Gwenpool: Believe It

"Gwenpool: Believe It" is a four-issue existentialist comic book graphic novel written by Christopher Hastings and drawn by Gurihiru as the first volume of Unbelievable Gwenpool. Published by Marvel Comics, the story revolves around Gwen Poole, a girl from the real world transported to the Marvel Universe, as her attempt to become a superhero is immediately thrown for a loop after M.O.D.O.K. Superior executes her best friend and conscripts her as a henchman: part of the Agents of M.O.D.O.K. (Mercenary Organization Dedicated Only to Killing).^[3] The volume also includes the 2015 Howard the Duck storyline "Ms. Poole if You're Nasty" and the anthology Gwenpool Holiday Special, reprinted as "Issue #0" of Unbelievable Gwenpool, set immediately before the volume and following Gwen as she gets her costume and codename from Big Ronnie, sets off the fall of Black Cat's criminal empire, teams up with Howard the Duck, sells a virus to and steals it back from Hydra, and faces down Orto the Swordsman while alone, before attending She-Hulk's Christmas party and singing karaoke with Kamala Khan.

The series received a universally positive critical reception,^[4][5] and was adapted as the Gwenpool Missions of the 2017 video game Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 (along with Ms. Poole if You're Nasty and Head of M.O.D.O.K.), with Gwen Poole voiced by Becca Stewart, as well as a 2018 episode of the animated web series Marvel TL;DR, with Gwen Poole voiced by Brenna Hines. The story's narrative was continued in Head of M.O.D.O.K. and M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games.^[6]

In "Ms. Poole if You're Nasty", the Black Cat hires Howard the Duck to find out who has been killing her lieutenants and stole a virus from her she was planning on re-selling for profit. Howard then finds the perpetrator, Gwen Poole, to have been listening in his office, who reveals that after being transported to the Marvel Universe from the real world (during the events of Howard's previous Howard the Duck storyline), she acquired a superhero costume from Big Ronnie to avoid becoming an "extra", and used knowledge of previous Marvel Comics she had read about Black Cat to begin undoing the anti-hero's villain arc and dismantle her criminal empire, selling the virus she stole to Hydra under the logic that the Avengers would deal with the virus and she could bask in the profits herself. However, after Howard explains that the Avengers are currently in space, Gwen realises she will have to deal with it herself, and joins Howard in infiltrating Hydra to steal the virus. After mistaking a brunette Hydra leader for Madame Hydra, Gwen recovers the virus with Howard, who returns it to Black Cat, before Gwen buys it back from her (disguised as the one who sold it to her) using the profits from her Hydra deal. Howard warns Gwen she will have to be more careful if she wants to be a hero.^[7]

In "Ever Green", the main story of the Gwenpool Holiday Special, She-Hulk struggles to organise a Christmas party that Kamala Khan, Wade Wilson, Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, and Gwen Poole will later attend. In "Ms. Grinch", prior to attending the party, Kamala struggles with not having the same thoughts about Christmas as everyone else due to her heritage. In "Hawkeye vs. Deadpool vs. the Holidays", prior to attending the party, Clint Barton and Wade Wilson end up on the hunt for a pickpocket who stole a wallet from one of Barton’s friends. In "Gwenpool’s Holiday Special", prior to attending the party, Gwen Poole is paid to kill Orto the Swordsman by a man whose brother Orto killed, Gwen following a YouTube tutorial for sword-fighting to prepare before instead paying for bombs to use. While fighting Orto, he mistakes Gwen's full name, "Gwen Poole", for "Gwenpool". Afterwards, depressed by being alone at Christmas, Gwen accepts an invitation to the part from Howard the Duck, and proceeds to meet Kamala at the party and sing karaoke with her.^[8]

On gaining a sidekick, Cecil, after folioing a bank robber, Gwen's attempt to become an established superhero is thrown for a loop after M.O.D.O.K. Superior executes Cecil and conscripts her as a henchman to be part of his Agents of M.O.D.O.K. (Mercenary Organization Dedicated Only to Killing), alongside Batroc the Leaper, the Terrible Eye, and MegaTony, the group facing down Thor (Jane Foster). Later, after explaining her past to Batroc and getting a fake Earth-616 history from Doctor Strange by calling in one of Big Ronnie's favours, Gwen defeats M.O.D.O.K. Superior and assumes command of the Agents of M.O.D.O.K. herself.

The volume received universally positive reviews.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]}

• The 2017 video game Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 adapts the events of Ms. Poole if You're Nasty, Believe It, and Head of M.O.D.O.K. as the plot of its bonus missions, hosted by Gwen Poole (voiced by Becca Stewart) and known as the "Gwenpool Missions".^[19] In the narrative of the missions, Gwen is presented as having been transported to the game from Earth-616, after previously having been transported to Earth-616 from the real world.
• A 2018 episode of the animated web series Marvel TL;DR adapts the first Gwenpool Holiday Special, with Gwen Poole (voiced by Brenna Hines) recapping the events of the story.^[20]
• In a behind-the-scenes for the 2023 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) feature film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Darren Cross / M.O.D.O.K. is revealed to have originally been designed to sport a mohawk over the film, adapting the look of M.O.D.O.K. Superior from Believe It, though he sports a shaved head in the final film.^[21]

• Gwenpool: Believe It at Marvel.com