by Taylor Anderson

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

At work, my coworkers and I had a professional development meeting where we learned how to handle conflict with each other. It was basically a class on how to be a decent human being and how to express your feelings without terribly offending someone else. While the class seemed a bit puerile, I have to admit that it is important for people to be able to handle their conflict well, otherwise minor problems can become big ones. Given that superheroes deal with conflict almost by definition, you would think they would be able to handle it well and without the need of professional development classes. As Despicable Deadpool 293 illustrates, however, there is nothing further from the case.

Rogue is after Wade so she can take him in for trial for his crimes against S.H.I.E.L.D. Surprising no one, Wade is unwilling to go with her and fisticuffs ensue. As the two duke it out, they argue about their differences of opinion.

In the example pictured here, Wade punches Rogue repeatedly in the face because he’s upset that she and other heroes have all tried to get Wade to do something for them (or more realistically, act like a decent human being). While I get Wade’s frustration, there’s no denying he’s attacking the wrong person here. More than that, though, is that he so readily resorts to violence when his words would simply do. This isn’t so surprising for Deadpool, but Rogue, who is more even-keeled, does the exact same thing as she voices her conflict with Wade while also punching him.

This so effectively illustrates what’s wrong with so many superheroes. They don’t know how to settle conflict with anything other than their fists. You could argue that away as a casualty of their jobs, but the fact remains that the people who are saving humanity from death and destruction are so easily the same ones who resort to violence in a heartbeat.

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