Back in the the first story arc of Deadpool's current ongoing series, Wade Wilson was hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. to take down a horde of turned-evil resurrected dead presidents. Teamed with S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Preston, Deadpool pulled this off--but not without Preston getting taken out and her consciousness transferred into Wade's mind by his buddy Necromancer Mike... and S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Gorman stiffing Deadpool on the bill.
It's time to get Preston back into a body, and for the Merc with a Mouth to get payback on S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Gorman. Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. starts here--and if you like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D but would enjoy a spicier, more out-there take on Nick Fury's crew, you've come to the right place...
Deadpool's been through some trauma recently, discovering that the Weapon Plus program had been harvesting his regenerating organs and messing with his memories; and when he went to get some answers, he learned that he has a daughter he never knew about, and, with no memories of its mother, discovered the woman dead and the child missing.
The issue begins with Doctor Strange giving Deadpool's mind a check-up (it's not healthy - as per usual) and trying to help Agent Preston get out of it; Strange surmising that the answer may lie with her old employers, S.H.I.E.L.D.
Meanwhile, having now learned of Preston's predicament from Necromancer Mike, her sometime-sidekick, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Adsit checks in at S.H.I.E.L.D.--through a somewhat quirky secret entrance--with designs on getting a LMD robotic clone (or Life Model Decoy) of Preston made, to transfer her consciousness into. But it turns out there's already one in existence, and it's out there dealing S.H.I.E.L.D. arms, selling drugs and raking lawns(!?!).
It also turns out that Agent Gorman is secretly behind this, and when Adsit reports to Gorman on his findings--revealing to him that Agent Preston's in Wade's head--Gorman ain't too pleased to learn the real Preston's alive and, once he's despatched Adsit, goes about setting a $10,000,000 million price on Deadpool's head.
Various super-villains who've been wronged by Deadpool in the past take up the offer, but it's Crossbones who's first to the punch, happening on Deadpool leaving a Tyler Perry movie Preston wanted to see (Wade having shot himself in the head to get out of it--firmly answering where he stands on any similarities drawn between Perry's dressing-up-as-large-black-women schtick and Agent Preston inhabiting his body.)
Despite his recent hardships, Deadpool's battle with Crossbones demonstrates his inventive and comical sides are still firmly intact--before we cut to Agent Adsit meeting another S.H.I.E.L.D. operative...and a twist in the tale.
With what writers Brian Posehn & Gerry Duggan having been doing on Deadpool lately, they've been making this run the book's best since the halcyon days of Joe Kelly; and that is strengthened further here in a solid and intriguing opening to the Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. arc--solidly illustrated by Mike Hawthorne, who is proving to be the best-fitting of this series' rotating artists. If you ever stopped reading Deadpool, or you've never tried it, this might be the issue to get onboard...
