, so there’s always a chance that Wanda Wilson will be written again. Maybe an All-New Deadpool Corps? A female Deadpool team-up featuring Wanda and Gwenpool? Fans can only hope.
Outside of Marvel Comics, Lady Deadpool had a statue with her trademark blonde ponytail, but also with an unmasked, alternate head showcasing her pretty face. To my knowledge, she has not appeared anywhere else outside of Marvel Comics. Gwen Stacy was dead for years and Marvel brought her back, so I have hope that one day someone will revive Wanda Wilson so that we may once again experience Lady Deadpool’s lovely lady lumps.
