Agent-X #14

Issue Date: 
December 2003
Story Title: 
Deadpool Walkin’ - part 2: Foul Brain Stew
Staff: 

Gail Simone (writer), Alvin Lee & Udon (artists), Cory Petit (letterer), Andy Schmidt (asst. editor) Marc Sumerak (editor), Joe Quesada (chief), Bill Jemas (president) With special thanks to: Buddy, Evan and Daniel

Brief Description: 

Although Alex has shot Deadpool in the face, Deadpool is still alive. He’s mentally retarded, though. Black Swan explains to Alex who he is: a former mercenary called Nijo, killed by Black Swan, but revived by a combination of Black Swan’s telepathy and Deadpool’s healing factor. His personality is made up of bits and pieces of their personalities, which they lost, and Black Swan wants to restore each of them to their normal mind. During the process, Black Swan deceives them, though, and he loses the sense of honor that kept him in check, but regains his deadly abilities as well as several new abilities. He defeats Alex, but is then stabbed in the back by Deadpool.

Full Summary: 

The Rio Grande Valley, Texas: At a small church, Outlaw is sitting near the casket of her father. She thinks back to an event from her youth, where she beat up a boy of her age and she told her father that people are always calling her names. Back to the present, she tells her father that she loves him and then leaves Texas in her car.

At Sandi’s apartment, Taskmaster and Sandi are trying their best to put Deadpool’s head back together, while Sandi’s cat is licking at pieces of it. Look on at this, Alex’s thinks about what a waste of time this is. Taskmaster turns to Black Swan and keeps his gun pointed at him. Black Swan explains that it’s easier for Deadpool to heal when he has all the parts and doesn’t have to regenerate them. Taskmaster keeps both guns pointed at Black Swan, still not trusting him. Sandi asks Alex to help her take Deadpool to the bathtub, since he’s still bleeding. Alex refuses, telling her that somehow he hates Deadpool for an unknown reason. Sandi gets angry and tells him that she really cares about Deadpool, so Alex helps her reluctantly. When she leaves the bathroom, he does punch Deadpool several times in the face though.

Back in the living room, Swan explains what happened: when Deadpool came to kill him, Black Swan had just killed his partner, Nijo. Deadpool then entered, carrying a suitcase with explosives. As Deadpool starts to shout baby talk from the bathroom, Black Swan explains that he’s regrowing his memory right now. Taskmaster is sceptical, he doesn’t believe that Wilson can regrow memories. Black Swan continues to explain that the healing factor also has a mental component to it and that it can be duplicated: he proves it by cutting of his own finger and tells him that it will regrow by the end of this conversation.

Deadpool starts to shout again and Sandi and Alex run to the bathroom to see what’s happening. It turns out that Deadpool has rediscovered his genitals and is playing with them. Mentally, he is still not much further than a baby, so they both decide to leave.
Back in the living room, Alex wants to know what the mind-link between Swan and Deadpool had to do with him. Black Swan smiles and tells him that he’s Nijo’s dead body.

In the car, Swan tells everybody that Alex’ amusement park is the best place for him to restore all memories to the rightful person. Deadpool, in the back, somehow manages to get his pants of again. Swan then explains how all of Alex characteristics fit into either Swan’s or Deadpool’s personality: he has Deadpool’s healing factor and sense of humor and Black Swan’s skill with weapons, ambition, intolerance for rudeness and even outrage and scars about being thrown into a white-hot fireplace grill, explaining Alex irrational hatred of Deadpool.

They stop outside the park and Alex asks if Swan is going to swap their memories back. Swan confirms this, since all he got out of this are a taste for Radiohead and an encyclopaedic knowledge of pornographic knock-knock jokes. Alex and Sandi discuss whether Alex really wants to do this and Alex says that he’s not sure, but that he wants to lose Swan’s aspects in his mind. They kiss. Swan tells Taskmaster that they look happy, but Taskmaster doesn’t play his mind games and warns Swan that he will be watching him the whole time. Swan then admits that he couldn’t even betray them if he wanted to: he also gained Nijo’s strong sense of honor and he can’t break his word.

Outlaw returns to Sandi’s apartment and discovers Alex’s bed, slept in with underwear of both Alex and Sandi lying next to it. She immediately comes to the right conclusion.

In the park, Taskmaster is sitting in the Ferris wheel and aiming a sniper rifle at Swan, while Swan starts the procedure. Deadpool, Alex and Swan all feel incredible pain. Alex starts to feel sorry for Deadpool and wishes that they had waited until Deadpool had recovered more of his mind. Swan then informs Alex that he’s returning him his sense of honor, since it’s a nuisance to him. Sandi calls out to Taskmaster, telling him that something’s wrong.

Taskmaster tries to shoot but falls from the wheel, due to Swan’s new powers. Somehow Deadpool, Alex and Swan’s powers combined in Swan and give him the ability to use his psionic powers in other ways, including levitation and the ability to fire lightning like bursts of energy. Sandi shoots Swan, but he barely notices it. His lightning hits her and she tries to shoot herself. Alex jumps at him and starts to punch him, but a lightning bolt later Alex is down on the floor and not breathing. Sandi calls Taskmaster for help but he’s also unconscious.

Swan is about to kill Alex and tells him how good this feels when a dark figure removes something from Taskmaster’s car: two swords. Deadpool then stabs Black Swan in the back with both swords.

Characters Involved: 

Alex Hayden/Agent X/Nijo (mercenary)

Sandi Brandenberg (secretary and Alex’s current girlfriend)

Taskmaster/ Toni Master (alias) (mercenary)

Outlaw/Crazy Inez (Alex’ ex-girlfriend)

Deadpool/ Wade Wilson (mercenary)

Black Swan (telepathic German assassin)

Story Notes: 

The first page, as usual, contains a synopsis of past events in the form of Alex’s journal.

Issue Information: 
Written By: