After all, Gavin makes a pretty good argument from a Deadpool fan's perspective: Deadpool doesn't really have an archenemy and Zodiac could be seen as a varation on Deadpool, simply lacking a moral barometer. If I squint at the character hard enough, I can almost see that. There's an absurd lunacy to Zodiac in his glorifying in villainy. He doesn't kill and maim and steal and fuck shit up for any reason other than to do it. He lives for the anarchy and evil. If he were a mutant, he'd call his group the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and mean it. He's the kind of villain that makes it his business to fuck with Norman Osborn because he's angry at the idea of villains playing hero. Or, he's the kind of villain who has his girlfriend dress up as Captain America while giving him a blowjob. On the surface, that seems pretty workable with Deadpool, I must admit.
And, Gavin makes an interesting point about Zodiac and his spiritual predecessor, Prometheus: once you have him lose once, he kind of loses his lustre. Except, that's something I don't think is true entirely. Prometheus was built to be the Batman of evil -- the guy you can't stop, because he's better than you. Once he's stopped, he's a joke. Zodiac is set up to be the fucked up guy who loves being bad. He'd get off on being defeated and vowing revenge. That's part of the game. He doesn't want to win, he wants to make life hell for people. After all, he didn't kill Johnny Storm. Killing the hero isn't part of the game.
That's where I find Zodiac doesn't fit with Deadpool. Zodiac is meant to be a return to a traditional supervillain. Gavin doesn't think he'd fit with the new "Heroic Age" mentality, but that's where he'd be most at home. He seems almost antiquated, but strong heroes need really bad guys. Bad guys that are there to be bad. He would be a worldclass threat almost because he's so out of left field. A 'hero' like Deadpool would be beneath him. It wouldn't even be a case of going through the whole 'upset that Deadpool just won't die, so have to keep trying' bullshit; Deadpool just ain't worth the effort. He's a tweener. Sometimes good, sometimes evil... not worth a second look. To make him Deadpool's archenemy would be to alter Zodiac... and what's the point of that? We've seen how well that worked with
But, I'm also of the mind that unless Joe Casey and Nathan Fox are involved, Zodiac stays on the sidelines, so that plays a rather large role in my reaction, too. Then again, Casey and Fox could actually make a funny Deadpool comic... maybe. Ultimately, it doesn't feel like a good fit without changing Zodiac to suit Deadpool and, at that point, just create a new character. Why ruin a good one?
1 comments:
I find it funny how there's kind of an osmosis to this argument. My side is "Deadpool would be better if he clashed with Zodiac" while your side is "Zodiac would be worse if he clashed with Deadpool."
Back when they had that Messiah War crossover, Deadpool was there for the sake of having him there. But there was one conversation that was genuinely interesting that they really glossed over. The future Deadpool mentioned that he worked for Stryfe until he had seen that Stryfe had gone too far even for him. Cable, who really should have known better, bitched out Deadpool because there isn't a "too far for him". It was a moment where "show but don't tell" should have been utilized.
And that's exactly the kind of story I felt could be told by putting these two together. Zodiac is a leader and Deadpool chooses to be a tool. It's not too much of a stretch to think that a guy who hires C and D-list villains would hire a guy who once said, "I'd shoot a baby if you pay me enough. I won't like it, but I'll do it." Even if it's a small cog in his overall plan.
For years they've mostly played the Deadpool/hero concept as Deadpool deciding that maybe he'd like to do better, but I can't recall too much of it being because he doesn't want to be worse. This could be that dynamic. The kind of thing where Deadpool could be so disturbed by how Zodiac operates that he feels the need to oppose him.
See, I don't think that it would be about Zodiac lowering himself to wanting to kill the unkillable Deadpool (though it doesn't hit me as far too different from going out of his way to murder a HAMMER agent who was vaguely aware that Zodiac exists). I think it would be about Deadpool getting up off his ass and trying to do something about Zodiac. After the first time, Zodiac wouldn't be planning to destroy Deadpool, but he'd be planning FOR Deadpool. He'd be up to the same bullshit, but with added contingencies based on the idea of Deadpool intervening. That gives us the intriguing conflict: the psychotic master planner who's two steps ahead of everyone vs. the one who's both unpredictable and shockingly competent. The idea interests me more than seeing Zodiac face Steve Rogers or the Avengers. ...Okay, maybe not more than Nick Fury.
Especially since Zodiac can remain under wraps here. Like with Generation Lost, Zodiac is the Max Lord figure. Nobody in the hero community knows he exists. Would Deadpool really change that? Would Spider-Man take his word on it when he has no evidence to back up his claims on an underworld boogieman?
I understand your qualms about the idea, but I really don't feel it would alter Zodiac's makeup to make it happen.
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