Perhaps the only hero who takes Deadpool seriously in the pages of Marvel Comics is the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Rocket Raccoon. Although Rocket and Deadpool work in totally different environments, in 2014’s Rocket Raccoon #2 Rocket reveals that not only does he know the Merc With a Mouth, but also knows that Deadpool is no laughing matter, despite what anyone thinks. And while the two never meet in the issue, it sets the tone for any future encounters.
Although one is a talking, gun-toting raccoon and the other is a mutate with an amazing healing factor, both Rocket Raccoon and Deadpool share a great deal in common. Both are mercenaries who gained their abilities by being experimented on. Both consider themselves loners who nevertheless find themselves working alongside other heroes – Rocket in the Guardians of the Galaxy whereas Deadpool has met nearly the entire Marvel Universe; Deadpool and Rocket are both known for cracking jokes while fighting as well. With so many similarities, it would seem that Rocket Raccoon and Deadpool might be the best of friends, and maybe even team up to bring someone in – but a brief exchange in Rocket Raccoon #2 reveals that a fight between them is more likely.
In the issue, written and illustrated by Skottie Young, Rocket has found himself once again in prison on false murder charges. A video shows a being bearing a strong resemblance to Rocket murdering someone; with Rocket being allegedly the last of his species, all fingers are pointing towards him. Rocket is sentenced to prison and transported to a holding facility. While trying to talk to his cellmates, Groot arrives, busting Rocket out. The two fight their way through the guards, and Rocket tells Groot he knows someone who can help clear his name. Later, the two meet up with Macho Gomez, another intergalactic bounty hunter with a long history with Rocket. Gomez agrees to give them a spacecraft to travel in; he informs them he got it back just before going to prison, and that a “spandexed loudmouth” had stolen it from him. Rocket asks if it was Deadpool and Macho confirms it was. Rocket then goes on to say you have to watch Deadpool, that people write him off as a joke, but the reality is he will “cut ya.”
Rocket and Deadpool Should Be Friends...But Aren't
Rocket’s assessment of Deadpool is spot on – Deadpool is one of Marvel’s deadliest, but funniest, assassins. Deadpool’s constant jabber and fourth-wall breaking lead many to write him off as a joke, yet to do so is to shortchange Deadpool’s skills as an assassin. Deadpool is a skilled fighter, proficient in fighting both hand-to-hand and with weapons; his body count is in the thousands. Rocket, being a mercenary himself, understands Deadpool and what drives him – and he knows not to underestimate him.
What is fascinating about Rocket’s comment is that, at least on page, he has yet to meet Deadpool, meaning either the Merc With a Mouth’s reputation for violence and cracking wise stretches all the way to outer space, or there is a grand story to be told about their true first meeting. Either way, the Guardians’ Rocket Racoon truly knows Deadpool is no laughing matter.