What makes Deadpool so unique are his quirks and the fact that he breaks the third wall. He is the only Marvel character who acknowledges that he is a fictional character stuck in a comic book world. Wade Wilson started as comedic relief and a parody of grim and serious superheroes. But his significance in Marvel skyrocketed after he discovered his fictional nature. Deadpool is poles apart from the other beloved Marvel heroes, yet he has a strong fan following for his dark humour and for the way he interacts with the audience. So, how did Deadpool attain this level of self-awareness? Meditation or just Loki?
Weapon X
Wade himself earns some brownie points for discovering his reality before Loki. Being subjected to such harsh experiments at the Weapon X facility pushed him to suspect the world around him. As we already know, Wade gained healing abilities which in turn were constantly at war with his cancerous cells, thus leaving scars all over his body. Disappointed with the instability of his cells, Weapon X locked him up with other failed projects for further experiments. One day Wade managed to escape the facility and continued with his adventures as the Merc with Mouth. Eventually, he began to doubt the bizarre world around him but was still far away from realizing its secret. He still displayed a lot of seriousness in his fights with Cable and New Mutants in The New Mutants #98.
As Deadpool’s mental stability continued to crumble with every issue, writers decided to hold his healing powers responsible for it. They stated that the constant battle between his healing cells and cancer cells had adversely affected Wade’s mental balance. He was also detected with memory loss after being accused of a murder about which he had no recollection. But the stories later revealed that a scientist from Weapon X regularly abducted Deadpool and drugged him to wipe out his memories.
Loki
Deadpool was pretty much invested in his reality until Loki entered and messed things up. In Deadpool #37, Loki is successful in showing Deadpool how the two are just a part of a writer’s work. Wade spent some time with the God of Mischief and participated in his notorious plans in exchange for certain benefits. But this bond taught him more than he had initially anticipated. Though the scheme didn’t pan out well, Loki confirmed Deadpool’s fears. He indeed was living in a fictional world.
Loki addressed that what other characters considered to be insanity was actually a “divine revelation” for Deadpool. He further added that “none of this is happening. There is a man… with a typewriter…” This major mind-boggling revelation left a significant impact on Deadpool’s persona and future endeavours. It was a starting moment for Deadpool’s callousness and fearlessness. Once he learnt that none of it was real, there was no going back for him.
Things turned pretty intense when Deadpool got hold of the Infinity Gauntlet and gathered all the Marvel heroes and Avengers. At this meeting, he accused the writers and the readers of using his misery as a source of entertainment. Later, the writers helped Deadpool confront his experiences and wounds that led him to form this belief. He finally accepted his fictional nature and learnt to value the world in which he lived. Even though it was fictional, the people and the things in it were real to Deadpool and mattered a lot.
