Love hurts. Love scars. Love wounds and marks. If you recognize these as the lyrics to the classic rock jam "Love Hurts," go on and pat yourself on the back. (Grandma Shmoop, is that you?)
Deadpool proves that Nazareth and all the rest of the long-haired rock gods of yesteryear may've been on to something. Suffering is central to Deadpool. From cancer to corporate torture to being too afraid to talk to Vanessa, Wade's in a lot of pain. Sure, some of it's self-inflicted—seriously, man; just go talk to her—but that doesn't mean that it hurts any less.
Questions about Suffering
1. Deadpool says that when life turns into a massive mess, "you can generally trace it back to one big, bad decision," and that his decision was submitting to Ajax's mutation program. Do you agree? Was that a terrible decision? Weigh those pros and cons.
2. Why does Ajax like to see people suffer?
3. How does Deadpool use humor to deflect or avoid real pain? Can you give an example?
4. Wade and Vanessa initially bond through their similar histories of suffering. What is it about trauma that brings people together?
Chew on This
Across the board, Deadpool's suffering is entirely avoidable; he just needs to make better decisions.
After being tortured by Ajax, Deadpool's outside matches his inside.