In DC’s Suicide Squad #11, two distinct versions of Marvel’s Merc With a Mouth. Deadpool, meet one another and develop an uncanny friendship.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Suicide Squad #12, on sale now from DC Comics.
Deadpool is one of Marvel’s most famous modern characters, simultaneously a parody and celebration of the anti-hero architype. He’s not the first or last meta-character to exist in the genre, though, and a surprising variant of the Merc with a Mouth just met one of his direct fictional ancestors.
Suicide Squad #12 (by Robbie Thompson, Dennis Hopeless, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Dexter Soy, Marcelo Maiolo, Matt Herms, and Wes Abbott) features Ambush Bug meeting DC’s equivalent of Marvel’s Deadpool. Interestingly enough, the two end up avoiding a fight and becoming fast friends, which is a fun way for DC to reference the thematic connection between the two characters.
The current iteration of the Suicide Squad is currently trapped on Earth-8, a world designed to be similar to the Marvel Universe. There, after decimating the Avengers stand-ins of this reality, the Squad encountered the Lightning Strikes, who are a Thunderbolts stand in that includes analogs of Marvel anti-heroes such as Man-Thing, Punisher, and Elektra. As the encounter evolves into a violent confrontation, the fourth-wall breaking character Ambush Bug comes face to face with with Blood Pouch, the Lightning Strike’s gun-toting answer to Deadpool. The two quickly embrace a meta-comedy routine, poking fun at one another and even recreating the Spider-Man pointing meme as the battle rages around them.
As the fight becomes deadly (largely due to the efforts of Major Force), Ambush Bug and Blood Pouch avoid the carnage by literally staying outside the panels of the comic that contain the battle. This allows Blood Pouch to be one of the few survivors of the encounter, with Ambush Bug even expressing an affectionate goodbye for his newfound friend. It’s a surprising but humorous pairing, especially given the history of both characters. Created by Keith Giffen in 1982, Ambush Bug is a prototype for the role Deadpool fills in the modern Marvel Universe. Designed as a fourth-wall shattering joke character, Ambush Bug has allowed DC to gently poke fun at itself over the years and has survived the various reboots and retcons that have transformed the universe over the years.
Seeing Ambush Bug openly friendly with his Marvel counterpart — albeit one that’s also actually from DC — is a perfect touch for the largely friendly character. Ambush Bug and Deadpool’s similar personalities would gel well, and while it’s unlikely the two will have a formal meeting, it’s still fun for DC to confirm their potential friendship. The Suicide Squad and Justice Incarnate’s recent visits to Earth-8 have revealed a harsh variant of the Marvel Universe and its heroes. The Retaliators sided with Darkseid and were decimated when they were caught in the crosshairs of his conflict. The Suicide Squad has also openly mocked both the Avengers knockoff team as well as the Lightning Strikes.
Even if Earth-8’s primary purpose has been to serve as a punching back for the universe hopping missions of the two teams, there’s a bright spot to be found with Ambush Bug’s unlikely friendship with a character who is modeled after Marvel’s closest version of him. Their meta status allows them to dodge the conflict and is a perfect moment for both characters.
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