Deadpool #1
Deadpool #1 (2008) marks the opening chapter of the most commercially transformative solo run in the character's history up to that point — the series that pulled Wade Wilson back from the brink of cancellation and laid the storytelling foundation for his eventual mainstream breakout. Writer Daniel Way introduced a now-famous narrative device here: a second, differently-formatted caption box representing a distinct internal voice that argued with Deadpool's familiar yellow-box monologue, a technique that became inseparable from the character's pop-culture identity and was later formally woven into Marvel continuity when Deadpool Annual #1 (2014) retroactively identified that second voice as the villain Madcap. The debut issue proved a genuine commercial surprise — placing in the top twenty on monthly sales charts and selling out — reversing years of underperformance and signaling to Marvel that Deadpool could anchor an ongoing franchise. The series it launched ran 63 issues through 2012, directly preceding the wave of Deadpool titles and media adaptations that made the Merc with a Mouth one of Marvel's defining characters of the next decade.
In "One of Us Part 1," Deadpool takes center stage at a bustling baseball game, where his presence raises red flags for invading Skrulls—especially when their scanners pick up something off the genetic charts. Written by Daniel Way and illustrated by Paco Medina, with inks by Juan Vlasco, colors by Marte Gracia, and letters by Chris Eliopoulos, this 2008 Marvel issue sees the Merc with a Mouth turn the tables on the alien threat with a twist no one saw coming. The cover, by Clayton Crain, captures the chaos in bold, striking detail.
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By mid-2008, the character's previous shared series Cable & Deadpool had been cancelled after fifty issues, and Wikipedia's sourced account of the period describes the character's commercial standing as 'substantially diminished' with 'prospects for further solo publication uncertain.' Marvel editor Axel Alonso and writer Daniel Way — both independently concerned about Deadpool's underperformance — collaborated to design a new ongoing, deliberately anchored to the publisher-wide Secret Invasion crossover event to guarantee immediate reader exposure. Alonso's guiding mandate was to foreground what he called the character's 'sophomoric, anarchic humor,' while Way framed his own task more bluntly: the character had 'flatlined,' and the job was to generate interest. The series shipped September 10, 2008, with interior art by Paco Medina, a painted primary cover by Clayton Crain, and a variant cover by Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld; each issue in the opening arc also included a ten-page illustrated history of Deadpool as a reader on-ramp.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published September 10, 2008 by Marvel Comics; written by Daniel Way with interior pencils by Paco Medina, colors by Marte Gracia, and inks by Juan Vlasco.
- Cover-titled 'One of Us, Part 1' — the opening chapter of a three-issue Secret Invasion tie-in arc in which Deadpool infiltrates a Skrull warship as a double agent working secretly for Nick Fury.
- The primary cover was painted by Clayton Crain; a variant cover by Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld also shipped with the issue.
- Each of the opening issues included a ten-page illustrated back-up feature summarizing the history of Deadpool, serving as a new-reader primer.
- The issue introduced Daniel Way's dual-caption-box device — yellow boxes for Deadpool's familiar inner voice, white boxes for a second, distinct internal voice — a storytelling innovation that became a defining visual hallmark of the character for years; Deadpool Annual #1 (2014) later retroactively identified the white-box voice as the merged consciousness of villain Madcap.
- The series launched directly after the cancellation of Cable & Deadpool (2004–2008) and was the character's second self-titled ongoing series, running 63 issues through 2012.
- Issues #1–3 are Secret Invasion tie-ins; issues #4–12 were published under the Dark Reign banner, with a crossover into Thunderbolts #130–131.
- The complete Daniel Way run has been collected in multiple formats including trade paperbacks, a four-volume Complete Collection series, and two oversized omnibus volumes.
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Reprinted in Deadpool #1 (2009), Deadpool #1 (2009), Wolverine and Deadpool #7 (2010), Deadpool MGC #1 (2010), Deadpool #1 (2011), Deadpool by Daniel Way: The Complete Collection #1 (2013), Deadpool Firsts #[nn] (2016), Deadpool by Daniel Way Omnibus #1 (2018), The All Killer No Filler Deadpool Collection #28 (2018), Marvel - La Renaissance #5 (2019), Os Anos 2000: O Renascimento da Marvel #5 (2022), Deadpool Modern Era Epic Collection #1 (2025)
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