Comic: "Agent X"
Published by: Marvel Comics
Written by: Gail Simone
Artist: UDON

Reviewer: Dr. Boogie
Posted: 1/26/2010

Plot: A heavily scarred man shows up on the doorstep of Sandi Brandenberg with no memory of his life prior to that moment. He claims his name is Alex Hayden, and he wants to be the best mercenary in the world. Brandenberg believes in him enough to start up her own mercenary company, but her boyfriend, the Taskmaster, thinks he knows who Hayden really is...

Review: I’m always looking for ways to get more Deadpool in my life. Agent X just happens to be Deadpool with a slightly different flavor.

Fans of Deadpool will recognize that familiar brand of humor in Agent X, those with almost no pop culture references. Even the other characters in the book recognize it and deduce that Agent X is none other than Wade Wilson himself. X denies it and claims he’s actually named Alex Hayden, but that could just be another one of Deadpool’s ingenious disguises. Is he really Deadpool? Probably not. He comes across as more reckless than insane, and sans mask, Deadpool looks a lot worse than this guy.

Thankfully, the humor doesn’t let up very often because the actual story for the series is nothing to write home about. Agent X and the gang find themselves at odds with an evil land developer who is even more Asian-inspired than studio UDON’s art style. Things eventually come to a head with a huge battle featuring the Rhino and a bunch of no-name thugs. There is a nod to perennial loser villain Batroc the Leaper, but even then, you can see that the focus of all this is less on action itself, and more on delivering Deadpool-style wit.

As mentioned, Canadian art studio UDON brings the story to life with a heavy Asian influence on the artwork. It’s not bad stuff, but the character designs lack the impact necessary to make serious villains look intimidating. At one point, Agent X finds himself matching wits with the Punisher, only it looks like he’s taking on the Punisher’s 20-year-old son. Granted, the story never gets too involved with the serious stuff, but it is still disappointing to see famous characters looking like cheesy imitations of themselves, even if it’s all meant to feed into the tone of the series.

If you’ve ever wanted to see Deadpool without all the emotional baggage that he cleverly hides behind a mask of total insanity, Agent X is the way to go. It won’t change the way you look at comics, but it will make you cock your head slightly when you see the real Deadpool.

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)