The Goonies 2.0
Written by: Cullen Bunn
Art by: Iban Coello and Guru-eFxCover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 10, 2016
Review by: Branden Murray
There’s some strange charm in gathering a rag tag group of underdogs and watching them face
insurmountable odds. It works in all forms of media and Deadpool & the Mercs for Money has been no exception to this rule. This is a bizarre grouping of characters pulled from the depths of Marvel lore, yet Cullen Bunn has made me look forward to each issue coming more than the previous one, somehow. I really get a kind of Goonies vibe from the gang, between their vulgar banter and camaraderie, not so much with Deadpool, but definitely with each other. Let’s see if Solo, Slapstick, Foolkiller and the company they keep can do better on their latest mission than they did in their previous one against Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
Things kick off with Deadpool and the Mercs begrudgingly being led through the jungle of Vietnam, with a Gorilla Man assist, to find their latest high priority target assigned by Umbral Dynamics. Their objective, if they choose to accept it, is to capture Radioactive Man alive. With this semblance of a plan in place, the team begins to move on the ancient ruins to pursue and collect their latest reward. It’s all a pretty straight forward beginning to the comic, but is highlighted with some excellent jokes interspersed throughout the first act.
StingRay ends up looking for a separate entrance as Deadpool and the rest of the group moves through the front door. It’s not long after they enter the temple that they find their mark and shit hits the fan and splatters everywhere quickly. This forces the team to scatter for cover and wait for better opportunities. As Radioactive Man continues to rampage among the group of “heroes”, they take the best shots they can before he pulls his best Irish goodbye and disappears deeper into the depths of the tunnel.
Once they discover the whereabouts of Radioactive Man, the fight starts back up as Deadpool ends up in the warm embrace of some hot fire breath scorching his face off, dropping the Merc with a mouth for a three count.
Throughout this fight and story, the tension has been building among the Mercs and is highlighted in this issue by Slapstick as he is especially sick of feeling used and underpaid by Deadpool. Well, he takes this golden opportunity with Deadpool suffering from Radioactive breath overload to “put the fire” out on Deadpool’s face with his mallet to relieve a little frustration.
While Radioactive Man isn’t just manhandling the squad he also trying to get them to listen to him as he explains that Umbral is evil and the Mercs are simply pawns in their plan. As things look the bleakest for our group, StingRay is finally able to locate their trackers. He swoops in with a “golden gun” or a R.A.M. (Radiation Absorbent Material) missile, as its called, striking a direct hit on the target.
The missile engulfs Radioactive Man in a giant ice block allowing for the crew to transport him and exchange the target for cash as they were hired to do. Deadpool is able to finally gather himself and he begins to realize between the teenager they were sent to capture last issue and the things Radioactive man was babbling about, something is just not right. However, we’ll have to wait until next issue to find out what this group will do about it because this is how we end things here.
I love action packed issues and continue to come back to this series for its mix of sarcastic humor, random character spotlights, over the top action, and overall high quality of writing by Bunn. The art, by Iban Coello and colored by Guru-eFx, is worthy of an A level title. Every detail is accounted for, even just the simple way the artist is able to convey Deadpool’s and the other Merc’s expressions.
It’s not all RC Cola and piñatas, though, and I do have some complaints. I would actually like the Mercs to take more of a center stage and not have this be such a Deadpool centric book. You can see the group doesn’t fully trust Deadpool and they think he’s only out for himself. I would like to see the drama that it entails dove into a little further. Maybe they can send Deadpool off on a separate mission and see how they work alone for at least an issue or two. If this group is destined to go their separate ways, I want to see the reasons behind the breakup of my Goonies 2.0. Right now, a split, which solicits seem to call out, just doesn’t feel earned yet.
Bits and Pieces:
If you’re a fan of the zany and wackier comic stories of today or even yesteryear, this is a title you’d be thrilled to sit down and read while have a cold drink on a hot day. However, if you’re looking for something light on Deadpool that focuses on the side characters in this story, you might want to look elsewhere for now. This is however a Deadpool book that avoids the Civil War hubbub going on so it does have that working for it. Basically, come for the action, stay for the art, and enjoy a little bit of the Mercs and a whole lot Deadpool.
7.5/10
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