When Deadpool’s sales hit rock bottom, he was replaced by the mysterious Alex Hayden.
Here’s the story of the forgotten Agent X.
Hes pretty much an Earth-2 copy of me.
And not nearly as funny.
Coincidentally, Frank Tieri actually did write a Deadpool parody of that whole Superman saga.
It was calledFuneral for a Freakand it very easily could have killed the character for good.
There were good stories and good characters thrown in, but nothing that made it must-read.
By the time Frank Tieris run was going on, sales were in the toilet andDeadpoolwas doomed to cancellation.
Even with only five issues to her name, Simones run onDeadpoolis considered one of the all-time best.
The funny thing is, the basic idea is the same as Tieris run.
Simone wrote a Deadpool version ofDeath and Return of Superman, whether she intended to or not.
Personally, I love that big Superman arc and much of it comes from the Return aspect.
Which of these guys was the real Superman?
Wereanyof them the real Superman?
If none of them were, then where was the body?
If at least three of these Supermen werent the real deal, then what were they?
Once the dust was settled, it led to a handful of new characters.
The real beginning came just a month before Simone took overDeadpool.
No longer did he look like Swashbuckling Skeletor.
Instead, he was Skull Man fromMega Man 4joining the SWAT Team.
Otherwise, the series played up his kickass power set.
Any human motion seen by Taskmaster is immediately remembered so that he can copy it without training.
More importantly, it introduced a character named Sandi Brandenberg.
Anyway, in 2002 we gotDeadpool #65, by the creative team of Gail Simone and UDON.
It began with a flashback to a meeting between four Japanese gangs called the Four Winds.
Deadpool got knocked through the sunroof and flailed around with his gun on the way down.
The hit, which had one-in-a-million odds, made Deadpool a legend in his field.
He also ended up hiring a stray, mentally-broken homeless man known only as Ratbag to be his biographer.
Also of note was a character who showed up briefly a couple times named Outlaw.
This was more about world-building than anything else.
He put a virus in Deadpools brain that slowly caused his mind to collapse upon itself.
Hed forget words, gradually lose his motor skills, and would suffer constant migraines.
Meanwhile, Nijo was working as an agent of Black Swan.
He headed to Black Swans stronghold for the final battle.
In this final showdown, a few notable things happened.
First, Black Swan turned on Nijo and impaled him with a sword.
Deadpool brought a bomb with him with a deactivation code that only he knew.
At first, he forced Black Swan to fix Ratbags head.
A sane Ratbag ran off, leaving Deadpool and Black Swan to have a sword fight.
Deadpools insanity proved too much and took him out of the fight.
Unfortunately, Deadpools bomb then went off, ending the series with the apparent death of our hero.
Still, at least his series ended on #69.
Wade would have appreciated that.
Curiously, the cover forAgent X #1looked an awful lot likeDeadpool #69.
Not to mention the skin tone of a cadaver.
Sandi fed the man out of the kindness of her heart, but soon found herself intrigued.
He had amnesia, yet inexplicably had this innate knowledge of Sandi and a feeling to seek her out.
He had a healing factor and a talkative personality, making him seem extremely familiar.
Due to the amnesia, the stranger decided to name himself Alex Hayden.
Although he couldnt figure out where he even came up with such a name.
The first six issues acted as an introductory arc.
But of course, theDeath and Return of Supermanmystery was there.
Was Alex Hayden actually Deadpool?
Sandi figured it was likely and tried to jog his memory to no avail.
Taskmaster was sure he was Wade, figuring he was messing with everyone for some reason.
Outlaw didnt think he was because Alexs skills with a gun were way better than Deadpools ever was.
There were all these little hints and clues tossed in throughout the story.
Alex had a personality very similar to Deadpools, but he seemed a little more grounded.
At times, he would come off as more gentlemanly and high-class.
Alex, for some reason, was able to see and communicate with her.
Now, there was one huge, obvious hint buried in the art.
This would be one of those instances as Alex Hayden is Japanese.
Plus maybe Wade had an image inducer up his butt or something.
Wouldnt put it past him, really.
He made it the headquarters for Agency X.
He also went to war with the new Four Winds, run by its new leader Higashi.
Taskmaster, still pining for Sandi, wasnt pleased with that part.
That was basically her final comic appearance.
That meant we got five issues of fill-in teams.
#8-9 were done by Buddy Scalera and Mitchell Breitweiser.
The gruesome story brought in Fight Man, a spinoff character from Dorkins fantasticBill and TedMarvel series.
Unlike Scalera, Dorkin was willing to include supporting characters.
That said, his use of Sandi got a bit of a mixed reaction.
It didnt really feel too in-character based on what came before, but at least Dorkin was tryingsomething.
#12 was done by future-Deadpool-writer-for-way-too-long Daniel Way and artist Kyle Hotz.
A rather nothing issue, Alex took on a rookie mercenary called Murder.
A great idea, except Deadpool was off in limbo, possibly dead in an unfinished mystery.
Mary Zero wasnt referenced once in those three issues, by the way.
The opening scene showed two hooded men on a boat on their way to the US.
One wandered around, unresponsive, while the other protected him from fellow stowaways.
Alex and Taskmaster got hired to protect Four Winds leader Higashi on a job.
Alex was emotionally torn apart for cheating on Outlaw with Sandi while Taskmaster was torn apart by his jealousy.
And he brought his mute friend.
Upon seeing Deadpool alive, Sandi and Taskmaster were shocked, but Alex had his own unique response.
On instinct, he lifted his gun and shot Deadpool in the head.
He couldnt explain why he did it.
Just that seeing Deadpool filled him with violent anger.
I swear it feels like this guy killed my brother.
And since I dont think I have a brother, thats just weird.
While Deadpool recuperated, Black Swan spilled the beans on the backstory.
Swan was compelled to set things right.
Not that it was doing much good at the time, since he had the mind of a 3-year-old.
A very dick-obsessed 3-year-old.
No longer with a conscience, Black Swan used the power/mind trading to amp himself up.
His mental powers became godly and he proceeded to overwhelm Alex, Sandi, and Taskmaster.
Meanwhile, a lone figure was shown searching through a nearby car and finding a pair of katanas.
On the final page, a fully-recovered Deadpool laughed maniacally while impaling Black Swan from behind.
In the middle of the mayhem, Taskmaster finally revealed his true feelings to Sandi.
Alex came up with a plan to confuse and explode Black Swan, which succeeded.
Yeah, I dont know how that works either.
Then the heroes unloaded their guns into Black Swan just in case.
(Not that that stopped Daniel Way from bringing him back years later with no explanation.)
Sandi and Taskmaster ended up together and Taskmaster showed interest in finally joining Agency X. I only just noticed that now.
Sadly, that was it for that version of Taskmaster.
I guess he and Sandi werent meant to be as they never shared the same page again.
That meant that by the eleventh issue, Alex made an appearance.
Like I said, one of theleast-confusingstorylines.
Months later,House of Mhappened.
The big event is notable in this context for three reasons.
AfterHouse of Mended, they did the wholeDecimationstoryline about most mutants being depowered.
Outlaw, being a mutant herself, became a minor character in theX-Menbooks.
Probably for the best.
Alex, Sandi, and Outlaw returned as a team inCable/Deadpool #38.
They imprinted him with genetics that both gave him extreme arthritis and also made him excessively obese.
It was a necessary change of status quo for Deadpool.
Alex was still wearing his loin-cloth, much to everyones chagrin.
Sadly, that was Alexs final major comic appearance.
To go back to the Superman comparison, Alexs staying power ended up being less Superboy and more Eradicator.
Outside of a couple backgroundX-Menappearances, Outlaw had her moments of prominence.
Prior to Shiklahs introduction, she was one of the go-to love interests for Deadpool.
There would be one last story to revisit this era in Deadpool history, at least.
InDeadpool #27, Wade celebrated his wedding to Shiklah.
Various Simone characters appeared in the crowd, including Ratbag.
What followed was several pages of Deadpool slowly dyingFuturama-style until he presumably had his marriage annulled.
Personally, I hope he does.
I miss that knockoff.
Besides, they just brought back Evil Deadpool and hesterrible.
If Alex doesnt come back in some form, its just a travesty.
