Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Deadpool / Venompool (Wade Wilson) (First appearance) (Bonds with the Venom Symbiote; joins the Resistance)
Supporting Characters:
- Venom Symbiote (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Prehistoric tapeworms (First appearance)
- Ripley Diagnostics (First appearance)
- Doctor Scott (Earth-41715)
- Numerous unnamed members
- St. MacReady's Hospital's patients
Other Characters:
- Ferris Bueller (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- St. Macready's Hospital's staff and patients (First appearance)
- Patch Adams (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- The Resistance (Unnamed)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-41715 (First appearance)
- Earth (First appearance)
- United States of America (First appearance)
- Ripley Diagnostics (First appearance)
- Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia (Referenced)
- St. MacReady's General Hospital (First appearance)
- United States of America (First appearance)
- Hell (Invoked)
- Earth (First appearance)
- Earth-22249
- Earth
- United States of America
- St. MacReady's General Hospital (First appearance)
- United States of America
- Earth
Items:
- Deadpool's Suit and Katanas (First appearance)
- Captain Venom's Shield
Synopsis for 1st story
A mutated tapeworm bursts from an apple as Deadpool talks to an owl about how scientists discovered prehistoric tapeworms in the feces of a prehistoric shark. Tossing the apple aside as the worm coils around his finger, he infiltrates Ripley Diagnostics, a parasitology lab run by Dr. Scott, who was working on a variety of organ transpants and bioweapons based on augmented biological symbiotics. Examining a tank full of prehistoric tapeworms, Deadpool wonders what Dr. Scott has been up to and reminisces about a bad case of the crabs. Dr. Scott and several other scientists approach, and when Deadpool confronts them they reveal they have been taken over by the tapeworms. Deadpool decapitates them, only for dozens of worms to erupt from their severed necks and reattach their heads. The worms controlling Dr. Scott reveal they are sentient and speech-capable, saying that they were bred to be weaponized, but are now the masters. Deadpool backs away towards the specimen tanks, but Dr. Scott lunges and vomits worms onto him. Deadpool kicks him away, but the other scientists grab him and disgorge worms that try to enter his body. Spotting a tank containing the Venom symbiote, Deadpool recognizes it and smashes the tank. It rebonds to him, throwing back the undead scientists and ripping the worms from his body. Singing a parody of Sound of Silence, Venompool extracts the last remaining worms, the symbiote telling them to stay out of its host. The worms controlling Dr. Scott reveal that Venompool is too late and that they've already been released into the world, but Venompool stomps on them and learns that the worms were sent to MacReady's Hospital. Stopping at a restroom to ensure that all the tapeworms were purged from his system, Venompool makes his way to MacReady's Hospital.
In the operating room, a doctor prepares to transplant a parasite-infused liver - sporting three eyes, tentacles, and a fanged mouth - into a man, and reveals he's already transplanted a heart, lungs, and other organs. Venompool crashes through the window and orders them to stop the operation, but the liver seizes control of its host and attacks him. Realizing the parasites have a hive mind, Venompool breaks the fourth wall only to be tackled by the liver-controlled host, who covers him in tendrils and tells him to join the collective. Venompool refuses and rips the liver out of its host, but it slams him around the room and succeeds in forcing the symbiote off him, insisting that he will be its. Deadpool forces the liver off with a defibrillator, watching as it briefly fights the host-less symbiote before diving back into its host's body and fleeing. Rebonding to the symbiote, Deadpool chases after it only to be confronted by it and three other parasite-controlled patients. The parasites overwhelm Venompool and force the symbiote off his face, implanting worms into Deadpool's body. The worms attack Deadpool's heart, but are themselves attacked by the Venom symbiote, which forces them out of his body. Feeling violated, Deadpool vomits the worms and lets the symbiote cover him, saving a nurse from being attacked by one of the worms. Making short work of the parasites, Venompool states that it feels good to be bonded to the symbiote again, but the nurse he rescued slices his arm off with a surgical saw. Angrily demanding to know why he attacked her when he's one of the good guys — and spraying her in the face with a torrent of blood, sending her fleeing in terror — Venompool notes he may need to work on his public relations and decides to be heroic. Delivering a baby — terrifying the infant's mother, the obstetrician, and the baby in the process — Venompool goes to the children's wing and uses some of the parasitic worms to make balloon animals, frightening the children.
With all the worms destroyed, Venompool proclaims his work is done and jumps out the window. As he plunges towards the ground, a portal opens up and deposits him outside a ruined version of MacReady's Hospital. Landing on his face, Venompool is confronted by Captain Venom and demands to know why he shouldn't rip his head off and eat it. Captain Venom retorts that they have a war to win and need all the help they can get, holding out his hand to help him up, and Venompool takes it and tells Captain Venom to sign him up.
Solicit Synopsis
THE SYMBIOTE WITH THE SLOBBER!
• “Deadpool’s bonded with the Venom symbiote, blah, blah, blah,” you’re saying to yourself. Well HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, TRUE BELIEVER!
• Bringing you a terrifying tale of VenomPool trying to save a hospital full of innocent people who’ve been infected with a DANGEROUS MIND-CONTROLLING PARASITE is none other than horror writer and SPIDER-VERSE veteran Clay McLeod Chapman!
• Still not enough? WELL DON’T TURN THAT SOLICITATION PAGE, MARVELITE! Because the House of Ideas has enlisted comics legend James Stokoe to draw this – one of the most awesome, audacious and outrageous tales in all of Marveldom! SO DON’T MISS IT!Trivia
- Deadpool's opening narration parodies the origin stories of Spider-Man, Batman, and Rick Jones.
- The prehistoric tapeworm bursting from the apple, Dr. Scott, and Ripley Diagnostics appear to be references to the Alien franchise; meanwhile, St. MacReady's General Hospital is a reference to The Thing.