Deadpool: The Circle Chase #2

Issue Date: 
September 1993
Story Title: 
The Circle Chase - round 2: Rabbit Season, Duck Season
Staff: 

Fabian Nicieza (writer); Joe Madureira (pencils); Mark Farmer (inker); Glynis Oliver (colorist); Chris Eliopoulos (letterer); Suzanna Gaffney (editor); Bob Harras (group editor); Tom DeFalco (editor in chief)

Brief Description: 

In Cairo, Egypt, Deadpool saves the life of Mr. Gezdbadah, who possesses a disk given to him by Tolliver’s assistant, Mr. Foley, and which is said to contain information on the Tolliver will. But before Deadpool can get away with the information, he is attacked by Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy, who have tracked Deadpool down, but after discovering what is contained on the disk in the briefcase, they decide to steal it from him instead. Deadpool tracks the two criminals to an airport, where they have boarded a plane to bring them back to Dublin. Deadpool boards the plane and proceeds to combat the two on the plane. Deadpool finally gets the upper hand when he blows out the cabin door, which sucks out Black Tom in the process. Holding onto Tom by a line he had thrown him, he makes a deal with Juggernaut for the disk…and the proceeds to let Tom go. Juggernaut jumps out of the plane after him, at which point Deadpool hijacks the plane to Sarajevo. Elsewhere, Sluggo attempts his own attempt at the Tolliver will by seeking out Vanessa at her parent’s home. Vanessa gets the better of Sluggo, and finds out where Deadpool is in the process. In Bombay India, the Courier delivers Nyko’s contract to the Executive Elite. And Slayback has finally tracked down Garrison Kane on his quest to kill Deadpool himself.

Full Summary: 

Somewhere in Cairo, Egypt; a man known as Mr. Gezdbadah is running through the streets for his life, when suddenly someone shoots out his kneecap bringing him to the ground. He finds himself surrounded by several mercenaries who have come for the briefcase that Mr. Gezdbadah is holding. Just as he is going to hand over the briefcase to his attackers, the mercs are in turn jumped by Deadpool, who grabs the case from their hands. Deadpool quickly makes his way to a nearby rooftop, and then turns to open fire on the mercs, taking them all down in a hail of gunfire. Miraculously, the only survivor is Mr. Gezdbadah, who Deadpool orders to tell him what is in the case.
Mr. Gezdbadah explains the briefcase contains a disk that was given to him by the late Tolliver’s assistant, Mr. Foley, and that the disk contains information regarding Tolliver’s will. DP asks what is on the disk, and his captive goes on to explain that the disks contain information regarding the prize at the end of the chase. The prize goes to whomever comes out the winner in the scavenger hunt, which is nothing less than “the most powerful weapon on the face of the planet”. As it turns out, Tolliver got the last laugh, in getting everyone to fight each other to discover the secret behind the will.
Suddenly, DP’s interrogation ends when the Juggernaut plows through the building that DP was just standing on, knocking it to the ground. Luckily, DP was agile enough to stay above the rubble, and land on his feet on the ground. However, DP has fallen into a trap, and is blasted from behind by Black Tom, who can now channel his mutant abilities through the wood growth on his body, and thereby make them much more powerful.

Juggernaut picks up the case, and Black Tom informs him that they can use the contents of the disk to put themselves in a highly advantageous position. They then force Mr. Gezdbadah into telling them about the will.


The man known as Sluggo has finally tracked down Vanessa, whom he hopes he can get to lead him to Tolliver’s will. Sluggo knocks on the front door, which is answered by an elderly lady who informs Sluggo that she hasn’t seen Vanessa for over three years. Sluggo, in remorse for scaring an old lady like he did begins to walk away, but is stopped short when a noose is flung down around his neck. He is pulled up to the roof of the house by Vanessa who chastises him for killing her best friend in Boston, Tina Valentino. Sluggo states that they have to talk about the Tolliver will, but Vanessa exclaims that she had nothing to do with it, and that Tolliver had blackmailed her into posing as Domino for over a year. Sluggo informs Vanessa that everyone believes that she and Deadpool are the keys to finding the will, since Foley is now dead, and that everyone believes that Deadpool was behind it. Vanessa knows that can’t be true, since he was looking for her in Boston when Foley was murdered. Vanessa asks where Deadpool is now, at which point Sluggo answers that he is probably with Weasel in Sarajevo. Vanessa steals Sluggo’s wallet and car keys, and proceeds to throw him through her parent’s front window. Vanessa tells her mother to call the cops to come arrest Sluggo for breaking into the house, which will put him out of the picture. Mrs. Carlysle pleads with her daughter to stop the life she is leading, and that she is sorry about treating her differently because she is a mutant. Vanessa states that she will be more than happy to retire after she has become the richest person on the planet by finding the prize at the end of the scavenger hunt.

Bombay, India:

Jacob Gavin Jr. AKA the Courier, enters a restaurant and is escorted to a dinner table occupied by a man called Mr. Bashur. Mr. Bashur asks what his next assignment is, and Jacob informs him of the events of recent months. He tells him about Pico’s unfortunate incident, and that the list of suspects include Cable, Copycat, and Deadpool, and that Pico’s brother, Nyko would like Bashur to handle the terminations of all three … beginning with Deadpool. When Bashur asks what he can expect in terms of payment, Jacob informs him that payment will come in the form of a disk, which contains information pertaining to all of Tolliver’s international operations, and that whoever holds the disk will have a heads up the will scavenger hunt. Bashur states that he accepts the deal, and that he will be contacting the Executive Elite immediately.

Cairo:

Deadpool, with the help of Weasel, hastracked down the location of Juggernaut and Black Tom. Spotting a plane on the tarmac getting ready for take off, Deadpool asks if this is the right flight. Weasel manages to narrow the list of flights from Cairo to Dublin, and that there are two passengers on the plane, a Mr. Cain Biggs and a Mr. Thomas Small. Deadpool makes a break for the plane, running after it as it makes it take-off down the runway and just barely catching the plane’s landing gear as it lifts off from the ground.
Inside the plane, Juggernaut is concerned that everyone is starring at him. Black Tom informs his partner that he does have a tendency to stick out, seeing as his huge bulk requires two seats, but he should relax and have a drink. Suddenly, the floors explodes out from in front of them and Deadpool pops up from the blast hole, with guns aimed immediately at his targets. DP asks where the briefcase is, at which point Black Tom blithely replies that he had the case mailed back to Dublin by Federal Express – and that DP knew about their services first hand. Deadpool doesn’t buy it, and smashes open an over-head bin which knocks out their luggage, including the briefcase. Deadpool rushes for the prize, but is caught in Black Tom’s bio-blast. Juggernaut grabs the case, smugly knowing that there is nothing DP could do which could overpower him. Deadpool, seeing that Black Tom is close enough to the emergency exit, blasts open the door and throws Black Tom a line which he readily grabs to prevent him from being blown out of the plane. Deadpool then anchors himself with his sword while holding Tom with the other end of the line. DP offers Black Tom in exchange for the briefcase, and despite Black Tom’s protests Juggernaut agrees, stating that all the money doesn’t mean anything if he doesn’t have his friend to enjoy it with.
After being given the briefcase, Deadpool decides to put them both of the picture by letting go of the line. Predictably, Juggernaut jumps out after Tom, at which point DP closes the door behind them. After opening the case, and recovering the disk, Deadpool informs the passengers that the flight has officially been hijacked.

Damarus Cove Islands, Maine:

A boat has docked at the shore of a lighthouse home, and a man with a duffle bag thrown over his shoulder makes his way to the house. Once at the door, he pulls off his hood to reveal himself to be Garrison Kane, who has finally returned home for the first time in months. Upon opening his door, however, he finds he is not alone. Kane flicks on the light, but is caught off guard by Slayback’s extending arm, which grabs him by the face. Slayback then states that he is looking for Deadpool, and that even though he has never had a problem with Kane, he won’t hesitate if he doesn’t get what he wants. Namely he wants revenge against Deadpool, who killed him ten years ago.

Characters Involved: 

Deadpool

Weasel

Black Tom Cassidy

Juggernaut
Sluggo / Bernard Hoyster

Slayback

Copycat
Garrison Kane

Courier / Jacob Gavin Jr.

Commcast / Garabed "Gareb" Bashur

Mr. Gezdbadah
Mrs. Carlysle / Vanessa’s Mother

Unnamed Mercenaries

Story Notes: 

Vanessa spent time in Boston after her near fatal stabbing at the hands of Deadpool in X-Force #15. After her recovery, she had morphed into an exact look-alike of her best friend, Tina Valentino. When Deadpool and Sluggo tracked Vanessa to Boston, Sluggo shot and killed Tina (X-Force #22).

This issue marks the first appearance of Commcast…if anyone cares.

Deadpool does indeed know about the services of Federal Express. After his first battle with Cable and the New Mutants, Deadpool was defeated and literally mailed back to his employer.

Obviously Black Tom and Juggy survive their fall, though no one knows how. They’ll be back to cause problems in the pages of X-Force, where Black Tom will turn himself over the authorities at the behest of Siryn. The pair would be back to plague Deadpool once more in the second limited series.

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