Warning: Spoilers for Deadpool: Team-Up #5!Deadpoolcreator Rob Liefeld has officially said goodbye to his iconic character in the most ambitious way possible. In the final pages of his finalDeadpoolseries, Liefeld pulls out one last, gloriously Liefeldian creative trick, ensuring his swan song as the Merc With a Mouth’s author was memorable – and definitive, considering he has seeminglyburned his bridge with Marvel for good.
Deadpool: Team-Up#5 – written and illustrated by Rob Liefeld – features a moment in whichthe writer/artist inserts himself into the story itself, in order to say goodbye to the title character personally. While not the first time that a writer or artist has inserted himself into his own story, this is especially noteworthy, as Liefeld reveals himself to be the mysterious Commander X, who has been teased since long before the series even began.
Calling it a long con on Liefeld’s part sounds like an understatement, but it is most certainly the most fascinating cameo the creator could make.
Rob Liefeld Meets Deadpool In a Wild Meta Cameo, Canonizing Himself In Marvel Comics Lore On His Way Out The Door
Deadpool: Team-Up#5 – Written & Illustrated by Rob Liefeld; Color By Juan Manuel Rodriguez; Lettering By VC’s Joe Sabino,
The meta aspect to Rob Liefeld’s cameo certainly feels fitting, considering that Deadpool’smeta-awareness of the Marvel Universeis a superpower in itself. It’s difficult to think of or write for Deadpool without that on-brand self-awareness, so it makes sense for Rob Liefeld’s final attempt at the character to be his most ambitious attempt at self-awareness. Even then, this moment feels bigger than just a fun meta-contextual point in the narrative. Any creator can wink at the reader, butthis is Liefeld framing himself as one of his more obscure characters, created more than five years ago.
The pomp and circumstance of it all feels like Rob Liefeld’s personal goodbye to Deadpool, the readers, and to the Marvel Universe.
This, however, features Liefeld’s official sendoff to a world he helped create, a character he helped prime, and to characters who all had his personal touch. This feels all the more poignant considering Deadpool’s final words:“I really need some rest. I’m kinda draggin' … if you know what I mean.“The pomp and circumstance of it all feels like Rob Liefeld’s personal goodbye to Deadpool, the readers, and to the Marvel Universe. It’s certainly an ambitious way to say goodbye to Deadpool, but Rob Liefeld’s words resonate with readers who followed his journey.
Commander X, Explained: How Rob Liefeld’s Big Reveal Pays Off A Longstanding Marvel Mystery
Commander X’s Debut:Major X#0 – Written & Illustrated By Rob Liefeld; Ink By Adelso Corona & Cory Hamscher; Color By Romulo Fajardo Jr.; Lettering By Joe Sabino
In his 2019 debut, it was established that Commander X – a latter day Marvel creation for Rob Liefeld – is one of the leaders within the X-Command of Earth-19647. The series sees Commander X personally induct Alexander Nathan Summers, son of Cable, into the X-Command. In all the time since then, Commander X has never revealed his true identity, and never even provided his real name to any of his teammates. This led to a great deal of speculation from Marvel fans over the past five years, but no one could’ve predicted the truth.
After the Commander implies they’ve worked together before, which Wade doesn’t remember, he unmasks and reveals a spitting image of Liefeld, saying"it’s been thirty years,“before Deadpool unceremoniously brushes him off.
Rob Liefeld revived his underrated workforDeadpool: Team-Up,where the Merc with a Mouth joins forces with all of his beloved partners and teammates – include X-Command, Wolverine, Ghost-Spider, Doc Samson, Shatterstar, Hercules, Cable, and more – to fend off an army of Dragon Men. Wade Wilson thanks Commander X for his help, and after the Commander implies they’ve worked together before, which Wade doesn’t remember,he unmasks and reveals a spitting image of Liefeld, saying"it’s been thirty years,“before Deadpool unceremoniously brushes him off.
Rob Liefeld’s Long History At Marvel & Historic Tenure With Deadpool Reach Their Final Chapter
Liefeld Leaves A Significant, But Complicated Legacy At Marvel
Rob Liefeld’s legacy in comic books itself has been paved with controversy and mixed reactions from some critics, as some deem his art depictions of superheroes to beoccasionally outrageous at best. However, his contributions to the industry are undeniable, particularly when it comes to his contributions to the Deadpool character. The character’s name and popularity is too big to end with Rob Liefeld’s exit, but everything Deadpool related certainly begins with its creator. There quite literally is no Deadpool without Rob Liefeld.
Deadpool made his first comic book appearance inNew Mutants#98, by the creative team of Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza, Steve Buccellato, Joe Rosen, and Bob Harras.
Following the character’s debut, Liefeld spent three decades constantly adding to the allure and lore ofDeadpool through series likeBad Blood, Badder Blood, X-Force, and of course,Deadpool. Liefeld’s contributions to Deadpool wasn’t just creating Deadpool, but gifting the character a signature look and voice that has endured more than 30 years of remaining consistent largely because, nine times out of ten, Liefeld was onboard the creative team for crafting Deadpool. Liefeld is the one to thank for much of Deadpool’s success as a character in comics and even onscreen.
When Liefeld first announced that he was retiring from Deadpool with one final series for Marvel, fans knew that he was going to pull out all the stops, and deliver one of the most spectacular – in the most literal sense of the word, meaning a “spectacle” of epic proportions – stories of his career, andDeadpool Team-Updidn’t disappoint,especially with its final wild Commander X identity reveal.Though it might ultimately amount to little more than a throwaway cameo, it was still a major shock, and a satisfying moment, for readers upon the issue’s release.
Comparing Rob Liefeld’s Deadpool Cameo To Other Self-Inserts By Marvel Creators over The Years
Rob Liefeld Isn’t the Only Meta Cameo in Comics History
Stan Lee making cameos in Marvel’s Comics, even before his roles in the publisher’s movie adaptations, gained enough notoriety to popularize the idea of creators inserting themselves into their works. The trend continues to this day, meaning Liefeld is far from the first. More often than not, creators opt for their self-inserts to be as in-universe characters who capture a creator’s likeness. In some examples, creators insert themselves into their comics as themselves, and even then, it’s usually as a tongue-in-cheek panel appearance and nothing more than that.
10 Biggest Fourth-Wall Breaks in Marvel History
Breaking the fourth wall has become a common trope for many heroes across the Marvel Universe, but which moments stand out as the biggest?
There have been rare instances with creators taking ambitious approaches to their cameos. For example, while not a self-insert as Jack Kirby didn’t write the story, writer Mark Waid did once frameKirby as an actual God, who literally brings life to the Fantastic Four, a team created by Kirby in real-life. Meanwhile, readers will never forgetGrant Morrison’s multiversal cameoinAnimal Man. Still, though, Liefeld’s cameo feels even more ambitious and perhaps even more sincere than anything that came before it.
That is what makes it a fitting final note for the Merc With a Mouth’s creator to end on; when it comes down to it,Deadpool Team-Up#5 is not about Rob Liefeld saying goodbye to the audience – as he will continue to produce comics, including a revival of his iconicYoungbloodteam book for Image Comics – or to the publisher, Marvel, but rather to his beloved hero himself.Deadpoolwill carry on as a Marvel mainstay, but he will never be exactly the same,now that Rob Liefeld, or Commander X, has officially said goodbye.
