Dogpool explained: The comics history of Deadpool and Wolverine’s standout star

Deadpool and Wolverine doesn’t just welcome the titular heroes into the MCU, oh no, it ushers in another very im-paw-tant character, too: Dogpool. But just who is the furry friend that joins the Merc with a Mouth and the adamantium-clawed mutant on their mission to save the world?

Well, in the movie, she’s a Deadpool variant called Mary Poppins, is looked after by long-haired Ryan Reynolds, we mean Nicepool, in The Void, and is a member of the menacing The Deadpool Corps. In the comics, the pooch is a he, and their life is a little different…

Spoilers for both Deadpool and Wolverine and the Deadpool comics below. If you don’t want to know anything that happens in either, turn back now! 

Right, now that that’s sorted, we can suggest you keep scrolling to find our breakdown of Dogpool’s origins and comic history, from his brutal beginnings to his death (sob!) in issue #1 of Deadpool Kills Deadpool…

Who is Dogpool?

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

In the source material, Dogpool, or as they were known back then, Wilson, helmed from Earth-103173. He had a rough start in life, having been picked up off the streets and subjected to numerous, nasty experiments as part of Mascara-X’s product testing. (Think the Weapon X project but overseen by Babeline, a cosmetics company that has promised its customers eternal youth).

Due to this, the pooch wound up mutating, and gaining the ability to heal itself, much like Ryan Reynolds’ Regenerating Degenerate.

One day, a particularly horrible trial left Wilson in such a terrible state that wicked scientists Dr. Von Braun and Eigor left his body in a dumpster behind their lab. But thanks to his newfound superpower, he was able to escape, and wound up being picked up by a local circus, adopting the name, “Deadpool the Daredevil Dog”, and becoming their death-defying headline act. 

He continued to perform for them until Earth-616’s Deadpool, the sarcastic wise cracker we know and love, recruited him as a member of the Deadpool Corps, where he became good friends with Kidpool. 

Dogpool’s most notable appearances are in the following comics: Prelude to Deadpool Corps, Deadpool Corps, Deadpool Family and Deadpool. He also has a minor appearance in Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe and Deadpool vs Carnage.

Deadpool 3 seems like the perfect film for the character to make its big screen debut, given that Wade Wilson welcomed them into the fold after they bested another of Braun’s experiments, a vicious, superpowered dog he nicknamed Wolverine in battle. 

Deadpool and Wolverine is in UK cinemas now, and releases in the US on July 26. For more, check out our breakdown of the Marvel timeline, our roundup of everything Marvel Phase 5, or our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order.