"Deadpool Ends Marvel's Bloodiest Trilogy with Final Universe Kill"

2011's *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* certainly lives up to its name. This series delves into what happens when Wade Wilson, better known as Deadpool, takes a dark turn and begins systematically eliminating the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe. The overwhelming popularity of this narrative led to a sequel in 2017, *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*, penned by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajić. Now, Bunn and Talajić are reuniting for the final installment, *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time*. This time, the stakes are higher as Deadpool's rampage isn't confined to a single universe but extends across the entire Marvel multiverse.

IGN recently had the chance to connect with Bunn via email to delve into the details of this concluding chapter in the *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* trilogy. Before diving into the interview, take a moment to enjoy an exclusive sneak peek of the first issue below, and then read on to discover more about the fourth-wall-shattering chaos that lies ahead.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time - Image Gallery

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Cullen Bunn, a prolific Deadpool writer, has crafted numerous stories from *Deadpool: Killustrated* to *Night of the Living Deadpool* and *Deadpool & the Mercs for Money*. When asked if he always had the sequels in mind, Bunn shared with IGN, “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!”

The challenge of escalating a trilogy that begins with Deadpool annihilating the entire rosters of the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four is no small feat. Bunn's approach to expanding the scope involved opening up the multiverse. This time, readers will witness Wade Wilson confronting everything from Cap-Wolves to Worldbreaker Hulks and entirely new, distorted 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 fans to experience the carnage but remains tight-lipped about specific matchups beyond what Marvel has 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.”

Continuing the theme of escalation, Talajić brought a new level of visual flair to *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again* by switching artistic styles, contrasting the brutal reality with the sanitized, idealized visions inside Deadpool's mind. Bunn promises that Talajić will continue to innovate visually in the trilogy's grand finale.

“With *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*, we wanted to play with different eras and styles of comics,” Bunn notes. “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 referred to as a trilogy, it's crucial to understand that the first two *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* books aren't directly connected. Instead, they offer different scenarios for Deadpool's murderous spree. In the first, Deadpool becomes a nihilistic killer after realizing he's a comic book character. In the second, a different Wade is manipulated by villains to slaughter heroes.

The question arises about how, if at all, the third book connects to the previous volumes. Bunn teases, “It's a fresh start... sort of. 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 weren’t just about mindless carnage. In both, Deadpool was portrayed as a somewhat sympathetic figure despite his actions. One was disillusioned by his comic book existence, while the other fought against mind control. Bunn hints that the Deadpool in this sequel is even more sympathetic.

“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 will be released 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.