Deadpool Ends Marvel's Bloodiest Trilogy with Final Universe Kill-Off

2011's *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* certainly lived up to its name, showcasing what happens when Wade Wilson, also known as Deadpool, goes completely off the rails and begins a massacre of Marvel’s heroes and villains. The popularity of this series led writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajić to reunite for a sequel in 2017, titled *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*. Now, Bunn and Talajić are set to conclude their trilogy with *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time*, where Deadpool's destructive path expands beyond a single universe to the entire Marvel multiverse.

IGN had the chance to interview Bunn via email to delve into the final chapter of this thrilling trilogy. Before diving into the details, take a look at an exclusive preview of the first issue below, and then read on to discover more about the fourth-wall-breaking chaos that awaits.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe One Last Time - Image Gallery

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Cullen Bunn, a prolific creator in the Deadpool universe, has penned numerous titles including *Deadpool: Killustrated*, *Night of the Living Deadpool*, and *Deadpool & the Mercs for Money*. When asked if he always envisioned this series growing into a trilogy, Bunn shared, “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!”

Escalating the conflict in a trilogy where Deadpool already killed off major teams like the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four is no small feat. Bunn's solution was to expand the narrative to the multiverse, allowing Deadpool to face off against a variety of characters, from Cap-Wolves to Worldbreaker Hulks, and even new, twisted versions of Marvel’s heroes and villains. Bunn explains, “The multiverse most certainly opens up a lot of new avenues of exploration. 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 readers to experience the carnage in the book but remains tight-lipped about specific matchups beyond what's been revealed in the solicitation for issue #1. He says, “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. 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.”

In *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*, Talajić elevated the visual storytelling by switching artistic styles, contrasting the brutal reality with the sanitized vision inside Deadpool’s brainwashed mind. Bunn assures that Talajić will continue to innovate visually in the trilogy's finale. “With *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again*, we wanted to play with different eras and styles of comics,” Bunn says. “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, the first two *Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe* books are not directly connected but rather present different scenarios for Deadpool's killing spree. In the first, Deadpool becomes a nihilistic killer after learning he's a comic book character. In the second, a different Wade is manipulated by villains to slaughter heroes. Regarding the connection of the third book 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.”

Art by Davide Paratore. (Image Credit: Marvel)

The previous books portrayed Deadpool as a sympathetic figure despite his actions. In the new sequel, Bunn suggests that Deadpool will be even more relatable. “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* is set to be released on April 2, 2025.