Comics to read after watching Avengers Endgame

If Avengers Endgame left you hungry for more comic-book-time-travel-nonsense like it did me, here are three of my favorite stories that involve time getting twist-turned upside down.

And, yes, before you ask, all of these stories feature Deadpool and Cable. What can I say? Some of Marvel's best-written time-travel happens at the hands of Wade Wilson and Nathan Summers. Look at it as a way to get ahead of the curve on Marvel’s segway from an Avengers-centric universe to one that includes X-Characters.

1. Deadpool VS. X-Force

Deadpool VS. X-Force -- which originally printed in 2014 on the pages of Deadpool VS. X-Force: Time to Die #1-4 -- aims to rewrite Cable and Deadpool's past by rewriting their future. Man, if you thought Endgame time travel was confusing, just wait.

Francis Talbot -- whose lab will one day be instrumental in the creation of Cable's time machine -- has hired Deadpool to go back in time to save his grandson who recently died while serving his country... or at least that's what Talbot tells Cable.

What ensues is a time-traveling escapade that sees Cable's OG X-Force -- Warpath, Boom Boom, Cannonball, and Domino -- chase Deadpool through time to try and stop him from rewriting history.

X-Force trails Deadpool through the American Revolution, American Civil War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, and a version of the present that was altered by Deadpool's actions.

Deadpool Vs. X-Force delivers a classic Cable-chasing-Deadpool-through-time story that is well written by Duane Swierczynski (Cable, Immortal Iron Fist), and Pepe Larraz's (Star Wars: Kanan, Avengers: Rage of Ultron) illustration is beautifully and brightly colored by Nolan Woodard (X-Men Forever, Marvel Adventures).

2. Despicable Deadpool Vol. 1: Deadpool Kills Cable

In the first few issues of Deadpool Kills Cable, Deadpool is trying to... kill Cable. But, Nate -- and us True Believers -- are unaware of the motives of Wade's assault on Nate.

It turns out that Hydra Cap hit Deadpool with a virus as to make him the instrument of the Prestons' deaths. Wade couldn't find Cable, so he turned to Stryfe, an evil clone of Cable, to help him save the Prestons.

In exchange for the five lives of the Prestons, Deadpool would be in Stryfe's debt for taking the lives of five people -- the caveat being that Deadpool would have to agree to the terms before knowing the names of his targets.

Of course, the first name Stryfe gives to Deadpool is his old pal Cable's. This leads to what plays out in the beautifully rugged and extremely bloody pages of Deadpool Kills Cable, which are illustrated by Scott Koblish (Doctor Strange, Star Wars: Age of Rebellion) and colored by Nick Filardi (Gambit: From the Marvel Vault).

Written by Gerry Duggan (Hulk, Fantastic Four) Deadpool Kills Cable is a fun and gory read that only complicates this complicated bromance further, and in doing so, creates a classic Deadpool and Cable story -- which originally printed in 2017 on the pages of Despicable Deadpool #287-291.

3. Deadpool & Cable: Split Second

At the beginning of Split Second, Deadpool and his S.H.I.E.L.D. tac team save Dr. Carl "Not-Apollo-Creed" Weathers from Hydra.

Dr. Weathers is a scientist that was working on time-travel, who is scheduled to present his research at a conference in Manhattan the following day.

Wade heads home to see the missus and gets a call from his good pal Hydra Bob, who tells DP that Dr. Weathers hadn't been abducted by Hydra, but had made a deal with them that he decided to back out of.

Wrapping up his call with Bob, Cable pulls up on Deadpool and tells him something like "I can't let you kill Dr. Weathers." Then, Deadpool tells Cable that he wasn't planning on doing that, and the pair decide to go stakeout the conference and see why Deadpool might kill the good doctor.

What follows is best described as a bunch of time-jumping malarkey that sees Cable trying to stitch together his existence from the inside, while Deadpool hops through time trying stop the time anomalies created by the very existence of Nathan Summers.

Fabian Nicieza (Age of Apocalypse, Conan Chronicles) and Reilly Brown's (Divided We Fall, Incredible Hercules) Split Second takes readers on a journey through time that also serves as a pretty decent history lesson about Cable's life.

Not nearly as "cartoon-y" as Deadpool VS. X-Force, and nowhere near as gory as Deadpool Kills Cable, Brown's illustrations and Jim Charalampidis' (Generation Hope, Wolverine: Season One) colors in Split Second pop perfectly off the page and are just gritty enough to tell this story.

*** This book has just one caveat, though. The digital version is only available in what's called Guided Mode, which guides readers through each panel. I am not a fan of Guided Mode, but it usually doesn't matter because most digital books have the option of being read in or out of Guided Mode. It has animations and reads like it was designed for Guided Mode, which is kind of cool, but reading like this, to me, just feels claustrophobic and I don't like it. So, if you prefer to read comics more traditionally, this book is best read in print.

There you have it, my recommended readings if you want some more time-travel to twist your brain in different directions, pick up one of the afformented books.

For more comic coverage, keep it here at RED News.