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

2011's Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe certainly lives up to its title, showcasing Wade Wilson's descent into chaos as he begins to systematically eliminate the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe. The series was so well-received that writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajić teamed up again for a sequel in 2017, titled Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again. Now, the dynamic duo is set to close out their epic saga with Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time. This time, Wade's rampage isn't confined to a single universe; he's targeting the entire Marvel multiverse.

IGN recently had the chance to delve into the final chapter of this thrilling trilogy through an email interview with Bunn. Before diving into the details, take a look at an exclusive preview of the first issue below, and then read on to discover more about the fourth wall-shattering mayhem that awaits.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time - Image Gallery

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Cullen Bunn, a prolific writer in the Deadpool universe, has crafted a variety of tales from Deadpool: Killustrated to Night of the Living Deadpool and Deadpool & the Mercs for Money. When asked if he envisioned the series expanding into a full trilogy from the start, Bunn shared, "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!”

Escalating the stakes in a trilogy where Deadpool has already taken down the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four is no small feat. Bunn's solution was to expand the narrative to the multiverse, allowing Wade to confront a variety of characters from Cap-Wolves to Worldbreaker Hulks and beyond. "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 eager for fans to experience the chaos in the new book but remains tight-lipped about specific matchups beyond what's been teased 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 storytelling by switching artistic styles, juxtaposing the brutal reality with the sanitized version inside Deadpool's mind. Bunn assures that Talajić will continue to innovate visually in the trilogy's 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 this series is often referred to as a trilogy, it's worth noting that the first two books aren't directly connected. They present different scenarios for Deadpool's killing spree: in the first, he becomes a nihilistic murderer after learning he's a comic book character; in the second, he's brainwashed by villains. The question remains how, if at all, the third book ties back to the previous volumes. "It's a fresh start... sort of," Bunn teases. "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 mindless violence; they portrayed Deadpool as a sympathetic figure despite his actions. Bunn hints that the Deadpool in this final installment is even more relatable. "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 will be released on April 2, 2025.