Deadpool (3rd Series) #38

Issue Date: 
September 2011
Story Title: 
Operation: Annihilation (Part Two: Clear and Present Anger)
Staff: 

Daniel Way (Writer), Bong Dazo (Pencils), Joe Pimental (Inks), Andres Mossa (Colors), VC’s Joe Sabino (Letters), Dave Johnson (Cover),  Jordan D. White (Editor), Nick Lowe (Senior Editor), Axel Alonso (Editor-in-chief), Joe Quesada (Chief Creative Officer), Dan Buckley (Publisher), Alan Fine (Executive Producer)

Brief Description: 

As the military scrambles to the fight between Deadpool and the Hulk, a senator and one of the soldiers talk over the phone. The soldier recommends putting out a press release to say that Deadpool infiltrated a scheduled nuclear test and stole some weapons. The senator reluctantly agrees to it and then wonders whose side the Hulk is on. On the ground, the Hulk tries to find out if Deadpool has more weapons. Realizing that the Hulk won’t kill him, Deadpool lies and says he has a transmitter in his body. Every hour, a bomb will go off and the battery is charged by Deadpool’s own electrical charge. The Hulk finally hits Deadpool so hard he dies, but only for a moment. Deadpool sees Death and vows he will make the Hulk kill him once and for all. Deadpool wakes up and attacks the Hulk with a wrecking ball. Eventually, the Hulk is so mad he fights back and knocks Deadpool to the ground, preparing to destroy him and everything around him. Unfortunately, Deadpool notices he has landed next to a daycare center and realizes he has put the children in danger.

Full Summary: 

(Flagstaff, Arizona)
In a military helicopter, flying over the devastated area, a soldier is on the phone to the local senator. The soldier tells the senator they need to say Deadpool forcibly infiltrated their nuclear detonation test, which was being conducted under strict safety guidelines. Then, he made off with a number of portable nuclear-grade weapons.

On the other end of the phone, the senator swears and asks if they have to say that. The soldier emphasizes that he does otherwise they won’t get the resources they need. The senator asks what they do need, to which the soldier simply replies “everything”. Every soldier that can get a pair of boots on needs to, as the people of Flagstaff need to be evacuated immediately. The senator says he will do his best and then asks if the Hulk is on their side. The solider tells him that they need to pray that he is.

On the ground, the furious Hulk picks up a van and hurls it at Deadpool. The van hits a wall behind him, though, and Deadpool is surprised that he missed. His inner voices suddenly twig that they are being interrogated, as the Hulk asks where the nukes are. This isn’t what Deadpool wants, so he decides not to tell the Hulk anything, especially the fact that he is out of nukes anyway.

As the Hulk leans down and snarls in his face, Deadpool tells him that somewhere in his body is a tiny little transmitter that he had surgically implanted in him. Pointing to a clock tower, Deadpool continues and says that every hour a pulse will be sent out that triggers a randomly placed tactical nuke. Deadpool asks if the Hulk wants to know what the coolest part is, to which his inner voice chips in that none of it is true and they are making it up on the spot. Deadpool continues and says that the transmitter is powered by his body’s natural electrical current. So the real question is, what is the Hulk going to do about it?

The Hulk stares at him silently and Deadpool begins to wonder if he is thinking. But sure enough, the Hulk starts to get even bigger and he calls Deadpool a monster. He raises his fist high above his head and then punches Deadpool so hard the merc is slammed across the town, through numerous buildings.

When he eventually comes to a stop, he finds himself floating in a mysterious landscape. He opens his eyes to see Death stood high above him at the top of a set of floating stones. Deadpool asks if he is dead and the powerful entity replies that he is, but only for a moment. Deadpool is angry as Death explains that his healing factor will soon fix him and he will be dragged back into the world of the living and beyond her reach. As Death cradles his face, Deadpool tells her he will get Hulk to smash him into a bloody pulp till there is nothing left but a red smear on the pavement. As Death begins to move further away, she asks Deadpool how he intends on doing it. Thinking for a few seconds, he suddenly wakes up in his body again and points out that it is a very good question.

He pulls himself out of the rubble of a building, only to find the Hulk has found him already. The Hulk looks around for him and Deadpool gets his attention from the wrecking ball machine he is now driving. He jokingly asks the Hulk if he knows that it is a hard-hat area, as he doesn’t want him to get hurt. Hulk picks up the wrecking ball, which is lying next to his feet, and lifts it high above his head. Deadpool suddenly pulls a lever in the cab and the wire pulls tight and ensnares the Hulk’s legs. He lifts the Hulk up off the ground and starts to use him as the wrecking ball, slamming him into various structures around him.

The soldier in the helicopter is looking at the scene and wondering what Deadpool is doing. This won’t hurt the Hulk but merely make him angrier and stronger. It’s pretty damn stupid, as sooner or later he has to let him go. Sure enough, all the collisions make Hulk even angrier until he grabs the wire, snaps it and destroys the wrecking ball cab. Deadpool is thrown to the ground and the Hulk charges towards him. As Deadpool lies in a heap on the floor, he marvels that it is actually working and the Hulk has gone completely berserk. His inner voices comment that the Hulk will smash them into sub-atomic particles. Deadpool crawls to the side of the pavement and says that probably destroyed everything within a hundred feet of him too. Deadpool tells himself it will be epic but then drifts off as he suddenly notices he has landed next to a children’s daycare center. He stares at the children as the Hulk looms in the distance and realizes what he has just done.

Characters Involved: 

Deadpool
Hulk

Senator
Soldiers

Townsfolk
Children at daycare center

Written By: