"Deadpool Ends Marvel's Bloodiest Trilogy with Final Universe Kill"

2011's *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* certainly lives up to its bold title, showcasing Wade Wilson's descent into chaos as he takes down the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe. The success of this series led writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajić to reunite for the sequel, *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again* in 2017. Now, they're set to conclude their thrilling saga with *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time*, where Deadpool's rampage extends to the entire Marvel multiverse.

IGN recently had the opportunity to delve into the final chapter of this trilogy through an email interview with Cullen Bunn. Before we dive into the details, take a moment to enjoy an exclusive preview of the first issue in the gallery below.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time - Image Gallery

8 ImagesCullen Bunn, a prolific writer known for his work on various Deadpool titles such as Deadpool: Killustrated, Night of the Living Deadpool, and Deadpool & the Mercs for Money, shared insights into the evolution of this trilogy. When asked if he envisioned this becoming a full-fledged trilogy from the start, Bunn revealed, "I never knew that series would go anywhere or be anything more than me having a good time writing a comic. I can't help myself, though. I love thinking about where stories could go. I ask myself constantly... what's next? When I was first working on Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, my first pitch after I completed that series was Deadpool Kills the Marvel Multiverse. At least, that was one of three initial pitches, including Deadpool Kills the Marvel Cosmic Universe, Deadpool Kills the Marvel Zombies, Deadpool's Secret Wars, and Deadpool Killustrated. Two of those happened, but the Multiverse book was the closest to what we've got coming up. And, frankly, now is a much better time to do that story!"

Escalating the stakes from a series where Deadpool obliterates the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four is no small feat. Bunn's solution was to expand the conflict across the multiverse, introducing battles with everything from Cap-Wolves to Worldbreaker Hulks and unique, distorted versions of Marvel's heroes and villains. Bunn explained, "The multiverse most certainly opens up a lot of new avenues of exploration. We wanted this to be different from what you've seen before in the series. We wanted to show Deadpool battling different versions of Marvel heroes (many readers will have seen before, many who are new). I spent a lot of time researching the 'worst' (meaning 'the best') variants of Marvel heroes and villains. What I didn’t realize when I set out is that we were creating the most epic Deadpool story of all time. How's that for an escalation? How's that for throwing the gauntlet down?”

While Bunn is excited for readers to experience the carnage, he remains tight-lipped about specific matchups beyond what's already been revealed. "I'm not going to spoil anything in the book. If I had my druthers, I wouldn't have even mentioned Cap-Wolf and Worldbreaker Hulk,” Bunn says. “There are some cool, cool characters showing up in this series. Dozens and dozens of them. And Deadpool is battling some of the most powerful heroes and villains in the multiverse. How's he gonna manage to bring them down? There are some characters showing up in this book that from the ‘I've been reading comics a long time and love some obscure characters’ perspective that haven't been seen in over 30 years. Will those be the most epic of the battles? You'll have to see."

In *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*, Talajić elevated the visual storytelling by experimenting with different artistic styles, juxtaposing the brutal violence with a sanitized vision inside Deadpool's mind. Bunn assures fans that Talajić will continue to innovate visually in the trilogy's finale. "With *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*, we wanted to play with different eras and styles of comics," Bunn says. "With this new book, we're not changing the overall visual style for each kill. Where Dalibor really gets to shine, though, is in his interpretations of different worlds... different versions of our heroes... and a different version of [REDACTED] than you have ever seen before. Dalibor is a master of his craft always, but he's bringing some real insanity to the page in this!"

Although we call this a trilogy, it's crucial to note that the first two books aren't directly linked but present different scenarios for Deadpool's murderous spree. In the original, Deadpool becomes a nihilistic killer upon learning he's a comic book character. In the sequel, a different Wade is manipulated by villains to slaughter heroes. As for how *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time* ties back to the previous volumes, Bunn teases, "It's a fresh start... sort of. The story stands completely on its own. You need not read any of the other series. At the beginning of the story, though, observant readers might pick up on a few interesting tidbits that may connect to what has come before. Most importantly, though--this is its own story."

Art by Davide Paratore. (Image Credit: Marvel)

Despite the violent nature of the previous books, Deadpool remained a sympathetic figure—whether disillusioned by his comic book existence or fighting against mind control. Bunn suggests that the Deadpool in this final installment will be even more sympathetic. "I think the Deadpool we see in this book is much more sympathetic than the killer Deadpool in the other series," Bunn says. "With this, we thought ‘What if Deadpool killed the Marvel Universe... and we were rooting for him to succeed?’ It is definitely challenging to set the stories apart. With this one, Deadpool's mission... and his headspace... make this book completely different. His headspace. I can't wait for readers to get that joke."

*Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time #1* is set to hit shelves on April 2, 2025.