DEADPOOL + DEATH

You know what I think Deadpool is a great metaphor for? How we deal with death, with a pinch of positive Nihilism. Right now you might be thinking…. Wait what? Positive nihilism? How high are you? But here me out.

What makes Deadpool so constantly carefree and full of life when he is constantly being torn to pieces? How can someone withstand that amount of torture and come out the other side smiling? At first, I assumed it to be a mask. He is in agony, so much agony that he had to bury it deep inside him and never acknowledge it. He had to constantly be the funny guy, so no one would realize just how much pain he's in. He deeply cares about people, but in putting on this funny guy mask he has made his real self unrecognizable. A perfect example of laughing so you don't cry.

But I was wrong in that assumption, and I truly don't believe that explanation. My mistake was assuming people who have gone through trauma can't be legitimately happy. Now of course, we have to start talking about death. And I don't mean the idea of dying, I mean the character of death in the marvel universe. For those of you who aren't aware of Deadpool's comic origins (if you think I'm talking about either Deadpool movie here you're sadly mistaken) he is in love with death. Surprisingly, Marvel's lady death's face is usually just a skull, however she is rather scantily clad from time to time and dark robes of varying length. Both of them are passionately in love with each other, and have been for years. Despite there love, Deadpool can never die. He can never truly be with her. They're literal romance in the comics is exceptionally well done, and the Symbolism is what really made Deadpool as a character click for me.

He's stuck in a world that has done nothing but hurt him, and he can never truly be with the woman he's destined to be with. So why the hell is he so happy? Because he has nothing to fear.

No matter what happens to him, he knows he can live through it. He not only has lost his fear of death, he sees death as beautiful. He understands death isn't an ending, and nothing can hurt him. And even if it does hurt him, he is one step closer to finally being free. So nothing he does here on Earth really matters. It's all just a joke. Once you shed your fear of death, you can finally enjoy the time you have left. Because there's nowhere to go but up. Nothing really matters, so why not treat life as one big joke?

Just don't go all The Comedian about it.