Deadpool’s Superpowers, Explained

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• Deadpool’s Healing Factor

• How Did Deadpool Get His Powers?

• Deadpool’s Other Powers

Deadpool is arguably one of Marvel’s most famous characters, known for his constant jokes, healing abilities, and fourth-wall-breaking references. While most people know what Deadpool can do, not everyone knows why he can do it.

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Every serialization of Deadpool has aimed to explain, at least somewhat, what makes the character tick, with some versions contradicting each other. We’ve gathered the most often used explanations for his powers, while clarifying what makes the Merc with a Mouth so deadly.

Deadpool’s Healing Factor

Deadpool is known for wearing a red and black suit, shooting guns, wielding katanas and regenerating.

While intense training and resources can explain away the guns, katanas, and attire, the extremeness to which Deadpool can regenerate is absurd, surviving many lethal blows to the head and other areas.

How Did Deadpool Get His Powers?

Deadpool was originally just another mercenary, albeit a highly skilled one, but he ended up facing one foe his abilities couldn’t match: cancer. He undergoes experimental treatment to try to cure him, but instead gains a regenerative power so great that he is basically immortal.

The problem was, his cancerous cells also regenerated with him, making his whole body look scarred and disfigured. This is why he uses a suit that covers his whole body, hiding his cancerous state from the rest of the world.

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In the comics and the movie X Men Origins: Wolverine, Deadpool’s regeneration was derived from Wolverine’s. In the Deadpool movies, however, the experiments claim to be awakening his “latent mutant power,” likely to distance one rendition of Deadpool from the other.

Can Deadpool Die?

There are ways you can kill Deadpool, with the comic Deadpool Kills Deadpool going into detail about the various ways to do so.

It is, however, extremely difficult, with a few authors having Deadpool survive things like his head getting obliterated and regenerating just fine.

Deadpool was cursed with immortality by Thanos at one point, an act of jealousy due to Deadpool’s close relationship with Death. That curse, however, has since been lifted.

There are plenty of ways in the comics to negate his mutant power, and if you do so, Deadpool is just a normal man in the later stages of cancer.

So, you can technically kill him, but it would involve negating his power or deleting all his cells, and even then, the plot might just create a way for him to still survive.

Is Deadpool A Mutant?

The most popular versions of Deadpool are the ones where he was created by the Weapon X program, and the one depicted by Ryan Reynolds in the movies.

Both versions have arguments for and against Deadpool being a mutant, the main one against it being that he wasn’t born with his powers.

In the movies, since the process allegedly awakened his latent mutant power, the argument in favor of Deadpool being a mutant is strong. However, without outside intervention, he would never have mutated, although most characters treat him as if he was.

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In the comics, Deadpool wants to join the X-Men and often jokes about being a mutant, but even he has claimed not to be one when talking seriously. He was given Wolverine’s powers through the Weapon X program, something anyone can technically go through.

His powers, however, are of mutant origin in nearly all versions. This means that any device that negates, enhances, or in any way affects mutant powers, will influence Deadpool’s ability to regenerate, which for a lot of people makes him a full-fledged mutant.

Deadpool’s Other Powers

Deadpool’s main ability is his enhanced healing factor, but he is known to have other abilities as well. Said abilities aren’t powers themselves, but they are significant enough to warrant mentioning, since they are part of who he is.

Can Deadpool Teleport?

Deadpool is sometimes able to teleport short distances, but this isn’t due to some supernatural ability; it is just a piece of equipment. He tends to keep it on his belt buckle, and with said device he can instantly blink to nearby enemies and dispatch them with ease.

Deadpool has used the teleporter less and less over the years, claiming that it makes fights too easy.

This makes sense, since he is already deadly enough as an expert martial artist who can’t be killed by normal means.

Why Is Deadpool Good At Fighting?

As a former mercenary, Deadpool has had ample experience in combat training, weapon usage, and acrobatic movement.

Some comics even use his regenerative powers to explain some of his physical feats, claiming that it takes him more time to get tired, therefore outlasting many opponents.

This regeneration also allows him to do riskier maneuvers that may be unthinkable for other fighters, letting him win against 'stronger' opponents by being utterly unpredictable. He’s so hard to kill that most fights either end with him winning, or in a tie.

But really, his main ability to do well in combat is that he is a comedic character. It is often the case with comedy characters that, since the fights aren’t the focus, they can win those scenarios with ease as the plot goes back to focusing on silly jokes or outlandish moments.

Why Can Deadpool Break The Fourth Wall?

During an encounter between Deadpool and the Beyonder, Deadpool ends up in the Foundations of Eternity and confirms what he already suspected: he is a comic book character. What we don’t know, however, is how he suspected that to begin with.

Some versions have him simply believing he is a comic book character, and he just happens to be right, but that doesn’t hold too much water with all the real world references he makes. Unless you count those as coincidences as well, which are just a few too many.

In reality, it is just in the flavor of the character, and we aren’t supposed to question it too much. After all, She-Hulk can also break the fouth wall, and she isn’t related to Deadpool in any way; they are just comedic characters doing their bit.

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