As faithful fans know, comic book characters can take some awfully strange and strangely awful turns when they are adapted for other media. Take Deadpool, for example. Since the early 1990s, he has been the Marvel Universe’s resident smart aleck, a zentai-loving, amoral mercenary as quick with the quips as he is with his many, many swords. But in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in which he is alternately portrayed by Ryan Reynolds and Scott Adkins, Deadpool mutates from his familiar form into the nearly-unrecognizable and substantially-less-ingratiating “Weapon XI,” gaining powers in the process but losing his trademark winning personality. So will the real Deadpool please stand up and kick the other Deadpool’s ass while he’s at it?
A new YouTube video by Ismahawk, “Deadpool V. Deadpool: Dawn Of Deadpool,” imagines a winner-take-all fight between the two incarnations of the character. The video game-style brawl is largely dominated by the wisecracks of the classic Deadpool, who remarks upon seeing his rival, “Wait a minute! You’re supposed to be me? Somebody better have gotten fired for this!” While the uglier, mask-less Deadpool proves a formidable opponent, the original Deadpool’s wits serve him well in the confrontation. This may provide some wish fulfillment for anxious fans, who have an entire Deadpool spin-off film (again starring Reynolds) to anticipate and/or dread. The Ismahawk video looks to be the first in a speculative series called “Minute Match-Up,” with the next installment pitting Hawkeye against Green Arrow.