Plot: While Deadpool heads off to perform a hit on a speedster who is making a pest out of himself, we see Copycat is on hand to hear Wade's answering machine pick up a call from Theresa (aka. Siryn). Being an insanely jealous woman, Copycat decides to deal with this rival for her man's affections, by heading to meet Theresa herself. Disguising herself as Wade, Copycat meets Theresa, and proceeds to pummel the living heck out of her. Meanwhile, Deadpool finds that killing a speedster is tougher than it looks, as all of his carefully crafted plans end up failing spectacularly. Heading home after a long day's work, Deadpool finds Copycat is in a bit of a sour mood, and when he answers the door to find himself greeted by an equally pissed off Theresa, we see Deadpool can only watch as his relationship with both these woman goes in the toilet. As the issue ends we see Wade's home is blown up, putting the finishing touch on his day.
Comments: I must confess to being a childhood addict of the Roadrunner cartoon, so having Deadpool playing the role of Wile E. Coyote in this amusing homage to this classic series was a lot of fun. I mean, seeing Wade come up with these cunning master-plans, using the ever reliable ACME company as the supplier of the various deathtraps & the occasional rocket pack, was enough to make me overlook the extreme over-thinking that Wade engages in during this issue. I mean realistically all he should've had to do to stop this speedster is to string some fishing line across the road at about neck height. Deadpool's adventures in this issue play like a cartoon, and on this level the books a lot of fun, and at times quite hilarious. On the other hand, one does have to be a bit concerned when the writer of this book can only achieve humor with the character by lifting gags directly from another source.
Even more surprising about this issue is that along with the running gag that Deadpool is involved in, this book has itself a fairly serious plot involving Deadpool's personal life. It's nice to see Theresa back in these pages, and while her role in the book isn't the most flattering, and one is left to ask why she doesn't register the fact that Copycat is the more likely culprit, I will concede that Copycat's actions did make the future of Wade's relationship with Theresa a sight more interesting. The mental instability of Copycat is also nicely conveyed in this issue, as the fact that she was willing to almost kill Theresa to keep her from seeing Deadpool is a good indicator that someone's not altogether upstairs. This little love triangle does seem to be a bit slanted toward making the reader feel sorry for Deadpool by having both women assume the worst about Wade, but I guess sometimes you're the bat, while other times you're the ball.
Karl Kerschl has a solid style, and it lends itself quite well to this book's more humorous bent. The characters are nicely expressive, and the situations that it's called upon to detail are delivered so that they play up the humor. I mean sure one can see the punch-line coming long before it arrives, but this is more the fault of the writer drawing upon familiar source material, than the artist. The gags are amusingly, and clearly presented. In regards to the other plot, Karl Kerschl proves himself equally adapt at delivering the more chilling aspects of Copycat's actions, as the scene where Theresa is used as a punching bag is one of the more disturbing scenes this book has ever delivered. The pages where Deadpool discovers that his seemingly perfect life is falling apart are also nicely detailed, and I want to give a special mention to the coloring job of Tom Chu, who really does a great job on the final sections of this issue.
Final Word: The fact that Frank Tieri is arriving next issue, with a plot-line lifted from the Wolverine book does not inspire me with a lot of confidence, so I look upon this issue as the final reminder of what Deadpool is supposed to be, before we descend down the slippery slope that will probably turn this unique character into the bland, unimaginative hired gun that the character was before Joe Kelly got his hands on him. I mean, sure the humor in this issue isn't the most clever material on the block, but at least the attempt to lighten up the book is there, and Buddy Scalera recognizes that this book doesn't have to take itself too seriously. Good-bye Deadpool. It was fun while it lasted.
