"Deadpool Ends Marvel's Bloodiest Trilogy with Final Kill"

2011's *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* certainly lives up to its name, presenting readers with a thrilling narrative where Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, goes berserk and begins to massacre heroes and villains across the Marvel Universe. This series was so well-received that writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajić came back for a sequel, *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again* in 2017. Now, the duo is set to reunite for the final installment, *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time*, where the stakes are higher than ever. This time, it's not just one universe but the entire Marvel multiverse that faces Deadpool's wrath.

IGN recently had the privilege of interviewing Bunn via email to delve deeper into the conclusion of the *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* trilogy. Before we dive into the details, take a moment to enjoy an exclusive preview of the first issue below, and then continue reading to discover more about the fourth wall-breaking chaos that lies ahead.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time - Image Gallery

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Cullen Bunn has established himself as a prominent Deadpool writer, having crafted numerous tales from *Deadpool: Killustrated* to *Night of the Living Deadpool* and *Deadpool & the Mercs for Money*. We were curious whether Bunn always envisioned sequels when he first started writing *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe*. He shared with IGN, "I never knew that series would go anywhere or be anything more than me having a good time writing a comic. I can't help myself, though. I love thinking about where stories could go. I ask myself constantly... what's next? When I was first working on Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, my first pitch after I completed that series was Deadpool Kills the Marvel Multiverse. At least, that was one of three initial pitches, 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 book was the closest to what we've got coming up. And, frankly, now is a much better time to do that story!”

Creating a trilogy poses the challenge of continually escalating the narrative. Starting with a story where Deadpool eliminates the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four, expanding the scope becomes an intricate task. Bunn's solution was to open up the multiverse, allowing Deadpool to confront a wide range of characters from Cap-Wolves to Worldbreaker Hulks, and even new, twisted versions of Marvel heroes and villains. "The multiverse most certainly opens up a lot of new avenues of exploration,” Bunn explains. "We wanted this to be different from what you've seen before in the series. We wanted to show Deadpool battling different versions of Marvel heroes (many readers will have seen before, many who are new). I spent a lot of time researching the 'worst' (meaning 'the best') variants of Marvel heroes and villains. 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 thrilled for readers to experience the chaos in the book, though he keeps the specific matchups under wraps beyond what's already been revealed in the solicitation for issue #1. "I'm not going to spoil anything in the book. If I had my druthers, I wouldn't have even mentioned Cap-Wolf and Worldbreaker Hulk,” Bunn says. "There are some cool, cool characters showing up in this series. Dozens and dozens of them. And Deadpool is battling some of the most powerful heroes and villains in the multiverse. How's he gonna manage to bring them down? There are some characters showing up in this book that from the 'I've been reading comics a long time and love some obscure characters' perspective that haven't been seen in over 30 years. Will those be the most epic of the battles? You'll have to see."

In *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*, Talajić elevated the visual experience by switching artistic styles, juxtaposing the brutal reality with the sanitized visions inside the brainwashed Deadpool's mind. Bunn assures 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 eras and styles of comics,” Bunn says. "With this new book, we're not changing the overall visual style for each kill. Where Dalibor really gets to shine, though, is in his interpretations of different worlds... different versions of our heroes... and a different version of [REDACTED] than you have ever seen before. Dalibor is a master of his craft always, but he's bringing some real insanity to the page in this!”

While we refer to this as a trilogy, it's crucial to understand that the first two *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* books aren't directly connected. They present separate scenarios for why Deadpool turns against the heroes. In the first, Deadpool becomes a nihilistic killer upon realizing he's a comic book character. In the second, a different Wade is manipulated by villains to slaughter heroes.

The third book raises the question of whether it connects to the previous volumes. Bunn hints, "It's a fresh start... sort of. The story stands completely on its own. You need not read any of the other series. At the beginning of the story, though, observant readers might pick up on a few interesting tidbits that may connect to what has come before. Most importantly, though--this is its own story."

The previous books weren't just about superhero slaughter; they painted Deadpool as a sympathetic character despite his actions. One version was disillusioned by his comic book existence, while the other fought mind control. Bunn suggests that the Deadpool in this sequel is even more sympathetic. "I think the Deadpool we see in this book is much more sympathetic than the killer Deadpool in the other series,” Bunn says. "With this, we thought 'What if Deadpool killed the Marvel Universe... and we were rooting for him to succeed?' It is definitely challenging to set the stories apart. With this one, 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* is slated for release on April 2, 2025.