Deadpool often shines brightest when contrasted with serious people within the Marvel universe. Nowhere is that clearer than in Deadpool & Wolverine, where Ryan Reynolds‘ Merc with a Mouth gets a perfect foil in Hugh Jackman‘s gruff, depressed, and often angry Logan Howlett for a riotous multiversal adventure with heart. The two have long been a beloved odd couple across all media as heroes who could not be more different in personality, yet share some common ground as fellow mutants with powerful healing factors who still want to save their worlds. However, there’s another grizzled, violent anti-hero who’s even more unlike Wade Wilson than his X-Men rival — Frank Castle.
The only obvious thing uniting Deadpool and the Punisher is that they’re two of the deadliest mercenaries within the confines of Marvel Comics. Compared to the endlessly yammering Wilson, Frank is a man of far fewer words and much greater tragedy, being a mostly humorless killer of criminals waging a one-man war on crime following the death of his family. Yet, these two have a surprising history in comics stemming back to 2001, when they first crossed paths and came to blows. In 2017, they even received their own comic series crossover in Deadpool vs. The Punisher, which pitted them against each other over a disagreement on how to handle a criminal called The Bank and tested whether Frank could keep killing the ever-regenerating mutant, or if Wade would annoy him past his breaking point. Their few clashes have served to highlight the absurdity of these two street-level antiheroes operating in the same world, and now, they’re about to collide again.
Marvel Comics has released the official preview for Wade Wilson: Deadpool #8, which marks the beginning of the four-part “Big Guns” storyline. This event advertises them as new targets for each other while a mysterious force pulls strings from the shadows to set them up for utter calamity. Within the first few pages, the groundwork is laid for their inevitable clash as Deadpool continues to clean up the monstrous Badpools that keep following him to his local haunts. One of the other imperfect living scab clones winds up in the custody of Micro at the Punisher’s compound and is subject to interrogation. As scared of the man in the wheelchair as the Badpool is, he should be more afraid of Frank lurking in the darkness, who blasts him square through the chest when his crimes are laid out. Micro is none too happy that he just killed their lead, but they’re clearly hot on a trail of the “Regeneratin’ Degenerate.”
Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
🕷️Spider-Man
😈Daredevil
🤖Iron Man
💀Punisher
⚡Thor
🛡️Cap
01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
Queens, New York
🕷️ Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
😈 Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
🤖 Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
💀 The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
⚡ Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
🛡️ Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
‘Wade Wilson: Deadpool’ Will Directly Connect With Benjamin Percy’s ‘Punisher’
Writer Benjamin Percy and artist Geoff Shaw kick off “Big Guns” in Wade Wilson #8, which will directly connect to issue #8 of Percy’s current Punisher run. As shown above, the Badpools will still obviously be a problem for Deadpool and his reputation with all the destruction he’s caused, but the synopsis confirms Frank is the biggest concern for him right now. The many crimes of his deformities are bound to put a huge target on his back for the Punisher. A certain “ultimate weapon” will also have multiple forces in New York converging, and only one able to emerge victorious, creating further reason for these two titans to clash. The question remains who could come out on top between two characters that have time and again proven near impossible to kill.
Wade Wilson: Deadpool #8 hits store shelves on Wednesday, September 2. Check out the preview in the gallery above.
