Cure Deadpool Of This Disease, He Dies

By Chris Snellgrove | Published

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From the very first film, Deadpool has been a sympathetic character to fans despite the fact that he was a murderer for hire…it’s difficult, after all, to watch the character develop cancer, and it’s just as difficult watching his attempts to cure that cancer leave him horribly disfigured. Interestingly, that cancer never went away, but his Wolverine-like healing powers help keep it at bay. Many sympathetic fans still want the superhero cured of this terrible condition, but here’s the thing: thanks to an old issue of Deadpool, we know that nothing would kill the Merc With a Mouth quicker than curing his cancer.

Deadpool Vs Skrulls

Unless you’ve thumbed through most of the mercenary’s library of comics, you might think we’re pulling your chain on this one. However, this crazy fact is detailed in very gory detail in Deadpool Vol 4, #3, a comic in which Deadpool tangles with everyone’s favorite shapeshifting aliens, the Skrulls. His primary battle is with a Super-Skrull, an opponent that is relatively scary because he can harness the powers of all the different mutants and super beings he previously impersonated.

Skrulls Wanted His Regeneration

While Deadpool is having an epic battle with the Super Skrull, there is another threat happening aboard the Skrull warship where their fight takes place. A group of Skrull scientists have been hard at work trying to figure out how to copy Deadpool’s amazing healing ability. It’s not hard to see why they’d want to do this: perhaps the only thing scarier than evil aliens who can impersonate anyone they see is evil impersonators who, like Deadpool himself, are nearly impossible to kill.

Be Careful What You Wish For

In a more traditional comic, our hero would keep these scientists from succeeding. However, Deadpool doesn’t stop them from putting his regeneration ability into a bunch of other Super Skrulls. Of course, the Skrulls didn’t really accomplish this on their own: it turns out Deadpool wanted them to steal his healing powers all along.

Cancer Keeps Deadpool Alive

While Deadpool has always had a few screws loose, giving evil aliens his healing power begs the question: why would he want to do this in the first place? We get an answer when the Skrull scientist in charge sees, to his horror, the Skrulls with Deadpool’s powers beginning to swell and deform. That’s when Deadpool drops the bombshell news that his regenerative abilities aren’t exactly like Wolverine’s: instead, these powers were tailor-made to help his body grow new cells just as quickly as the aggressive cancer in his body could lose them.

No Cancer And The Power Goes Wild

What, then, happens to someone with Deadpool’s exact powers who doesn’t have cancer like he does? As the issue shows, the Skrulls who stole his powers ended up exploding: their bodies regenerated more cells than they actually needed, causing their sudden and gruesome deaths. It stands to reason that if a Marvel character (such as Panacea or Mister Negative) were to suddenly heal Deadpool’s own cancer, his healing abilities would do the same thing to him that they previously did to the Skrulls.

Ryan Reynolds Deadpool Is A Different Beast

The Deadpool movies have never adhered to the comic mythology completely, so it’s entirely possible that Deadpool 3 will cure our hero’s cancer and help him live a disease-free life, ideally enjoying a “happily ever after” with Vanessa. If the MCU does firmly adhere to the comics, though, such a cure would instantly kill the superhero that Ryan Reynolds transformed into a household name. That would be a bummer to watch, but let’s face it: still a less embarrassing outcome for the actor than that awful Green Lantern movie.

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