Deadpool is finally making Captain America pay for Marvel’s Secret Empire event. The heroes of Marvel Comics have moved on from the Hydra takeover of America relatively fast, considering how much of a game-changer it seemed at the time (having the power of the Cosmic Cube sure comes in handy). But even if the evil Captain America is out of sight and out of mind, and a “good” Steve Rogers back in the role, not everyone is letting bygones be bygones. The rise of Hydra Cap cost Deadpool everything… and he’s out for revenge.

Typically, Wade Wilson is a far cry from a sympathetic characters. Sure, he was tortured to get his powers just like everyone else in Weapon X, but his cracked mind and twisted humor make him impervious to most of life’s hardships. But that all changes when Captain America made Deadpool an official Avenger, believing he could be one of Marvel’s truest heroes. And it changed again when Cap ordered Deadpool to murder Agent Phil Coulson.

That betrayal turned the Marvel Universe against Deadpool, costing him his childhood dream come true. And in our preview of Deadpool #296, he’s getting his revenge.

The previous issue saw the final chapter of Deadpool’s return to supervillainy, but not by choice. Having been fooled worse than anyone by his former hero (killing a good S.H.I.E.L.D. agent or two on Cap’s evil orders) Deadpool was among the first to try to bring down HYDRA from the inside. He got close, too, before Maria Hill took his information and left him buried beneath a building. She and her allies brought down the HYDRA takeover… but robbed Deadpool of his own chance to do the right thing.

With nobody to turn to for help, Wade was forced to do the bidding of Stryfe, Cable’s evil clone. Holding Ellie - a girl who has been like a daughter to Wade - hostage, Deadpool had to kill a list of people to keep her alive. At the end of Deadpool #295 Steve Rogers arrives too late to stop Deadpool’s last kill.

But he’s just in time to answer for his part in Deadpool’s entire life being turned into one big nightmare. Take a look at the preview pages below:

Aside from the bonus points awarded to cover artist Mike Hawthorne for slotting Deadpool into the role of The Matrix’s Neo, complete with Bruce Lee hand gesture. The fight itself does a good job of laying out Deadpool’s case, highlighting the hypocrisy inherent in in the clandestine operations of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Marvel Universe (Black Widow didn’t become Steve’s best friend by NOT killing people).

But hey, at least Steve seems to grasp that Deadpool’s shift to murder and villainy is motivated by some understandable trauma. Is it enough to win him back into Cap’s good graces, or will Wade not stop until he puts even more of a beating on the man he once killed for? For that, Marvel fans will need to check out the rest of the issue.

Check out a full synopsis for the issue below:

MORE: Deadpool Just Stole Wolverine’s Adamantium Claws

DESPICABLE DEADPOOL (2018) #296

Published: March 14, 2018

Writer: Gerry Duggan

Art: Matteo Lolli

Cover Artist: Mike Hawthorne

“BUCKET LIST CONCLUDES! He was Wade’s hero. He took Wade under his wing. Things didn’t go the way Wade hoped. Now, Wade wants to beat the ever-living snot out of Captain America.”

Deadpool #296 is available from Marvel Comics on March 14, 2018.