Most know Negasonic Teenage Warhead as the snarky newbie X-Men member from the Deadpool movies. Her history and character in the comics were quite different. Indeed, she spent more time as a victim and a hallucination (long story) than she did as an actual character. She was resurrected, and the Deadpool & the Mercs for Money series made her into something close to her cinematic counterpart. This one-shot, originally published in part as a digital Marvel Voices miniseries, takes her the rest of the way.
Negasonic Teenage Warhead #1 contains two stories. The first, an original unique to this volume, finds Eloise “Ellie” Phimister acting as chauffeur and backup to Deadpool. The other centers around Ellie herself, as she finds herself in trouble with the Time Variance Authority (TVA).
It seems that Ellie, who has the power to alter reality and her powers through her precognitive visions, somehow changed a fixed point in time. In order to fix things, she must kiss the girl who is destined to be her girlfriend. Unfortunately, Negasonic Teenage Warhead hasn’t met the girl in question yet and doesn’t believe in love. She also has to kiss the girl on an alien moon within one hour, presuming the TVA doesn’t kill her first.
Negasonic Teenage Warhead is less interesting than her name
The chief problem with Negasonic Teenage Warhead #1 is that Ellie is less interesting than her codename. This is probably why writer Andrew Wheeler spends so much more time focused on Deadpool’s antics or the brain trust assembled by Emma Frost to help Ellie than on our title character. The fact of the matter is that Ellie’s jaded personality makes her more effective as a foil than as a protagonist. It doesn’t help that her superpower is frankly ridiculous, and it is hard to believe she’s honestly challenged.
Thankfully, the artwork flows smoothly in both chapters, even if the stories themselves are somewhat rocky. Eleonora Carlini has a more animated style that suits the screwball elements of the scripts. Carola Borelli is more sedate by comparison but does a better job conveying Ellie’s emotional state.
Deadpool fans will want to check out Negasonic Teenage Warhead #1 for more Wade Wilson goodness. Beyond that, the book will only appeal to X-Men completists. It isn’t a bad comic by any means, but it is aimed at a niche audience.
Grade: 3/5
Negasonic Teenage Warhead #1 arrives in comic shops everywhere on November 6, 2024.
