Deadpool GLI Summer Fun Spectacular #1

Background

There are only a few things that you need to know for this issue:

1. Deadpool is an obnoxious mercenary that will skewer you verbally before he kills you. He makes frequent multi-layered observations in a manner that would make Dennis Miller proud.
2. The Great Lakes Initiative (GLI) are a group of well-meaning yet mostly useless registered superheroes currently based in Milwaukee, WI.
3. Deadpool doesn't respect 3/5 of the GLI. He's attracted to Big Bertha (don't ask) and he is intimidated by Squirrel Girl (she whupped him in a fight)

Story 'Drunk With Power'

We begin in Olympus, home of the Greek gods. However only one of them are relevant to this story. That would be Dionysus, god of revelry and wine. This is the god you call when you want to party hard. He was walking around Olympus drunk (shocking I know) and he eventually came to a cliff. Being in a drunken stupor, he fell off said cliff and landed on Earth, specifically Christmas Mountain in Wisconsin, forming a god-sized crater. This went largely unnoticed by everyone in that area, except for a group of scientists from AIM.

Three weeks later, we find Deadpool in Manhattan. He is providing some basic story exposition to the reader while commenting on the Human Torch's flight path. He appears to be drunk and is raining fire from the sky. Deadpool isn't really worried about the collateral damage he's causing, he just wants whatever he's drinking.

He enters the Baxter Building with no trouble and finds the current FF: Black Panther who's playing with catnip on the floor, his wife Storm of the X-Men, the Thing who has a lampshade on his head, and the aforementioned Human Torch. All of them are very drunk for no apparent reason.

Storm lashes out and hits Pool with a lightning bolt, incinerating most of his clothes - thankfully he's wearing his lightning-proof undies. Storm then introduces him to the rest of the FF, trying to slur her words as little as possible.

Pool asks why they're all so drunk. Pather responds - in an equally slurred manner - that there's some sort of distortion wave that is causing this. They they were able to identify the origin point but are in no shape to investigate. Deadpool decides to be all heroic and help them out.

Hours later he arrives in Wisconsin, the source of the distortion wave. He encounters the GLI - who are not affected either - at an amusement park. After killing Mr. Immortal a few times, he decides to work with them and uncover the source. After they discover the entrance to the secret headquarters, they charge at the first wave of evil yellow-suited scientists.

From within their control room, the inner circle watch the monitors of the battle. The section leader asks why neither Deadpool nor the GLI is affected by their inebriation wave. His underlings explain that Deadpool's healing factor fights off the effects of the wave. Then they admit that they forgot to program the GLI into their device.

Deadpool and the GLI eventually find the secret lab and discover the GLI's arch-enemy Dr. Tannenbaum, the Yultide terrorist tied up in a corner. Flatman theorizes that this is actually his lab and AIM just took it over. Deadpool walks into the next room where they find Dionysus. He is power source for the inebriation wave. After a brief battle, they destroy the machine before other sections of AIM can take control of the Baxter Building and any Initiative headquarters.

Eventually they return to their government funded headquarters and have a victory dinner. They offer Deadpool a membership in the GLI, but he flatly refuses, not wanting to be associated with a big group of dorks. He will however be a reservist.

General Comments

I would have paid money to watch Slott & Nicieza pitch this idea to their editor. This is one of those bizarre ideas that is completely appropriate for a Deadpool story. There's just enough plot to set up all the jokes, which is fine in this case. There are about a dozen jokes that I skipped over as they really couldn't be worked into the summary properly. They have to be read to be fully appreciated.

Overall Rating

5 webs. This was such an entertaining read, there's no way I could give it any less. The basic concept is hysterical and the execution is perfect.

Footnote

The other stories in this issue that add to the insanity are:

• Squirrel Girl learns - from Deadpool of course - about her "true love" Speedball's current mental state and tries to bring back the happy-go-lucky Speedball.
• Deadpool won't leave the GLI headquarters. The GLI members talk Bertha into going out with him (since they can tell he's hot for her) in the hopes she can convince him to leave.
• Flatman tries to convince Deadpool to leave by holding his rubber duckie hostage

Squirrel Girl whupped Deadpool in Cable & Deadpool #30. In this issue the now-GLI were shown to have registered as part of the Superhuman Registration Act.

The Black Panther and Storm joined the FF in Fantastic Four #543. They are temporary replacements for Reed and Sue, who will work to rebuild their marriage after their separation due to the events in the Superhuman Civil War.

Coincidentally T'Challa and Ororo have found themselves homeless, having the Wakandan embassy destroyed during the cybog Thor's battle with Storm in Black Panther (Vol. 4) #25