Deadpool Concludes Gory Marvel Trilogy

The 2011 comic Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe delivers exactly what its title promises. This story showcases what occurs when Wade Wilson completely loses his sanity and embarks on a bloody rampage against the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe. Its popularity led writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajić to reunite for a 2017 sequel, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again. Now, Bunn and Talajić are teaming up one final time to chronicle Deadpool's latest and most extensive campaign of slaughter in Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time. This time, the twist is that Wade's wrath isn't confined to a single universe—it threatens the entire Marvel multiverse.

IGN recently spoke with Bunn via email to learn more about the concluding chapter of the Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe trilogy. First, take a look at an exclusive preview of the first issue below, then continue reading to discover the fourth wall-breaking carnage that awaits.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time - Image Gallery

8 Images

Bunn is among Marvel's most prolific Deadpool writers, having penned titles such as Deadpool: Killustrated, Night of the Living Deadpool, and Deadpool & the Mercs for Money. Given his extensive work with the character, we asked if he always had sequel ideas in mind. Did he envision this evolving into a full trilogy when he first wrote Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe?

"I never expected that series to go anywhere or be more than me having fun writing a comic," Bunn tells IGN. "However, I can't help myself. I constantly think about where stories could go next. While working on the first Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, one of my initial follow-up pitches was Deadpool Kills the Marvel Multiverse. In fact, I had three pitches ready, including Deadpool Kills the Marvel Cosmic Universe, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Zombies, Deadpool's Secret Wars, and Deadpool Killustrated. Two of those happened, but the Multiverse concept was closest to what we're doing now. Frankly, now is a much better time to tell that story!"

Naturally, the challenge with a trilogy like this is finding ways to continually escalate the conflict. When you start with a series where Deadpool massacres the entire rosters of the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four, expanding the scope is no easy task. For Bunn, the solution was to open up the multiverse. This time, Wade will battle everything from Cap-Wolves and Worldbreaker Hulks to entirely new, distorted versions of Marvel's heroes and villains.

"The multiverse absolutely opens up numerous new avenues for exploration," Bunn says. "We wanted this to feel distinct from the previous entries. Our goal was to show Deadpool confronting different versions of Marvel heroes—some familiar to readers, others brand new. I spent considerable time researching the 'worst' (meaning the best) variants of Marvel heroes and villains. What I didn't realize when I started was that we were crafting the most epic Deadpool story of all time. How's that for escalation? How's that for throwing down the gauntlet?"

"What I didn’t realize when I set out is that we were creating the most epic Deadpool story of all time. How's that for an escalation? How's that for throwing the gauntlet down?”“

Bunn is excited for readers to witness the carnage in the book, though he's keeping quiet about specific match-ups beyond what Marvel has already revealed in the solicitation for issue #1.

"I won't spoil anything from the book. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have even mentioned Cap-Wolf and Worldbreaker Hulk," Bunn says. "Some incredibly cool characters appear in this series—dozens and dozens of them. Deadpool is fighting some of the most powerful heroes and villains across the multiverse. How will he manage to defeat them? From the perspective of a long-time comic reader who loves obscure characters, some figures in this book haven't been seen in over 30 years. Will those be the most epic battles? You'll have to see."

Returning to the idea of escalation, Talajić raised the bar in Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again by bringing a new level of visual flair to the series. There, Talajić frequently shifts artistic styles, contrasting the bloody carnage with the sanitized, saccharine version of events inside the brainwashed Deadpool's mind. Bunn promises that Talajić will continue to innovate visually in the trilogy's grand finale.

"With Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again, we wanted to play with different comic eras and styles," Bunn explains. "In this new book, we aren't changing the overall visual style for each kill. However, Dalibor truly shines in his interpretations of different worlds, different versions of our heroes, and a version of [REDACTED] you've never seen before. Dalibor is always a master of his craft, but he's bringing some genuine insanity to the page this time!"

While we refer to this as part of a trilogy, it's important to note that the first two Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe books aren't directly connected. Instead, they present two different scenarios for why Deadpool would start killing Marvel's heroes. In the first, Deadpool becomes a nihilistic murder machine after discovering the truth about his existence as a comic book character. In the second, a different Wade is brainwashed by a group of villains into doing their dirty work and slaughtering heroes.

The question is how, if at all, the third book connects to the previous two volumes. Is this another standalone story, or does it tie back to the earlier Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe books?

"It's a fresh start... sort of," Bunn teases. "The story stands completely on its own. You don't need to read any of the previous series. However, observant readers might pick up on a few interesting tidbits at the beginning that could connect to what came before. Most importantly, though—this is its own story."

The previous two books weren't just about mindless superhero carnage. In both, Deadpool was portrayed as a somewhat sympathetic figure despite his actions. One version was utterly disillusioned after learning he was a pawn subject to the whims of the Marvel Comics Bullpen, while the other actively fought against mind control. Even by those standards, Bunn hints that the Deadpool at the heart of this sequel is an especially sympathetic protagonist.

"I believe the Deadpool we see in this book is far more sympathetic than the killer Deadpool in the other series," Bunn says. "With this story, we thought, 'What if Deadpool killed the Marvel Universe... and we were rooting for him to succeed?' Setting the stories apart is definitely a challenge. Here, Deadpool's mission and his headspace make this book completely different. His headspace—I can't wait for readers to get that joke."

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time #1 will be released on April 2, 2025.

For more on upcoming Marvel releases, check out what to expect from Marvel in 2025 and see IGN's most anticipated comics of 2025.