Although most of the Deadpool 2 hype is focused on Cable, the film will also see the debut
of another Marvel mutant mercenary: Domino.
A longtime ally of Cable and Deadpool, Domino has spent the last couple of decades in comics
shooting, stabbing, and punching her way through any threat — aided by her ability to influence
probability in her favor.
"I didn't become an X-Man to play it safe.
Besides, we have luck on our side."
"Domino…"
But there's a lot more to this femme fatale than a bit of good luck and a full magazine.
Here's the untold truth of Domino.
Fakeout appearance
Any X-Men fan worth their salt knows that clones and doppelgängers are practically
a rite of passage if you're trying to run with Xavier's crew.
Everyone from Jean Grey to Cable has been subjected to a litany of bizarre, contrived
sci-fi tropes over the course of their time with the team.
On a surprising note, Domino actually has a pretty straightforward history, albeit with
one exception: Her first appearance in comics.
In the grand scheme of things, Domino appears for the first time in New Mutants #98 alongside
Deadpool.
If you want to get technical though, Domino's real debut is X-Force #8.
See, it's revealed that the Domino we meet in New Mutants #98 is actually the shapeshifter
mutant Copycat, a.k.a. Vanessa Carlysle.
It isn't until several issues later that the real Domino reveals herself.
It's appropriate, really.
There's nothing more quintessentially X-Men than a doppelgänger, and Domino covered that
base immediately upon her debut.
Colossal fling
In the wake of the crossover story Avengers vs. X-Men, Domino finds herself joining Cable's
newest spinoff team, X-Force.
The team members are now fugitives on the run from the Avengers, and many characters
are trying to cope with the fallout of the cataclysmic war in Avengers vs. X-Men.
Colossus in particular finds himself grieving the loss of his relationship with Kitty Pryde.
Enter Domino, who quickly hits it off with the big guy.
The new relationship doesn't last long, leaving the fling as little more than a strange, brief
footnote in both of their lives.
Original Six Pack
Colossus aside, most comics readers are more used to seeing Domino work with the time-traveling
mutant Cable.
The two have a long history together as best friends, teammates, and sometime love interests.
Cable and Domino first met as members of the mercenary team Six Pack, formerly known as
Wild Pack.
Even after the Six Pack disbanded, Cable and Domino found themselves sticking together.
Eventually, Cable joined the New Mutants team — which later became X-Force — and got
Domino her gig with the group.
Birthday gift
One of Domino's more interesting relationships is with Wolverine.
Sometimes it's a friendship, sometimes a rivalry, and other times it's even been a full-fledged
relationship.
One of the highlights of their time together was when Domino bought Wolverine a car for
his birthday.
It happens in the comic mini-series X-Force: Sex and Violence.
The story wraps up with Wolverine realizing that Domino secretly kept $37 million that
was supposed to go to charity.
Right as he's about to get mad, she rolls up outside with a pristine classic Mustang
and wishes him a happy birthday.
It's a little sleazy and a little sweet — the perfect combination for Domino and Wolverine.
As they drive off, Wolverine realizes Domino has stashed their nemesis Razorfist in the
trunk.
We guess she can only do so many nice things in a single day.
Domino vs. Punisher
There are few people in the Marvel universe more terrifying than Frank Castle.
It's telling that the guy doesn't have a single superpower and still hasn't been taken down
by a single superhero who's tried to end his vigilante days.
Still, it hasn't stopped people from trying, and one of those people is Domino.
In Punisher War Journal, Domino goes after Castle because he's been accused of massacring
civilians.
Tasked with taking him down by an old acquaintance, Domino is the only person on the team who
maintains that Castle is probably innocent.
She turns out to be right, and the climax sees the Punisher duking it out with the real
criminal behind the crime: Jigsaw.
Justice is served — which is great and all — but we don't get to find out who would
win between these two warriors in a head-to-head brawl.
Family reunion
In the 2003 mini-series Domino, we find out that Domino gained her skills as a mercenary
through Project Armageddon, a program designed to create the "Perfect Weapon."
She was considered a failure, and her mother went on to break her out of the project.
After that, her mother disappeared.
Years into her career as a mercenary, Domino meets a boy named Lazarus who has the same
distinctive eye marking as she does.
Lazarus is revealed to be Domino's half-brother, and as it turns out, he's the Perfect Weapon.
Unfortunately, their mom isn't quite so keen on her kids hanging out.
With a crew of violent religious zealots, she sets out to put an end to both of them.
Domino is forced to shoot her mom to protect Lazarus, making this the worst family reunion
in history.
Stryfe surprise
Perhaps no other X-Men character better embodies the spirit and aesthetic of the '90s than
Stryfe.
He's a clone of Cable from the future whose suit is made of giant knives, more or less.
Being an X-Men character, there are plenty of alternate-universe versions of Stryfe,
and in X-Force, vol. 2 #4, Domino actually takes
on the identity of one of them.
This version of Domino comes to the primary Marvel universe from an alternate future and
joins a new incarnation of the Mutant Liberation Front founded by Cable and former X-Force
teammate Shatterstar.
Of all the alternate Dominos, this is one of the coolest.
Not only does the skilled mercenary make great use of Stryfe's armor, but longtime readers
loved seeing Domino embody her best friend's arch nemesis and evil clone.
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