Deadpool & The Mercs For Money #3 Review - Marvel Mondays

Hit the Road Jack

Written by: Cullen Bunn
Art by: Iban Coello & Guru-eFX
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 7, 2016
Review by: Branden Murray


If I had to sum up this title to a Marvel newbie, I would say Deadpool drags his band of ragtag misfits out on missions, hijinks ensue, comical injuries undoubtedly happen, but ultimately an operation is seen through to its completion by the team. Oh and teamwork.  This has been the effective, albeit predictable, formula for the Mercs for Money series and I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. Lately, however, the five mercs have become disenchanted with their boss and are seeking an escape from their dead(pool) end jobs.  One does not simply escape the grasp of Deadpool unscathed though...so let’s see who gets the last word in during the dreaded breakup issue.



Solo kicks things off here, with his fellow Mercs, as he leads one of those player only meetings bad football teams always have when shit's going wrong.  The team goes around the table and freely airs the various frustrations each of them have with their boss like its confession time on the Real World … that’s still a thing right? This “player's only” meeting becomes intertwined with the Mercs for Money out on past missions taking care of business the only way they know how, like a bunch of monkeys humping doorknobs.

The first flashback adventure is to a day the team headed out to a shady dive bar on the hunt for a dangerous gentleman called Nuke. Seeing as how dangerous gentlemen seem to be the only type of people that hang out in this shady dive bar, our team might just be in luck.  After some initial confusion about whether or not the dude with the giant American Flag tattooed on his face really is Nuke, we get our first fight.  Deadpool finds out the hard way that bullets to the face don’t do much to deter Nuke because metal skulls happen to be, quite surprisingly, effective bullet shields. The scene ends with Deadpool getting the “puny god treatment” as the Mercs continue to grow weary of his rash decisions which only seem to lead everyone down the path to Pain Avenue. This while being very poorly compensated is not a combination that keeps employees happy.

Flashback number two has team Mercs for Money take on none other than, the world famous, Cobalt Man ... yeah I don’t know him either.  As the action rages on, Deadpool pulls out a grenade to end things only to see his hand promptly disintegrated by this poor man’s version of a villainous War Machine. Luckily for Deadpool, Miracle Grow replaced milk in his Wheaties today, because in a matter of a panel or two, his hand is responsible for the quickest rebirth of a limb in comic book history.  Although the Mercs ultimately do an admirable, but careless job of taking down the “super-villain”, the resulting aftermath of battle leaves massive amounts of collateral damage and a clean-up bill the “heroes” are left to foot plus gratuity.

As our issue winds down, the Mercs, with the exception of the Spanish speaking Massacre, decide it's best for their own health (since they lack healing factors) and financial well-being (since they’re poor) to work without Deadpool.  However, instead of calling or even texting the ol’ boss-man to let him know they’re skedaddling, though they decide an Irish goodbye is the better plan of action. This leaves poor Deadpool to investigate the next mission, just like the old days, lone wolf style ... unless he is able to dig up some more friends in low places who work for a low wage.

The Mercs seemingly decided the best course of action was to treat Deadpool like a 7th grade girlfriend and just never talk to him again.  This left the breakup of a group we’ve been following for more than eight issues feeling a little anti climatic after a huge buildup to this point ... no Divorce Court or anything. Hopefully we get a little more of this aftermath in future issues, but I’m not holding my breath with Marvel Now 2016 creeping around the corner.

Despite this story misstep, Cullen Bunn does a solid job with the rest of our issue and it’s an entertaining read if you’ve been following the series along.  The art was absolutely gorgeous throughout with crystal clear action sequences and creative panel layouts.  Major kudos to Iban Coello and Guru-eFX.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue can best be summed up in the words of the only remaining Merc for Money, Massacre... “Adios” to the first iteration of the Merc$ for Money, we hardly knew ye.

7.7/10