Deadpool Officially Names the 1 Marvel Villain He’s Scared of

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Deadpool #4!Deadpool quite literally laughs in the face of death (when he’s not trying to woo her, anyway), as his god-tier healing factor makes him virtually unkillable, and his skills as a mercenary make him insanely deadly. That’s why any villain Deadpool faces, no matter how cosmically powerful they may be, are all giant jokes to him. However, as revealed in his latest adventure, there is one villain Deadpool is actually afraid of.

In Deadpool #4 by Cody Ziglar, Rogê Antônio and Eric Gapstur, Wade Wilson and his partner, Taskmaster, venture to the lair of an all-new villain who wields a power capable of actually killing Deadpool: Death Grip. Death Grip uses mysticism to merge his body with the Muramasa Blade, a sword that neutralizes one’s healing factor as it slices. With a wave of his hand, Death Grip can remove Deadpool’s healing factor, and with another, he can create a giant gash right across Deadpool’s chest – and that’s exactly what he did.

Once Deadpool realized that he could actually die while battling this villain, the usually light-hearted Merc with a Mouth became very serious. He started coughing up blood the second his healing factor was gone, and when Death Grip sliced him, Deadpool’s wound didn’t heal. That’s when Deadpool felt something he hadn’t in a very long time: fear – and that fear was inspired by the villain looking down upon him, Death Grip.

Deadpool Isn’t Afraid to Die, So Why is He Scared of Death Grip?

It’s odd to think that Deadpool is afraid of a villain simply because they have the strength to kill him, especially when considering that Wade would try to provoke Marvel’s heaviest-hitters to do just that. In Deadpool Vol. 4 #38-39, Deadpool tries to get the Hulk to kill him, simply because he has had enough of his disturbed, eternal life. So, why is Deadpool scared of Death Grip? Well, in Deadpool’s more recent storylines, he reconnects with one person who has given him reason to live: his daughter, Ellie.

When Deadpool first found out that he had a daughter, he pushed her and her mother away for their own good, as being involved with him would only get them killed. However, in this current storyline, Deadpool discovers that Ellie has a healing factor and heightened awareness, meaning she’s basically untouchable. Therefore, it is safe for Ellie to be involved in Wade’s life, which is something that she very much wants – as does he. For the first time, Deadpool has something – someone – to live for, making death a far more terrifying idea than it ever was for him before.

Deadpool Fearing Death is a Major Change (He Used to Mess with Villains for Fun)

Deadpool Team-Up #883 by Scottie Young and Ramón Pérez

Deadpool being afraid of Death Grip makes sense, but it’s still a major change for his character, especially since he used to mess with the deadliest villains in the Marvel Universe just for fun. In Deadpool Team-Up #883, Deadpool accepted a position as Galactus’ Herald to earn some extra cash, but when he got the job, Deadpool did little more than annoy Galactus to the point where the Devourer of Worlds nearly killed him on the spot. And aside from the money, Deadpool’s sole intent here was to mess with Galactus, just because he thought it’d be funny.

Deadpool used to not care about a villain’s power-level or how deadly they were, he’d mess with them all the same (with Galactus being just one of the many Deadpool has done this to in the past). However, Deadpool finally finds the one villain who actually scares him, and it’s not simply because Death Grip has the means to kill him (indeed, many other villains could kill him too), but because Deadpool finally found a reason to live.

Deadpool #4 by Marvel Comics is available now.