Remember Fox studios’ first crack at Deadpool? Hopefully not. The Marvel comics character was brought to the big screen in Wolverine’s first regrettable solo cinematic outing which tanked at the box office, largely due to the shallow portrayal of some of Marvel’s most popular characters.

1. He started life as a villain

Deadpool happens to be one of Marvel’s more unique creations with ‘C’ string origins, arriving on the scene in 1991. Readers were exposed to an apathetic mercenary with a moral code that was as unstable as his psyche – in other words, nothing like any other protagonist from the publication’s roster. Created by Fabien Nicieza and artist Rob Liefeld, Wade Wilson is a career mercenary who diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer which constantly being countered by an advanced healing factor technically makes the character partially insane.

2. He knows he’s a comic book character

His insane status really opens him up to creative possibilities, often causing him to break the 4th wall (attributing it to his hallucinations) where he directly talks to the reader. Deadpool constantly reminds the reader that he is aware of his fictional status, often commenting on the absurdity of comic book plots and using real life pop cultural references for comic relief.

3. He’s teamed-up with nearly everyone

Deadpool’s ambiguous morality often brings him in close contact with Marvel’s biggest hitters whom he regularly attempts to team-up with in an effort to be a ‘hero’. As expected, his alliances don’t last very long, owing to largely fatal and unpredictable methods of dispensing justice and the fact that he is, after all, bat shit crazy

4. He’s a parody of DC comics’ villain Deathstroke

Deadpool’s costume design and choice of profession were a tongue in cheek parody of DC comics character Deathstroke. Like Deadpool, Deathstroke too is a mercenary for hire, who has mastery over several martial arts and weapons. Unlike Deadpool, Deathstroke is a humourless and resolutely evil assassin with no moral code.

5. He’s the antithesis of the modern superhero

Unlike most tall, dark and swashbuckling superheroes, Deadpool happens to be permanently disfigured and hideous in appearance thanks to his cancer constantly fighting for dominance. Also unlike most superheroes, Deadpool is devoid of sanity and therefore any accountability – a fact that brings constant elements of surprise to his plotlines.