In the 2004 series Cable & Deadpool, he refers to his own scarred appearance as "Ryan Renolds [sic] crossed with a Shar Pei".

Created by artist/writer Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza,[14][15][16] Deadpool made his first appearance on the pages of The New Mutants #98 cover-dated Feb.

[18] Liefeld's favorite comic title before X-Men was Avengers, which featured weapons like Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer and Hawkeye's bow and arrow.

Upon seeing the costume and noting his characteristics (killer with super agility), Nicieza contacted Liefeld, saying, "This is Deathstroke from Teen Titans".

[24][25] The original story had him joining the Weapon X program after being kicked out of the U.S. Army Special Forces and given an artificial healing factor based on Wolverine's, thanks to Dr. Emrys Killebrew, one of the head scientists.

In 1993, the character received his own miniseries, titled The Circle Chase, written by Fabian Nicieza and pencilled by Joe Madureira.

It was a relative success and Deadpool starred in a second, self-titled miniseries written in 1994 by Mark Waid, pencilled by Ian Churchill, and inked by Jason Temujin Minor and Bud LaRosa.

Although he spent the majority of the story arc looking forward to dying, he suppresses his desires in order to protect his friend and sidekick Hydra Bob.

"[volume & issue needed] However, after a harsh beating from Intelligencia, Wade realized that he had let his ability to heal compensate for skill so he decided to ask for help from Taskmaster in training.

After learning of Solo's impersonation, Deadpool came up with the idea to form a group of mercenaries called the Mercs for Money to extend his reach across the globe.

Madcap initially posed as an ally, joining the Mercs for Money, but eventually showed his true intentions after he was discovered impersonating Deadpool to defame and threaten his loved ones.

[66] Not long after Wade joined the Avengers Unity Division, the real Steve Rogers was secretly supplanted by an evil fascist counterpart from another timeline that operated as a Hydra sleeper agent within the superhero community.

With his mistakes costing the lives of two of his friends, the love of his daughter, and any respect the world had for him, Deadpool turned his back on what little remained of the life he had built.

[71] He commonly breaks the fourth wall, which is done by few other characters in the Marvel Universe, and this is used to humorous effect, for instance, by having Deadpool converse with his own "inner monologue", represented by caption boxes.

3 Annual #1 (2014) would retroactively explain that this voice belonged to Madcap, a psychotic Captain America villain, who had become molecularly entangled with Deadpool.

[72] The character's back-story has been presented as vague and subject to change, and within the narrative, he is unable to remember his personal history due to a mental condition.

[volume & issue needed] Deadpool's brain cells are similarly affected, with dying neurons being rejuvenated at a super accelerated rate.

His accelerated healing factor may contribute to his abilities, allowing him to perform the intense exercise for extended periods of time with minimal aches and fatigue.

Sent with his team to invade the Savage Land, he attempted to unleash chaos upon the sanctuary but was killed by Nightcrawler, who teleported his head off his body and hid it in a crater.

[105] The World War II-era version of Deadpool is introduced in the one-shot parody issue Captain America: Who Won't Wield the Shield.

[volume & issue needed] In each book, he hunts down and murders characters such as the Headless Horseman (who inspired the Green Goblin and Ghost Rider), the characters of Little Women (Black Widow, She-Hulk, Elektra), Captain Ahab (General Thunderbolt Ross), the Little Mermaid (Namor), Mowgli (Ka-Zar), Count Dracula (Marvel's Dracula, Morbius, Blade) and more.

Once Mr. Knight's assistant Gwen Poole realises what is going on, just after Deadpool has killed every hero in the alternative continuity but for her, she makes a sacrifice play and uses his trigger word to set him against the villains instead.

[112] This version of Wade is a World War II veteran broken by torture who is recruited by Generals Cable and Stryfe to take down the traitor Outlaw.

She has taken an older Wade prisoner and forces him to watch political debates while chained up, angered that he has ruined her life and hopes she can use him to find her mother.

He later tells Ellie that he now plans to travel the world and rid the planet of his old enemies and that Shiklah's resting place is in a shrunken glass coffin located on top of his heart.

After seemingly defeating Stryfe, this version of Deadpool is quickly ripped in half and appears to die shortly after, his last words being a joke on "severance" pay.

[volume & issue needed] In the Secret Wars Battleworld based on the 90s X-Men animated series, Deadpool is a member of X-Force with Cable, Bishop, Archangel, Psylocke, and Domino.

[130] Similarly, Paste Magazine included Deadpool at 61 in their list of "The 100 Best Comic Book Characters of All Time," highlighting his unique self-awareness in the Marvel Universe, which sets him apart from typical archetypes.

[132] Empire similarly noted his importance, placing him 45th in their "50 Greatest Comic Book Characters" list the same year, emphasizing his unpredictable and comedic approach to crime-fighting.

[136] In 2019, ComicBook.com placed him 30th in their "50 Most Important Superheroes Ever" list, acknowledging his broader cultural impact, especially as a character who blurs the lines between hero and anti-hero.