Summary
- Deadpool can be both a villain and a hero, showcasing his 'chaotic neutral' nature in the Marvel Universe.
- Wade Wilson has shown extreme acts of altruism, like raising Baby Cable or being a mentor to kid Apocalypse, despite his villainous past.
- Deadpool's chaotic nature is evident in his actions, from causing a zombie apocalypse to saving the world from it.
Deadpool is one of the most hilarious, violent, caring, heartless, and overall just confusing characters in the Marvel Universe. Depending on who is writing him or what story he appears in, Deadpool can range from a cruel killer who’s fine with putting even children in danger if it means completing his mission, to quite literally feeding a friend pieces of himself to save their life.
Wade Wilson has perpetually shifted from one extreme to another throughout his Marvel Comics existence, which could be interpreted as the Merc with a Mouth being the purest form of Chaotic Neutral. Deadpool is pure chaos, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes somewhere in between - but always on his own . Here are 10 Deadpool stories that prove the Merc with a Mouth is pure Chaotic Neutral!

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10 Deadpool Debuts as a Villain in Marvel Comics Canon
New Mutants #98 by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza
While Deadpool would go on to become more of an antihero in Marvel Comics canon, that’s not how he made his start. Originally, , a contract killer who was hired to kill Cable and anyone else who got in his way. At the time, Cable was staying at the X-Mansion and was leading the New Mutants, which means Deadpool launched an assault on a school filled with children - and it seemingly made absolutely no difference to him.
While this was his first appearance as a villain, it certainly wouldn’t be the last villainous thing Deadpool would do, even after his transition to antihero following his short-lived stretch as an X-Force villain.
9 Deadpool Accepts the Parental Responsibilities to Raise Baby Cable
Cable & Deadpool #17-18 by Fabian Nicieza and Patrick Zircher
When Cable is reverted to infancy, Deadpool takes it upon himself to raise him. This comes after Cable launched a plan to change the very structure of the entire world, using himself as a conduit for this reality-altering power. Though he ultimately failed, Cable still needed to find a way to survive the massive flux of energy surging through his body. To do that, he turned himself into a baby, and Deadpool was ready and willing to accept the parental responsibilities that came with raising him.
This is especially altruistic of Deadpool, not just because he made his debut trying to kill Cable, but because he had just been at odds with Summers during this particular storyline. And yet, when a little baby needed his help - even the infant version of an enemy - Deadpool stepped up and did the right thing.

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8 Deadpool May Have Been a Good Father to Cable, But Not His Own Daughter
Deadpool Vol. 6 #5 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Hawthorne
One of Deadpool’s most dangerous foes is Madcap, a villain who’s even crazier than Deadpool - in every sense of the word. While Deadpool often operates on ‘cartoon logic’, Madcap is seemingly born of it, as he feels more like an abstract entity of pure chaos than an actual character. Therefore, in order to beat him, Deadpool had to do something drastic: use his own daughter as bait.
This issue is reminiscent of Deadpool’s first, villainous appearance, as he once again doesn’t mind putting a child in danger just to get his mark. Only this time, it’s a bit worse, as he’s playing with the life of his own daughter.
7 Deadpool Befriends Evan Sabahnur aka Kid Apocalypse
Uncanny X-Force #35 by Rick Remender and Phil Noto
After trying to prevent the rise of Apocalypse (in whatever form he may take), Deadpool actually befriends the child clone of En Sabah Nur, Evan Sabahnur aka Kid Apocalypse. Throughout the first volume of Uncanny X-Force, Deadpool and the other of this new and ultra-hardcore X-Force team are on a mission to neutralize Apocalypse, and while they succeed, the X-Force still allows Evan to exist.
Not only that, but Deadpool takes it upon himself to personally connect with Evan by visiting him in his room at the X-Mansion (as he was accepted into the Institute for Gifted Youngsters by the end of this series), and giving him a much-needed pep-talk. Deadpool reinforces Evan’s sense of individuality, and tells him that he’s not destined to be an evil villain like the original Apocalypse. As bad as Deadpool had been around children in previous storylines, he makes up for it with this moment.
6 Deadpool Throws the World Into a Zombie Apocalypse
Night of the Living Deadpool by Cullen Bunn and Ramón Rosanas
After awakening from a self-induced food coma inside a locked Mexican Restaurant, Deadpool finds that the world has been thrown into a horrific zombie apocalypse. After some time traversing the post-apocalyptic wasteland, Deadpool learns that the zombie virus was derived from experiments involving his own healing factor (samples of which were obtained by AIM scientists). Therefore, Deadpool is effectively responsible for the zombie apocalypse, since it couldn’t have happened if he didn’t exist.
While this isn’t the greatest example of Deadpool choosing to be an agent of chaos, it is a perfect one to convey how Deadpool doesn’t have to make that choice. The very nature of his entire existence is simply chaos, to the point where just being alive is enough to potentially create a zombie apocalypse.
5 Deadpool Saves the World by Undoing the Zombie Apocalypse
Return of the Living Deadpool by Cullen Bunn and Nik Virella
Deadpool’s very existence is enough to throw the world into chaos, but - as fans are well aware - Deadpool’s brand of neutral chaos works in both directions. Wade Wilson might have been the cause of the zombie apocalypse, but he was also the key to undoing it. After a botched attempt at curing the zombies (which ended up effectively turning them into Deadpool clones), Deadpool finally succeeds in developing a proper cure, one which kills nearly all the infected ‘Deadpools’ - at the cost of his own life.
Wade Wilson sacrifices himself to end the zombie apocalypse he inadvertently caused, and then accidentally made worse, proving that - while he is seemingly the living embodiment of chaos - Deadpool has the capacity to quite literally save the world.
4 Deadpool Kills Phil Coulson… Because ‘Captain America’ Asked Him To
Deadpool Vol. 6 #31 by Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli
This issue takes place during Secret Empire, which details the rise of Captain America as a force of evil working towards world domination on behalf of Hydra. Of course, it would eventually be revealed that this wasn’t Captain America at all, just a clone of him. However, at the time, almost no one knew the truth - including Deadpool. Deadpool idolized Captain America, so he blindly believed everything Hydra Cap said. So, when Cap asked Deadpool to kill Phil Coulson, Deadpool did so without hesitation.
Deadpool killing Coulson for Hydra Cap isn’t so much an example of Deadpool doing something good or bad, but rather something infinitely more out of character: what he’s told. It turns out that Deadpool is so chaotic, that his actions can sometimes circle all the way back around to ‘order’, as this issue proves Deadpool has what it takes to be a good soldier following orders without question.
3 Deadpool Once Fed Pieces of Himself to Angel to Keep His X-Force Teammate Alive
Uncanny X-Force #4 by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena
After the Uncanny X-Force gets absolutely destroyed by the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, every member is suffering serious injuries, though none of them are as hurt as Angel. So, since they were out in the field without backup or supplies, Deadpool takes it upon himself to attempt saving Angel’s life - by feeding Angel pieces of himself.
Deadpool’s actions here are decidedly selfless and even heroic, but feeding oneself to someone else in order to save their life is unarguably extreme, and utterly chaotic.
2 Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, Both In-World & in the Real World
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe by Cullen Bunn and Dalibor Talajic
When Wade finally snaps, the realization that he’s a fictional character existing in a world that isn’t real drives Deadpool murderously insane. Wade decides that he can’t allow himself or anyone else to continue this false existence, so he does the only ‘logical’ thing that he can think of: Deadpool kills the Marvel Universe. In his own twisted way, Deadpool is trying to save all of his Marvel Comics colleagues, though he does so in a way that only a character of utter chaos like Deadpool would think makes sense.
Deadpool then ups the ante by using magic to travel through dimensions and into the real world, where he proceeds to murder the writers of Deadpool, thereby erasing his own existence at the source.
1 Deadpool’s Heist with Gambit is His Ultimate ‘Chaotic Neutral’ Moment
Deadpool v Gambit #1 by Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, and Danilo Beyruth
While Deadpool has done a lot of things that would either be considered good or bad, this comic is perhaps the greatest example of his pure chaotic neutrality with another X-Men character who’s arguably equally morally ambiguous: Gambit. These two (mostly) reformed criminals decide to pull the silliest heist in Marvel Comics history by dres as two of New York City’s most upstanding superheroes, and then pretending to get into a city-wide fight. During their fake conflict, Deadpool (dressed as Spider-Man) and Gambit (dressed as Daredevil) slyly steal jewels from every store they ‘crash’ into.
This moment isn’t heroic by any means, but it’s not quite villainous either. Deadpool and Gambit have put their lives on the line for others throughout most of their comic book careers - so what’s a few stolen jewels while having a laugh with a friend? It’s not that good, but it’s also not that bad (relatively speaking), which is why Deadpool’s heist with Gambit is one of the 10 stories that prove the Merc with a Mouth is pure chaotic neutral.