Deadpool #1
Deadpool Vol. 5 #1 (2016) marks the opening chapter of Gerry Duggan's solo stewardship of Wade Wilson — his co-writer Brian Posehn having departed after their celebrated Marvel NOW! run — and it signals a deliberate storytelling pivot: Deadpool is now a full-blown cultural celebrity within the Marvel Universe itself, consciously mirroring the real-world phenomenon ignited by the Ryan Reynolds film released the same month. The issue also introduces the Mercs for Money as a formal in-universe team concept, a group of D-list mercenaries franchising Wade's identity that would spin off into its own ongoing series. Critically, the 2016 relaunch opens a long narrative runway culminating in the 'Deadpool 2099' storyline later in the volume, which seeds the first appearance of Warda Wilson — Wade's daughter with Shiklah — making this #1 the story-engine start of one of the character's most ambitious multi-generational arcs.
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The issue arrived as part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different initiative, the line-wide publishing relaunch that followed the conclusion of 2015's Secret Wars crossover event. Duggan had co-written the preceding Vol. 4 series (2012–2015) with comedian Brian Posehn, and Marvel retained him as sole writer for the relaunch, pairing him with artist Mike Hawthorne and inker Terry Pallot, who had both worked extensively on the prior volume — editor Jordan D. White kept the creative unit largely intact to preserve tonal continuity. The launch was timed almost exactly with the February 2016 theatrical release of Tim Miller's Deadpool film, and Duggan addressed that cultural moment directly in the script by making Wade's in-universe fame a central narrative tension.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published as Deadpool Vol. 5 #1, cover-dated January 2016, as part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different post-Secret Wars publishing relaunch.
- Written by Gerry Duggan (solo, following his co-writing tenure with Brian Posehn on Vol. 4), with interior art by Mike Hawthorne, inks by Terry Pallot, and colors by Val Staples.
- Marks the first appearance of the Mercs for Money as a team — a group of mercenaries (including Solo, Terror, Foolkiller, Slapstick, and Stingray) hired to impersonate Deadpool across simultaneous jobs — created by Gerry Duggan.
- The series ran for 36 issues before transitioning into Despicable Deadpool as part of the Marvel Legacy era, with Duggan continuing throughout.
- The volume's later issues contain the first appearance of Warda Wilson (Deadpool 2099), the daughter of Wade Wilson and Shiklah set in the year 2099, though that debut occurs in issue #6 and not #1.
- Duggan's script explicitly uses Wade's in-universe celebrity status — framed as a response to his movie-level fame — as both a plot driver and meta-commentary on the character's real-world cultural explosion in 2016.
- The Mercs for Money concept introduced here was popular enough to anchor two separate spin-off miniseries written by Cullen Bunn and published concurrently in 2016.
- The issue continues Duggan's ongoing storylines around Wade's marriage to Shiklah and his role as an Avenger, threading character continuity directly from the Vol. 4 run rather than starting from scratch.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Deadpool Firsts #[nn] (2016), Deadpool: World's Greatest #1 (2016), All-New Deadpool #1 (2016), Deadpool #1 (2016), Deadpool: World's Greatest #1 (2017), Deadpool #1 (2017)
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