Ultimate Spider-Man is getting a very interesting guest star this weekend, as none other than Deadpool is introduced in the July 7 episode; aptly titled “Ultimate Deadpool.” If you’re thinking that Deadpool is a notably dark and violent character to include on Ultimate Spider-Man, don’t worry – the creators of the show have thought of that too, as the episode itself becomes about the very different philosophies of Spider-Man and Deadpool.
Co-writing the episode is Joe Kelly, who works on Ultimate Spider-Man as one of the Man of Action team. But Kelly’s history with Deadpool is especially significant. Back in 1997, Kelly was the original writer of Deadpool’s first ongoing comic book, in the process defining many of the core characteristics that continue to fuel the character.
I spoke to Kelly and Ultimate Spider-Man producer Cort Lane about what it was like bringing Deadpool (voiced by Will Friedle) to the series along with some hints at what’s to come on the series. We also talked a bit about Avengers Assemble, which both Kelly and Lane are also working on.
IGN TV: Deadpool is a very popular character, but he’s a very unique, specific character. How did the idea come about to put him on Ultimate Spider-Man?
Joe Kelly: Oh gosh, he was a character that we wanted to bring in for a long time, and it was sort of a question of when. We knew we wanted to bring him in, we knew that a modified Deadpool could fit in the Ultimate Spidey universe, but we wanted to make sure we had our footing in that first season before we even approached the idea of bringing him in, because we knew it was going to be like a letting a bull in a china shop loose -- and it is. [Laughs] That’s part of what makes it so much fun. It’s a really crazy, fun episode.
Cort Lane: And I would sort of add to what Joe said, I think it was the right time to bring him in, because with Deadpool you break all the rules in terms of how we focus the series and how we tell stories. It was good to establish the series more before we did something so off-the-wall.
Kelly: Yeah, absolutely. And along the same lines, what Deadpool represents as a character sort of plays off of Spidey, and you’ve really got to establish what our Spidey in the Ultimate animated universe is like before you can bring in this sort of weird counterpart.
IGN: You have some fun right from the get-go with the sort of dueling narration. When I watched it, I thought, “Of course! Of course Deadpool would force his narration over Spider-Man.” When you guys were putting together the episode, was it the same kind of experience for you?
Kelly: Yeah, that idea might have been one of the very first things that came up in the room when we were all sitting there talking about it. We love the fact that Spidey breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience, and it was something from day one between what Marvel and Joe Quesada were looking for, a flavor for the show and what the guys from Man of Action wanted to do. So once we had that as part of the show’s DNA, as soon as you introduce Deadpool, you’re like, “Okay, those have to collide. That has to be part of the story.” And I think interrupting the title sequence might have been the first idea that got thrown out there.
Lane: I think you’re right, but I think the thing that evolved as worked through it was the idea that because they both have fantasy sequences and break the fourth wall that the action would start to spill over into that fantasy narrative. I think that actually came about more organically, but it made a lot of sense.
IGN: There’s the Deadpool in the comics, and there’s the Deadpool in the new video game -- and that can go to one sort of extreme. You’re obviously not going to be able to go there on Ultimate Spider-Man, but what was the balance you wanted to strike as far as having a different sort of Deadpool, but one that was still the core of the character and lived up or lived down, as it were, to our expectations of him?
Kelly: [Laughs] I like “lived down to.” Gosh, yeah. I don’t know if it was coincidence -- I hope it was coincidence that the game came out so close to this episode airing.
Lane: It is coincidence!
Kelly: Oh, good. [Laughs] I haven’t played it yet, but I’ve heard it’s definitely not in our universe, I’m sure. But you know, figuring out how to fit Deadpool in was a difficult challenge, and it actually fit in literally how the story is told. You know, this idea of Deadpool as a freelance hero and how sexy that sounds to Spider-Man, especially with the mood he happens to be in as he’s going into this episode, he’s like, “Oh, this sounds great!” Then you find out he’s just a mercenary and he’s willing to do anything for money, including “un-alive-ing” people. We couldn’t say the word “kill,” and that’s something that’s come up quite a bit. Obviously in the comics this is bread and butter for Deadpool. That’s just what he does. So figuring out the challenge of, how do you take this guy that is kind of crazy, and certainly doesn’t have the same moral compass as Spidey and all that kind of stuff, and apply it to a kid show, those structural supports actually give us really cool stuff to write towards. So that’s kind of how the un-alive-ing scene came up, and I think that’s actually one of the funniest little bits. I think it really sticks out.
IGN: I appreciated the whole joke about being unable to say the word “kill,” just because it’s such a classic thing in cartoons and how they would say “I will destroy you!”, and all the ways they work around it. It was a very fun thing to delve into that. Was that exciting for you guys to, working on an animated series, to kind of play with one of those rules so much?
Kelly: Yeah, it was cool, and I know Cort had to go fight for that personally, so I appreciate it. [Laughs]
Lane: It’s my job to fight the S&P [Standards and Practices] battles on this show, and I’m happy to do it. We have to push the envelope. It’s a Marvel action show. It has to live up to what fans -- adults and kids alike -- expect from Marvel.
Continue to Page 2 as Kelly and Lane discuss casting Will Friedle as Deadpool, Kelly getting to write for Deadpool again and what's to come for Ultimate Spider-Man and Marvel's Avengers Assemble.
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