Deadpool (Wade Wilson) is one of the most indestructible characters in Marvel. With an impressive healing factor and an immortality curse, he is basically impossible to kill.
The key word here, though, is “basically”. As it turns out, there are several ways Deadpool can be killed, though in most cases, he comes back to life. Not in every case, though.
So, how can Deadpool die? Can he survive a nuke, space, acid, or lava?
Deadpool would most likely survive a nuclear weapon, space, or lava; these conditions would temporarily kill him, but he would regenerate. Acid might be able to kill him permanently if it could dissolve every cell in his body before his healing factor kicked in.
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Can Deadpool Survive a Nuclear Weapon?
Yes, Deadpool can survive a nuclear weapon. It seems hard to believe since a weapon of this type would obliterate his atomic structure, but this is Deadpool we’re talking about.
All it takes for him to regenerate is for a single cell of his body to remain.
So, while a nuke would blast him to bits and temporarily kill him, it would not eliminate every cell of his body. Thus, he could regenerate from whatever is left of him after the blast, coming back to life.
Can Deadpool Survive in Space?
Since Deadpool was cursed with immortality, it seems reasonable that he could survive anything, including time in space.
Fans generally agree with this concept, though they debate on how he would survive the lack of oxygen.
Some suggest that he would be trapped in a cycle of asphyxiating and regenerating–in other words, the conditions of space would cause him to die over and over again, only for his healing factor and immortality to bring him back to life.
Others suggest that his healing factor would supply his body with the necessary oxygen to keep him alive, even if he is not breathing it in.
Still others suggest that he would go unconscious due to the extreme conditions in space, but would remain unconscious without ever dying.
Can Deadpool Survive Acid Exposure?
Some fans speculate that acid might be Deadpool’s only real weakness. Why? Because a corrosive chemical can dissolve body tissue.
If Deadpool were fully submerged in a corrosive acid, it could dissolve every cell of his body, leaving nothing from which he could regenerate.
The acid would have to work quickly enough to counteract the effects of his healing factor. And we can’t forget that he was cursed with immortality, which may also prevent him from dying even if his body dissolves.
The Secret Wars version of Deadpool was killed in this way when Dracula sealed him in an acid-filled casket and dumped it into the sea. However, he still returned as a ghost.
So yes, acid is an effective way to kill Deadpool, but it might be a more permanent solution if not for his healing factor and immortality.
Can Deadpool Survive Lava?
Deadpool survived incineration on multiple occasions, so he could probably survive lava. At least, if the lava killed him, his healing factor would regenerate him.
The high heat from lava would most likely destroy his body cells, but may not destroy him. As long as ashes containing a single cell of his body remained, he would continue to come back to life.
He would probably be stuck in a cycle of dying and resurrecting unless he could find a way to escape the lava, but he would not be killed.
Therefore, he would continue to survive, though it would be a painful existence.
Can Deadpool Be Killed? How?
Deadpool can be killed in various ways–keeping him dead is the hard part. Even if he is killed, he regenerates.
In other words, being killed is a minor inconvenience that slows him down. It isn’t permanent–in most cases, anyway.
In the comic Deadpool: The End, it seems Deadpool found a way to die permanently.
In this storyline, he negotiates with Mephisto, who agrees to break his immortality curse if he kills his daughter, Ellie. Ellie, an old woman at the time, helps him accomplish this by designing a bomb to destroy them both.
The bomb not only incinerates their bodies, but then opens a black hole which traps all remaining traces of them inside itself before collapsing. This destroys both of their bodies, down to the last cell.
In this way, Deadpool completes his end of the bargain with Mephisto, breaking the immortality curse while also eliminating all traces of his body so he can’t regenerate.
Can Deadpool Feel Pain?
Deadpool can feel pain, but he tolerates it more than the average human could. One reason for this is that he has gotten used to pain.
Even when he is not killed in the most brutal ways imaginable, he is experiencing pain because of the cancer growing in his body.
It was this cancer that initially led to his receiving the healing factor, which came from Wolverine. And, while the healing factor continuously heals him from the cancer, it also causes the cancer to mutate and grow back.
In other words, his body is always battling this cancer.
So, Deadpool knows how to deal with pain. Having spent years dealing with cancer–not to mention being shot, incinerated, exploded, decapitated, dissolved in acid, and killed in countless other ways–he built up an incredible pain tolerance.
Conclusion
Deadpool’s healing factor and immortality curse help him survive brutal attempts on his life that would kill an average human. Though he can be killed, his body regenerates from any remaining body cells, restoring him to life.
That said, he seemingly ended this regeneration cycle with the help of his daughter in Deadpool: The End. He made a deal with Mephisto to break the curse, then his body was destroyed in a bomb; thus, neither the curse nor his healing factor could bring him back to life.
Sarah Hood is a freelance content writer and editor with a love for all things Star Wars. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, singing, and spending time in the great outdoors.