Warning: Spoilers for Deadpool: Assassin #4
Things have certainly been interesting for Deadpool in the Marvel comics universe lately - and it looks like it may have finally driven the Merc With A Mouth to retirement. After his stint attempting to be a hero and even working with the Avengers in the main Marvel universe, everything went wrong thanks to Evil Captain America. Filled with self-loathing (and facing some serious criminal charges) and forced to take a drastic way out, Deadpool decided to wipe his own memory.
Now, he's back to factory-settings-Deadpool, and having a whole lot of fun without all those pesky feelings. He's also working with Negasonic Teenage Warhead in his solo series, and things seemed to be going pretty well for ol' Wade. Meanwhile, in his (unconnected) new six-issue mini-series, Deadpool: Assassin, this anti-hero is up to all his old tricks, killing people for money. Of course, he does have a moral code (albeit a flexible one), and likes to make sure he is killing the 'bad guys' rather than innocent people.
But in Deadpool: Assassin #4, he drops a bombshell on the Marvel universe: he's retiring!
Related: Deadpool's New Mission is Too Disgusting For Film
This week's issue opens with a montage of Deadpool on various high-paying jobs, including stealing Ghost-Rider's cycle, the Venom symbiote, interrupting Mojo Prime TV, and plenty more... and Deadpool informs the reader that the reason he is taking on quite so many of these high paying jobs is that he's done with the Merc life.
Of course, there's something standing in the way of his potential retirement to a beach somewhere - and that's the fact that the Assassin's Guild is after him and the people that he cares about (which includes Weasel and Threnody, for this series). With only two issues left of Deadpool: Assassin, it's likely that Wade is going to find his retirement plans derailed by the Guild, and something may just happen that convinces him to stay with the merc game for just a little bit longer.
This isn't the first time in recent months that Marvel has teased Deadpool's disappearance in various series, either - not only did he wipe his memory, but before that happened, he was determined to find someone who could actually kill him. However, comic readers are well aware that with the massive popularity of the character right now (in both the comics and on the big screen), it would be ridiculous to actually retire him.
And whether or not the Deadpool: Assassin series sees Deadpool retire at the end of the sixth issue, he seems to be popping up all over the Marvel Universe right now: the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy need his help to battle a Celestial, and he popped up this week in Mr & Mrs X #1 as well! So while no one is about to believe he's really retiring, we can certainly appreciate the action montage at the start of this issue!
Deadpool: Assassin #4 is now available from Marvel Comics.