Greetings comic lovers and welcome back to casually comics the channel where we chat
all things comics from reviews of comics new and old to history to anecdotes to really
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So gwenpool striking back real talk I read issue 2 awhile ago the day it came out, it’ll
be quick I said I’ll floss I said.
I’m still going to floss after I refresh myself with some youtube videos but this comic
wasn’t what I was expecting, like far beyond the did she kiss Mr Fantastic question I
had after seeing the cover.
She did by the way but again it’s not exactly what you would expect.
This comic sent me on so many though tangents I apologise in advance cause well I’m going
to share them for you strap in it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
If you’ve found yourself utterly thrown through a loop by a comic hit that like button.
I’ll never be the same again.
So last time we left gwenpool she was trying to give herself powers to make sure that she
got a solo title again or at least wasn’t erased from existence.
She discovered that she had a new meta power the ability to flash back to things that had
already happened.
So she could alter the universe and her own standing in it.
Now we’re back
The cover is good we’ve been over this but it is slightly soured for me by what is about
to occur let’s get meta.
Get your reference, and pop culture goggles on and your topical gloves we’re going in.
Right off the bat it’s odd she’s like welcome back but then goes I have to prove
I’m not like other comic book characters now because I guess that’s just what we’re
doing now.
So firstly gwenpool isn’t like other comic book characters not in genesis or execution
she was created because of fan response to a variant cover which is unique and cool to
me though not everybody liked that about her.
Also her origin in canon is that of a fan from our universe entering the comic scape
with her knowledge intact and wrecking havoc she’s not like other characetrs that’s
the appeal of her for people who like her.
Gwenpool is gwen pool she’s not even deadpool even though she does share many of his traits
and she appeared as variant of both him and gwen so it’s not odd for people to draw
comparisons.
This is most likely a reference to the not like other girls trope the idea that comic
book fans female ones need to set themselves apart which is a discussion worth having but
again is gwenpool the right character to start it off just cause she’s meta doesn’t make
her the right choice.
You can have this discussion through allegory and metaphor as well.
The people who have problems with gwenpool most of them it isn’t cause she’s too
like other comic book characters and if that is a reason it’s not the sole one.
Anyway to prove she’s not like other girls she kisses the camera and then sits on it
here’s my butt.
All of this registered as fun to me but I was trapped in the not like other characters
quagmire the second panel stuck me in.
So she then recaps and let’s us know she only has this mini series to ensure she stays
around So what’s a girl to do if she wants to broaden
her fanbase yup, so here we’re trying to make a comment on the idea that all female
comic characters have to be sexy or they get cancelled.
However as with most times this argument is made it touches on the attractiveness discussion
but only partially dividing the landscape as all almost all comic book heroes are ludicrously
attractive and it’s used as a selling point for all of them the features highlighted are
different and can for males branch outside of physical into say bravery but it is being
used.
There’s a deeper discussion to be had here is what I’m sayin but gwenpool is
looking for that immediate mmhmm girl that’s so true.
When it both is and isn’t as since most all characters are attractive even if we just
focus on female ones and yet they still get cancelled clearly sex appeal isn’t everything.
People don’t just read for cheesecake and then there’s the discussion is cheesecake
wrong mileage varies as there are different ways to implement it then you get into discussions
of escapist vs representative spaces and the balance between, but that’s enough of that
the comic isn’t actually interested in having this discussion here;s deadpool on a pole
subverting your expectations except not really cause it’s deadpool we know how he likes
the pole.
He gets down with his bad self.
I don’t think I’m supposed to be thinking about anything here this much
On the next page gwen proceeds to tell you that she’s 19 and then lectures future writers
and fans who would even think about pairing or shipping her with deadpool.
Ok so I’m a shipper haver been for a long time my first channel is called shippers guide
to the galaxy I am very used to people misunderstanding or misrepresenting what shipping is and why
people do it.
Also the demographics shippers are predominantly female and they’re the ones being drawn
to with some of those out there pairings.
Secondly why bring up her age so hard is it to shame people who think she’s drawn attractively
her appeal to cosplayers is how she was created, also age in comics is a sliding scale yeah
her and deadpool in canon right now would be squicky also cause she’s a comic fan
she should know to stay far away from wade and all of that but.
Ages changea ll the time people are deaged and aged up via crazy methods.
Cable was raised in the future and came back an adult and at times is older than his dad.
Tony was a teenager for a bit cause they had to get a past version of himself to kill the
present one.
Also sometimes they just age like how reed and sue’s kids are teens now or how jon
kent was hyperaged in space.
Damien turned 13 cause sometimes comics acknowledge that time moves.
So one day she could be 25 and maybe then they’ll do a story.
This comic feels like it’s assuming a lot of things about the people reading it and
most of them bad.
Also the we have to talk about wolverine and like anyone or vampires and anyone since deadpool
is going to be around for awhile again this opened a bigger discussion with me than it
wanted to I know it was just looking for a yeah ick gross who would do that and no further
though or a yeah those people are gross I read a wincest fic once and never looked to
see if anything else
in this subculture existed.
This was probably supposed to be fun but I dunno i’ve been a shipper a long time I’ve
had a pretty good track record at telling when someone is laughing with me or at me.
Anyway six pages in and it’s time for the plot they’re in the basement of the fantastic
four where they’re currently living on yancy street so they can be closer to the people
and reed can manipulate space anyway so its as big as their old place when they want
it to be.
She’s here to seduce a member so she can have an amazing cover cause then she won’t
get cancelled.
This part is fun her and deadpool who yes is just in this issue cause they find a bunch
of fantastic four cardboard cut outs and go through the merits of seducing each one.
There’s a fun bit too where deadpool is all didn’t you have a boyfriend and she’s
all what no but quickly turns around to text quentin quire and text break up with him.
We r breaking up sorry crying emoji.
Yeowch sorry I’ll flashback that breakup to a better point later.
I hope so I don’t want the world to have to deal with an unhinged quentin quire a.k.a
kid omega.
Downside to seducing reed he;s too tied to sue downside to seducing sue she’s too tied
to reed What about you be the bisexual unicorn they;ve
been looking for and seduce them both
Hah the editors’ll never allow such a disruption into an a list super hero marriage they’d
accuse me of skankifying their sacred cash cow.
See these sections are fun and the meaness is tied to her character since she’s supposed
to be a comic fan but at the same time then she should know that marvel hardly looks highly
on the fanastic four these days they brought them back from cancellation.
So through shenanigans she leans in to kiss deadpool when he grabs reed right as he walks
in the door so she ends up kissing him right on the lips so yeah the cover happened and
she also kissed all the cut outs so yeah she got that cover.
Oh also she;’s in sue’s old wedding dress.
Sue this isn’t what it looks like yes it is yes it is.
Sue of course believes reed and the two discuss who she could be and decide on stalker or
obsessed fangirl I like that sue thinks that reed has obsessed fangirls she really does
love him.
They of course know who deadpool is Reed wraps them up and him and sue decide they’re dealing
with them themselves.
The kids peek out so sue says There’s nothing to be worried about we just caught this troubled
coupe breaking into the basement.
We’re not a couple!
See that made me chuckle it would have made me laugh if the issue hadn’t stopped to
lecture people who would potentially pair them together she’s 19 sue how dare you,
get some meta text abilities and flip back a few pages.
All the stuff of them fighting the fantatsic four is great ben is so done he just goes
back to bed he nopes right out.
That leaves them with sue deapdool tied reed around a pole sue is the scariest member of
the fantastic four.
I don't know who you are or why you decided to break in and assault my husband threaten
us and proceed to wreck our home but you messed with the wrong woman little girl.
I’m Nineteen!
I’ve defeated doctor doom big whoop so have I and you also uhh sex sound effect with him,
Why you little.
Thankfully reed engulfs her in his body before sue can make her head explode.
He gets deadpool in their two.
And the two proceed to chat about how this is her second issue and
how she’s bummed they've just called the cops cause it means she’s not important
enough to call the avengers.
Where to begin, so this isn’t what I thought it was going to be but first let’s talk
about what it was like last time I really liked the in universe interaction stuff the
fantastic four stuff golden.
However the metaness id really going to depend on how much you like meta and how you like
your meta if you like your meta more in universe like how deadpool does it by referencing say
ryan reynolds or pop culture than this may be too far as this is more hinting at societal
trends /low key lecturing you.
For me anyway I felt like this issue just assumed I was baseline gross which put me
off.
Of course well all have different subject positioning and get different reads some people
may have loved this and felt it was spot on gwenpool is preaching the gospel.
For me it was flippantly presenting big ideas and not having space to unpack them packaged
in jokes that for me did not land if the jokes had landed maybe I’d feel differently.
But I doubt it I just feel like this issue didn’t want me to think about what it had
to say outside of blindly agreeing.
Does that mean gwenpool is supposed to be a reliable narrator cause she clearly isn’t.
So some of my disappointment in this admittedly came from where I thought it was going I thought
she was going to use her powers to write herself into the big moments in marvel history like
she set off the gamma bomb that gave the hulk his powers she gave spidey his black suit
she made doctor doom’s experiment go wrong all
in a gwenpool sassy crazy you’re welcome fashion.
Just trying to make herself as important as possible and always there which also would
have made the 19 joke land better by the way.
Sort of like a comedic take on the introduction of robert reynolds the sentry a hero who had
been erased from everyone minds for their own safety cause of his evil alter ego the
void but he had always been there we just forgot.
And then the mini could end with everyone just begging her to go away and her wreaking
so much havoc the writers make her legit so they can save the integrity of the marvel
universe this would also play into her being a comic book fan.
So story first with meta elements while this is meta elements first with story second.
Issue two is about the quest for the cover of issue 2.
Which works and if you love meta you’ll love this but with only 5 issues I just feel
like more could have been done.
I didn’t hate it even though this probably made it sound like I did.
I’ll read from page 7 onward again anytime.
Gwen making out with a confused reed in his wife’s wedding dress for shock value quality
content.
So what did you think I need your thoughts your opinions.
Did you find this issue had an undertone?
Or did you love it and feel gwen is spot on?
Are you enjoying the mini?
Don’t worry I’ll be back for issue 3 I never give up it could make me love issue
2 you never know that’s the beauty of series they build on each other.
Also it may seem like a self evident statement but you don’t have to agree with me I want
to hear form you if you don’t too respectfully of course.
That’s part of the fun discussing works with other fans you don’t have to like everything
as a fan you can still be one and disagree.