Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man/Deadpool #50

The payoff delivered in Avengers: Endgame was over a decade in the making, and the result has proven so massive… even the Avengers of Marvel’s Comic universe have taken notice. And Captain America isn’t the only one who won’t fully understand the reference.

For all of Endgame’s broken box office records, the challenge of turning that worldwide popularity into more eyeballs on the comic Avengers has still proven challenging (for every studio). Even if the finale to the MCU’s Infinity saga has little in common with the comic book version, it’s still the comics that have decided to bridge the gap. How? By bringing Marvel’s heroes into OUR world, just in time to catch the Endgame hype in full effect.

It might seem like a minor distinction, but it’s an important one: the comic book heroes have finally become aware of Avengers: Endgame the movie, not by its popularity infiltrating the comic reality of Marvel’s main universe of Earth-616, but through the heroes breaking out of the comics and into the reality of the reader. No surprise, we have Deadpool to thank for this bit of fourth wall-breaking. Take a look:

For context, the above scene is just a tease of what’s to come in this week’s Spider-Man/Deadpool #50, the final issue in a series punctuated (predictably) by its outlandish moments. After uniting with Marvel’s heroes in opposition to a reality-warping villain known as ‘The Manipulator’–a personification of the Fourth Wall dividing the heroes from the reader–it was Deadpool’s brilliant master plan to power their way beyond the fourth wall itself. After welcoming the Fantastic Four to Marvel Studios, this final issue takes the meta commentary to an even higher height. As the team of heroes collect themselves, it’s Captain America who wonders why the Avengers, his Avengers, are being advertised on a massive Hollywood billboard… for something called “Endgame,” to top it all off.

It’s one of the most unexpected pop culture pulls in recent memory–and when Deadpool fighting Marvel’s version of Batman is the standard storyline, that’s saying something. We can’t say where the rest of the issue will head before capping off the series, but Robbie Thompson and Jim Towe have likely saved more gems for last. The only question remaining is how Cap, Spidey, and Deadpool will find their way back into their comic book universe. We would wager that it will involve some less than sound science or quantum theory, but then… the logic of Avengers: Endgame isn’t exactly airtight, either. Readers can check out the full details and synopsis for the full issue below:

  • SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL (2019) #50 Published: May 8th, 2019 Writer: Robbie Thompson Art: Matt Horak, Jim Towe Cover: Dave Johnson An epic 50th issue — guaranteed to blow your socks off! READ WITH EXTRA SOCKS! Spider-Man and Deadpool fight the Manipulator for the fate of the entire Marvel Universe! I HOPE THEY PULL IT OFF! I REALLY LIKE THIS UNIVERSE! I’M SO WORRIED!

Spider-Man/Deadpool #50 is available at your local comic book store, or direct from Marvel Comics.

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