WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Deadpool: Black, White & Blood #4, available now from Marvel Comics.
The list of characters with personal vendettas against the Merc with a Mouth is constantly growing. Deadpool's storied career of ultra-violent antics has put a gigantic target on his back. But even his harmless pranks seem to be catching up with him in Michael and Laura Allred and VC's Joe Sabino's "Operation Payback" in Deadpool: Black, White & Blood #4 when a member of the X-Force decides to get some payback for all of Deadpool's goofing around.
"Operation Payback" begins with Wade Wilson peacefully napping in a movie theater until he is suddenly transported to a bizarre lunar landscape, populated only by a red slug monster, who appears to have kidnapped a child. Deadpool leaps into action trying to save the kid. He even rides a giant spider to catch up with the slug, but the ferocious creature seems to be too powerful for Deadpool. It is revealed that the child is actually just an extension of the monster and the mercenary is completely helpless in this bizarre landscape. But before Deadpool is forced to face his own mortality, it is revealed that Doop has been giving Wade a bad dream as payback for the numerous pranks he has been subjected to over the years.
Doop, Marvel's powerful floating blob, first appeared in Peter Milligan and Michael Allred's X-Force #116 in 2001. He initially joined the X-Force as their cameraman before becoming one of the founding members of the X-Statix after the tragic deaths of the majority of the heroes in X-Force. While the precise details of Doop's origins remain mysterious, it is generally believed that he was created by the government during the Cold War and designed to dismantle the Soviet Union. Despite his ridiculous appearance, Doop is remarkably powerful. He can control people's minds and even has two brains, which he has put to good use throughout his career as a hero, government agent, and private detective.
"Operation Payback" proves that Doop is just as powerful and just as immature as Deadpool. Doop had no problem sneaking up on the seasoned mercenary and seemed to delight in disturbing his friend with increasingly frightening images, all just to get some petty vengeance for having pies thrown in his face. That's the sort of behavior fans typically associate with Deadpool himself, but Doop turns the tables masterfully and demonstrates that he is every bit as goofy as the Merc with a Mouth. In addition to their attitudes, Doop and Deadpool also have several powers in common. Both characters are particularly strong, capable of healing at incredible rates, and able to break the fourth wall. Doop is even able to travel across the margins of the comic books he's featured in. It is possible that Wade and Doop are both so ridiculous because they understand that they are comic book characters.
Deadpool: Black, White & Blood #4 brings the enigmatic and absurd Doop back into the spotlight. By filling Deadpool's head with distressing images Doop definitely gets even with Wade for the many pranks and jokes he's had to endure throughout their relationship. His mind-bending vengeance serves as a fun, but still frightening reminder of just how powerful the lumpy green creature is and how much the two characters have in common.