Although it was rumored that Deadpool was changed to Agent X in an attempt to avoid paying royalties to Rob Liefeld, Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed debunked that one some time ago. Still, this was a cancellation that hurt at the time, and still stings a little now.
That said, this issue isn't quite as good as Gail Simone's previous two chapters in the conclusion of Agent X; since the preceding issues had the brain-dead (literally, at that time) Deadpool rediscovering his "winkie," his doppleganger Agent X first blowing Pool's brains out before trying to beat him to death, and a spirited discussion about magazines for dogs.
The conclusion is all Agent X and his crew, including Taskmaster, and Deadpool; in a final shoot-out against the telepathic assassin Black Swan. No, not Natalie Portman...although, I probably would've paid cash money for that.
In the end, Agent X is if not himself, content with being "a corpse kept alive with a stolen healing factor." Although this issue features one of his most iconic panels, Deadpool is a little more nonsensical than usual here. (Of course, he seems relatively stable, compared to how he seems to be written now...) That could be because he just came back from the dead, or I suspect Simone may have actually been a little out of practice writing Wade: she does a better job on the rest of the cast.
Deadpool would go on to Cable & Deadpool, and Agent X would eventually make a couple of guest appearances there. I don't think writer Fabian Nicieza liked Agent X that much, though; since under his pen X would have his DNA altered by A.I.M. and end up with arthritis and chronic obesity...a shame, since I liked having him around as the Player 2 version of Deadpool.
From Agent X #15, "Deadpool Walkin', part three: A Means to an End" Gail Simone, 'eulogizer.' Alvin Lee and Udon, 'embalming artists.' Cory Petit, 'floral arrangements.'
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