2011's *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* certainly lives up to its bold title, showcasing Wade Wilson's descent into madness as he slaughters heroes and villains across the Marvel Universe. The series was so well-received that writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajić came back for a sequel in 2017, *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*. Now, they're reuniting for the final chapter, *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time*, where Deadpool's rampage extends across the entire Marvel multiverse.
IGN recently had the chance to delve into the details of this thrilling conclusion through an email interview with Bunn. Before diving into the interview, take a look at an exclusive preview of the first issue below to get a taste of the fourth wall-breaking carnage that awaits.
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time - Image Gallery
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Cullen Bunn has become synonymous with Deadpool, having crafted numerous stories including *Deadpool: Killustrated*, *Night of the Living Deadpool*, and *Deadpool & the Mercs for Money*. When asked if he had always planned for this to become a trilogy, Bunn shared, "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 in a trilogy where Deadpool has already taken down the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four is no small feat. Bunn's solution was to expand the narrative to the multiverse, allowing Deadpool to face off against Cap-Wolves, Worldbreaker Hulks, and entirely new, twisted versions of Marvel's heroes and villains. "The multiverse most certainly opens up a lot of new avenues of exploration," Bunn explains. "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?”
Bunn is excited for readers to experience the carnage but remains tight-lipped about specific matchups beyond what's been revealed in the solicitation for issue #1. "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 switching artistic styles, contrasting the brutal reality with the sanitized vision inside Deadpool's mind. Bunn assures 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!”
While this series is part of a trilogy, the first two books are not directly connected, each presenting different scenarios for Deadpool's killing spree. In the first, Deadpool becomes a nihilistic killer after learning he's a comic book character. In the second, he's brainwashed by villains to eliminate heroes. The question remains how the third book ties back to the previous volumes. "It's a fresh start... sort of," Bunn teases. "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."
The previous books portrayed Deadpool as a sympathetic figure despite his actions. Bunn hints that the Deadpool in this sequel will be even more relatable. "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.
For more on what's coming up from Marvel, check out what to expect from Marvel in 2025 and see IGN's most anticipated comics of 2025.
