WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "Samurai Version" from Deadpool: Black, White & Blood #4, on sale now
Deadpool's connection to Japanese culture has never been stronger -- with Deadpool: Samurai currently sitting as one of the year's most successful comics. In a story by those same creators, they even find a way to connect bring in a new hero with a deep connection to another Marvel icon.
In"Samurai Version" from Deadpool: Black, White & Blood #4 by Sanshiro Kasama, Hikaru Uesugi, and VC's Joe Sabino, Deadpool ends up working alongside a new Spider-Hero (and his co-star in Deadpool: Samurai) -- Spider-Sakura. On top of continuing a quiet legacy of Japanese Spider-Heroes, it also sets up an exciting new addition to the pantheon of characters who could appear in the multiversal hopping stories Spider-Man has been becoming more accustomed to.
"Samurai Version" introduces Deadpool confronting a one-shot character called Disposer. Introducing himself as a mutant from a society destroyed by the Merc with the Mouth, the villain announces his intent to kill Deadpool using a good amount of super-strength -- even earning a good early hit on Deadpool. Luckily for Deadpool, he gets an assist from Spider-Sakura. A fellow hero in this world, Spider-Sakura bickers with Deadpool even as she comes to assist him. Deadpool responds with some light teasing, making fun of the young hero as a "copycat." Hailing from the reality featured in Deadpool: Samurai, Spider-Sakura helps subdue Disposer long enough with her web-shooters for Deadpool to take him down. The story ends with the pair advertising their appearances in Deadpool: Samurai, which is now available.
Spider-Sakura is just the latest multiversal variant of Spider-Man who's debuted in the Marvel Universe. The Spider-Heroes have united across realities before, and the next such team-up could make a case for recruiting Spider-Sakura. She's quickly shown to be a fresh and fun figure, and carries on some distinct elements of Spider-Man's connection with both Japan and Deadpool. The Earth-616 Spider-Man and Deadpool have a testy friendship similar to the one Spider-Sakura shares with Deadpool. In Earth-616, Deadpool's fanboy tendencies surrounding Spider-Man initially rubbed poorly against the more morally-aligned Wall-Crawler. But at the end of the day, there proved to be a bond between the two -- with their relationship even fueling the central narrative of Spider-Man/Deadpool for fifty issues.
Spider-Sakura quickly showcases a similar attitude with her Deadpool, complaining about him while still working together for a common goal. She isn't the first Spider-Hero associated with Japan, either. Most famously, there's Takuya Yamashiro -- the Spider-Man of the Supaidāman television series who's appeared in events like Spider-Verse (and could potentially appear in the upcoming sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). More recently, Peni Parker and her Sp//dr Suit were introduced in Edge of Spider-Verse before appearing in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. There are also other variants of the character from Japanese adaptations of the character, such as Yu Komori of Ryoichi Ikegami's Spider-Man: The Manga and Spider-Man J from Yamanaka Akira's work on Spider-Man J: Japanese Knights.
Sakura gets to continue elements from both hero's interactions from Japan, and her youth makes an ideal character to appear in any future Spider-Verse-like incidents. Her experience with Deadpool also shows her to be quick with a joke and even quicker to help someone if they need it -- giving her plenty in common with her other Spider-Hero counterparts. If her appearance in the English-language debut of Deadpool: Samurai is as successful as its debut in Shonen Jump+, then it wouldn't be surprising to see Spider-Sakura start popping up more across the Marvel multiverse.