What makes a good Deadpool comic? If you don’t know, don’t worry: Mike Benson doesn’t quite know it either.

Suicide Kings is the second Deadpool stand-alone outing by the afformentioned Moon Knight scribe, and while I was not on the edge of my seat reading it, I can at least say that it was better than Games of Death. Boy howdy did that suck! The problem with both these series is that Benson, who admittingly was not aware of Deadpool until this assignment was given to him, lacks what made the ‘Pool series under Joe Kelly and Gail Simone so great: The wacky and zany humor, the moral dillemas and inner demons that Wade had to face, and above all, a great supporting cast.  Deadpool himself is hysterical, but when coupled with the likes of Weasel, Blind Al, Cable, and even Bob (Agent of Hydra), it enhances the story so much more and is more rewarding to read.

Benson’s obvious sole influence is the current Daniel Way run, which has been a good run so far. The difference is that Way not only knows how to write the comedy of Deadpool, but his dramatic moments that makes him a relatable character. When Benson writes Deadpool, it seems his sole purpose is to paint ‘Pool as a 1 dimensional wise-cracker who can kill the shit out of things. This makes me feel as I read this that this is just a souless mirror image of the current Deadpool series.The art by Carlo Barberi only enhances this feeling, since it looks almost exactly like Paco Medina’s work of the aformentioned solo series. This isn’t an insult to Berberi’s art, but a different style could have given this mini-series a shot of uniqueness.

Don’t get me wrong, Benson is a great writer. His Moon Knight series sends shivers down my spine. It’s just that this mini just seems like an exercise to work out Benson’s comedy stylings, with Deadpool being the test subject. I love that we’re getting a deluge of Deadpool lately, though I would hate for him to pop up everywhere and just be a souless husk of his true glory. Just like Wolverine.