Thunderbolts # 131 - Magnum Opus, Part 4

   
 ******SPOILER FILLED DESCRIPTION *** 

This issue opens and we see the Thunderbolts have Deadpool trussed up. Norman Osbourne is irritated that 1. Deadpool is still alive, and 2. he no longer has the teleporter on him. 
 Norman goes off on The Headsman to the point where the Headsman picks up his axe to cut off Deadpools head. Before he has a chance though, another Deadpool shows up and stops him. 
  Norman orders the Thunderbolts  to kill them both. This prompts the Black Widow to immediately attack the Deadpool who had just escaped from his restraints. ( he is known as Deadpool 1) The two of them fight, and he quickly dispatches her, and turns his attention to the Headsman. 
  After a quick beatdown given to the Headsman, the story cuts to Ant Man who is in a panic now after watching his colleagues fall.  Deadpool 2 tries to shoot him, but Ant Man crawls into his costume.  Annoyed Deadpool 2 begins to shoot himself trying to take Ant Man out. Unfortunately he only takes himself out. 
  In the middle of the fight Norman Osbourne gets into a jet, and begins to take off. Deadpool 2, already healed up teleports into the plane, while Black Widow hooks a line up to it, and begins to be pulled behind the Jet. 
  Inside the Jet Deadpool 2 holds a gun to Norman Osbournes head and says that Norman owes him. This angers Norman to no end, and he attacks Deadpool and beats him to a pulp. Forgetting that he should have been flying the plane. 
  As the door to the plane opens, Black Widow jumps in yelling for Osbourne to get down as she shoots Deadpool in the chest. Osbourne orders her to cut off his head, but before she does that The Headsmans Axe falls across Deadpools neck. 
 
     **********  SPOILER FREE REVIEW ********** 
   I love the cover. The almost realistic painting, the way Deadpools mouth looks. It is quite a cool shot. On the inside the art is almost too simplistic. Cartoonish if you will. I guess it fits, at least to a point. The story and dialogue really skirt the border between Cartoonish and regular comic book drama. 
 
 It is mostly a fight, wih The Taskmaster and Deadpool ( both dressed as Deadpool ) vs. members of The Thunderbolts.  Taskmaster easily shows why he can take on the Avengers, and the dialogue at the end between Taskmaster and Deadpool certainly is a contender for best friendship ending since Casablanca.

  I was not a big fan of the layout. It seemed the panels were purposely made biger, and we are given less substance. However, what is there is fun and funny in a way that earlyissues of Deadpools regular title promised to be at the beginning of its run.     Good times are to be had in thi book. Check it out. Or get the TPB. It's probably out by now.

I liked this crossover. The first three parts were good and funny and I enjoyed them (Last issue's "love drama" was hilarious). This issue however, demonstrates a classic example of how final Deadpool installments seam to lose their touch. Issue #5 of Deadpool had a simular issue. When a story arc ends, too often the comedy seams to end with it.

I liked seeing how the Thunderbolts team interacted here. Headsman got some credit and Norman Osborn's final speech in the Thunderstrike was awsome.

The comedy wasn't there though. The action was kinda' stupid in this case, and l just didn't like it. Even the credit card joke was okay. It just doesn't compare to the rest of the crossover. Jokes like "yes, this is a gun in my pants" don't show up here. The only attempt at comedy that I can see are the "shot through the heart" joke and the credit card thing. Unfortunatally, neither of those were nessisarily comical.

So the first three parts of this crossover are great though.

Art - 6.5/10
Story - 6/10 

This wasn't exactly my favorite issue of a comic ever. It was a good ending to the story, one which I really wanted to be a little more beefy. I realize that Deadpool is most known for his mouth, but there was WAY too much talking and not enough action for me.