The fall of Deadpool. Tissues may be required.

(Panini Books)

The tragedy of Wade Wilson reaches its final act. From the lofty heights of beloved Avenger, family guy and leader of his own super-team, Deadpool’s fall from grace was both inevitable and spectacular.

Ironically, considering all of the horrendous things he has done in his career, it was Wade’s hero worship of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, which was to prove instrumental in his downfall.

Unaware that a sentient Cosmic Cube had supplanted Cap with an alternative version from a timeline where he had been raised as an agent of Hydra since childhood, Deadpool blindly followed all of his orders without hesitation.

But events reach a bloody conclusion when Rogers tasks him with taking out SHIELD agent Phil Coulson (yes, the star of the Agents of SHIELD TV show!) with extreme prejudice. Betraying his friend, SHIELD Agent Emily Preston, (also the adopted mother of his daughter Ellie) Wade used her information to track down and assassinate Coulson. When Preston discovers what he has done, Deadpool has no other option but to silence her – permanently.

As Hydra rises to take over the United States, Wilson finally realises that he has been duped, and that if he helps to bring down Rogers’ fascist regime he risks losing what little remains of the life he has built, including the love of his daughter…

As expected, there’s the usual humour and excessive violence you’d expect from any Wade Wilson comic book, but at the same time this is the tale of a man who finds himself on the wrong side after putting his faith in a false idol, a bitter exploration of betrayal and sacrifice, and perhaps the most emotionally charged Deadpool story to date.

When the dust settles on the events of Secret Empire, Wade will find himself alone, on the run and tasked with murdering one of his best friends. If you thought his life sucked now, it’s only going to get worse…

A heartfelt coda to the latest Deadpool era, which saw him finally achieve admiration and acceptance from his costumed peers, this is writer Gerry Duggan at the very top of his game.