Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Tour de Deadpool: 10 Deadpool Supporting Cast Members You Should Care About

With the recent announcements of T.J. Miller playing Weasel and Morena Baccarin playing Copycat in the upcoming Deadpool movie, Wade Wilson’s supporting castmates through the years are starting to get some overdue time in the spotlight.

To prep yourself for next year’s film, here’s a little 101 on those who dare get close to Marvel’s Merc-with-a-Mouth:



Copycat:

Created by: Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza

1st appearance: New Mutants #98, 1991, (masquerading as Domino), X-Force #19, 1993 (as herself)

Her thing: Vanessa Carlysle was a Boston prostitute who dated Wade Wilson before the cancer and the Weapon X program. Eventually, the shapeshifting mutant came into the employ of Tolliver, aka Tyler Dayspring, Cable’s son from the future. As part of that employment, she disguised herself as Domino during the period when Cable founded X-Force, while the real Domino was held prisoner. In addition to dating Deadpool, she also dated Garrison Kane, a member of the mercenary team Six-Pack.



Weasel:

Created by: Fabian Nicieza and Joe Madureira

1st appearance: Deadpool: The Circle Chase #1, 1993

His thing: Weasel is Wade’s weapons and tech guy, information broker and friend, when the price is right. He also has no problem selling Deadpool out to a higher bidder, such as when he took a job with Taskmaster in issue #2 of Joe Kelly’s run. According to issue #11 of that same run, Weasel went to the same school as Peter Parker, as a student named Jack Hammer. Later, in Daniel Way’s run, Weasel gets a suit of armor and works as a Las Vegas enforcer named The House.



Blind Al:

Created by: Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness

1st appearance: Deadpool #1, 1997

Her thing: Blind Al was Deadpool’s prisoner/roommate in San Francisco. Apparently Wade was supposed to kill her during a pre-DP mission in Zaire, but he didn’t. She looks like Aunt May with blue-blocker sunglasses and spiky hair, and in fact impersonates May in the aforementioned Deadpool #11 adventure. The two would prank and insult each other, and at times, Deadpool would put her in The Box, a dark torture chamber in Wade’s house. He eventually frees her.



T-Ray:

Created by: Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness

1st appearance: Deadpool #1, 1997

His thing: T-Ray hates Deadpool. He’s a mercenary, like Wade, and his powers involve magic. He wears a bandage across his nose and looks like a character from a later iteration of Street Fighter. Oh, and he says his name is Wade Wilson and Deadpool stole his identity and killed his wife. So yeah, T-Ray’s a little bit of a continuity nightmare. But he looks cool.



Taskmaster:

Created by: George Perez and David Michelinie

1st appearance: Avengers #195, 1980

His thing: Tony Masters uses a photographic memory to replicate the moves of anyone he fights. As such, he wields a sword like the Black Knight, shoots arrows like Hawkeye and wields a shield like Captain America. Though he spent more than 15 years as a third-tier Avengers baddie, he found his calling as a regular frenemy of Deadpool, starting with trying to lure away Weasel. Over time, Wade and Tasky would work as members of a new Frightful Four, fight for the love of Sandi Brandenburg and just plain fight.



Sandi Brandenburg:

Created by: Udon Studios, Ken Siu-Chong and Alvin Lee

1st appearance: Taskmaster #1, 2002

Her thing: Sondra “Sandi” Brandenburg was a dancer-turned-office manager for mercenaries. She was romantically involved with Taskmaster and came to work for Deadpool and later Alex Haydn, aka Agent X, a character created in a mindswap of Deadpool and two other people. She had a habit of taking in strays and for a time was in an abusive relationship. Deadpool threatens the boyfriend, but Taskmaster straight-up kills him.



Bob, Agent of Hydra:

Created by: Fabian Nicieza and Reilly Brown

1st appearance: Cable & Deadpool #38, 2007

His thing: Bob is, as his name implies, a Hydra agent, whom Deadpool pestered into helping him on a mission to rescue Agent X. He becomes an honorary member of Agency X upon also helping rescue agency members Sandi and Outlaw. He also becomes Deadpool’s sidekick as Cable disappears from the Cable & Deadpool picture, having abandoned the buddy-comedy book among the events of Civil War and Messiah Complex.



Deadpool Corps:

Created by: Victor Gischler and Paco Medina

1st appearance: Prelude to Deadpool Corps #4, 2010

Their thing: Deadpool. Headpool. Dogpool. Kid Deadpool. Lady Deadpool. Together they traversed the multiverse righting wrongs and acting like a bunch of unhinged goons. If you think five Deadpools is too many, definitely don’t read Deadpool Kills Deadpool, Cullen Bunn and Salva Espin’s 2013 miniseries in which every Deadpool from every reality in the multiverse engages in epic battle.



SHIELD Agent Preston:

Created by: Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn and Tony Moore

1st appearance: Deadpool Vol. 3 #1, 2013

Her thing: Emily Preston is a SHIELD agent who contracts Deadpool to deal with an invasion of dead presidents conjured by a necromancer and former agent. She is killed by the undead George Washington and ends up trapped in Wade’s psycho psyche, leaving Deadpool to figure out how to restore her. Her consciousness is eventually transferred to a Life Model Decoy. Her SHIELD partner is named after and looks exactly like actor Scott Adsit, who played Pete Hornberger on 30 Rock. If Adsit is cast in the Deadpool movie, I will scream like a 13-year-old girl watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964.



Shiklah:

Created by: Gerry Duggan, Brian Posehn and Reilly Brown

1st appearance: Deadpool: The Gauntlet #3, 2014


Her thing: Shiklah is a demon succubus who marries Deadpool, spurning Dracula, who had hired Wade to bring her to him. Because sure, why not? If Deadpool can be romantically obsessed with Death, why can’t he marry a demon?


Dan Grote’s new novel, Magic Pier, is available however you get your books online. He has been writing for The Matt Signal since 2014. He and Matt have been friends since the days when making it to issue 25 guaranteed you a foil cover.

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