Deadpool kills [spoiler] in his final battle with Black Panther

(Warning: Some of the dumb things Deadpool does in Black Panther vs. Deadpool No. 5 are about to be spoiled. Proceed with caution.)

Black Panther vs. Deadpool came to an end with the fifth issue of the mini-series, making way for the latter’s next battle with Fing Fang Foom—which was promptly canceled at the end of the issue by editor Wil Moss, despite Deadpool’s best efforts.

In the course of their fight, Black Panther takes Wade Wilson to The Land of the Dead (supposedly). In his mix up with T’Challa’s old ancestors, Wade faces off with a familiar face: his own.

Black Panther wanted this fight to happen to show Deadpool he’s lost his soul and is nothing more than a copy of his original self. A clone, in a sense, thus, devaluing everything he does.

Wade seems caught off guard by the surprise attack, but is ultimately triumphant, killing himself—his “old self”—in the process. (And it was all because he realized what everyone else already knew: he never shuts up.)

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Come to find out The Land of the Dead was a rouse, nothing more than a hologram simulation.

With everything T’Challa has discovered throughout the mini-series, hammering home the idea Deadpool is less than a normal human or mutant seemed an effective strategy. In that moment,  it appears Black Panther was right: Wade is directionless and without a soul. Only to find out shortly after, Deadpool himself fear he’s lost his soul.

Wade isn’t a bad guy by any stretch. He’s not necessarily dumb either (well, that’s debatable). Wade’s idea of “saving the day” is more like “getting the job done,” in reality. Whatever it takes to do that is fair game.

Something else that shouldn’t get lost in the mix is Deadpool almost fully admitted to something while fighting with himself.

As Black Panther evaded an attack, he called Wade, “A copy of a copy,” to which he replied: “Shut up! The only thing I’m a copy of is Deathstro—”

Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has denied Wade Wilson is a copy of Deathstroke (a.k.a Slade Wilson), despite being a fan of the latter. But wouldn’t a comic book character that knows he’s a comic book character know better than anyone if he’s the copy of another comic book character? (So meta.)