Deadpool Secretly Respects Daredevil (But It’s Not Mutual)

Warning: contains spoilers to Deadpool: Black, White, and Blood #2!

Irreverent, crude, and obsessive, Wade Wilson is the kind of fan that no Marvel hero wants to have, yet Deadpool has expressed his admiration of a few specific crime-fighters even as he’s used by Marvel to send up their adventures and even mock them personally, with Daredevil the latest object of his affection. While dealing with the machinations of the Purple Man, Deadpool spells out what he thinks is so great about the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, but when Matt Murdock arrives to take down the villain, fans learn his admiration is definitely one-sided.

Wade originally crossed paths with Matt in 1997’s Daredevil/Deadpool Annual #1 where they fought over what to do about their mutual acquaintance and sometime enemy, Typhoid Mary. The unlikely duo reunited in 2013’s Deadpool: Suicide Kings, with Matt helping Wade clear his name when he was falsely accused of terrorism by the mobster Tombstone. Although Deadpool typically gets on most Marvel characters’ nerves, Daredevil impressed Deadpool by not only tolerating him but also occasionally going along with his unique sense of humor. Sadly, it seems this mutual appreciation was a one-time arrangement.

In Deadpool: Black, White, and Blood #2, the story ‘Purple Craze’ by David and Maria Lapham with art by Pete Woods sees Deadpool under the control of Zebediah Killgrave, who has escaped SHIELD custody and is hiding out among the mind-controlled crowd of a bowling alley. Despite being under Purple Man’s control, Kllgrave’s powers can’t seem to shut Deadpool up, and the Merc with a Mouth needles the villain about the inevitably of Daredevil catching him, given the hero is, “the guy with the uncanny sixth sense that makes all his other senses obsolete. Including his ears.” Although Killgrave tries to hide his fear by issuing orders, the Man without Fear drops in to prove Wade was actually right, using Deadpool’s face as a way to ricochet his billy club into the Purple Man (for his part, Wade just cries, “Nice shot, DD!”)

Deadpool spends a chunk of the first few pages describing how Daredevil’s powers make him a relentless and fearsome opponent, but when Matt enters the fray, he doesn’t even acknowledge Wade. Even after Deadpool helps Killgrave escape and hide out at his apartment (under hypnotic orders), he subtly uses his boasting to commend Daredevil’s talent, saying, “He may have eyes in the back of his head and be smart or whatever, but I can heal from any wound.” After Deadpool deliberately misinterprets Purple Man’s orders and blows up his apartment to attract Daredevil’s attention, the Man Without Fear arrives again, ignoring Wade’s greeting and questions as if he’s not even present in a show of frosty disrespect.

Daredevil clearly doesn’t admire Wade the same way he admires Matt, but this doesn’t stop Deadpool from using his signature demeanor and chattiness to annoy Purple Man enough to distract him. Although he literally can’t use his words, Deadpool manages to not only neutralize his puppeteer but also alert Daredevil to their whereabouts. While Deadpool was once an acerbic, insulting presence in Marvel Comics, here he treats Daredevil with nothing but deference and admiration without receiving a single word of congratulations or thanks in return. It just goes to show how bad Deadpool‘s reputation has become in the Marvel Universe, and how little patience Daredevil has for the Regenerating Degenerate, even when he does everything right.

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