Billy Kid is almost a bit of a joke character in Zenless Zone Zero. At least, that’s how he’s presented. You meet him as he’s providing backup to two incredibly capable Agents, Anby and Nicole, and he never really moves out of that background role. But his importance comes through in his personality, the way he never hides who he is, and the comedic relief he’s always on-hand to provide without lowering the tone.
Surprisingly, I’ve been unable to find a decent source on who the English voice actor for Billy Kid is. I’ve seen some fans say they think it’s Troy Baker, while others are leaning toward Clifford Chapain, though there’s little evidence for either. Whoever it is, between their voice and the writing for the character, I can’t think of Billy Kid as anything other than a more wholesome version of Deadpool.
Sure, Billy Kid doesn’t have swords or the ability to regenerate, both of which are key to Deadpool’s character. However, it’s the mannerisms, the things he says, the way he says them, and how he acts in every scene that has me drawing comparisons between the two.
For starters, every time I select Billy Kid in Zenless Zone Zero‘s Agent screen, he tells me, “I’ve got two guns, so…double the accuracy!” It’s just a little quip, but enough of a change from the serious notes every other Agent will give you that he’s hard to ignore. It’s also one of the many voice lines where he sounds extremely similar to Ryan Reynolds, who plays Deadpool, solidifying the connection between the two even more for me.
Adding to this, there’s a scene around the game’s first real boss fight where this initial core group of characters, Billy Kid, Nicole, and Anby, are joking about how the enemy is going to show up when their theme song plays. Billy Kid bravely says, “They won’t have time to play their theme song,” while readying his guns, but is immediately almost blasted off the face of the planet by the said boss.
He’s rescued by Anby and utters, “My predictions were out-predicted!” from the floor behind his fellow Agent. Like I said, he’s a bit of a joke and provides comic relief in serious moments, but isn’t that what Deadpool does? While the Marvel cinematic universe has brought the Avengers together to conquer the biggest foes any of them have ever faced, Deadpool is fighting on his own from the sidelines, calling his villain Thanos, despite him not being, because Josh Brolin plays both.
Even in Deadpool & Wolverine, we’re seeing this antihero who missed out on saving the world thrust into a role where that’s exactly what he has to do, and he still calls on someone else to help with the job, so it’s not all on him.
But I think we can look even deeper than this. Billy Kid is a cyborg. While there are plenty of different races in Zenless Zone Zero, he’s a bit of an outsider because he’s the only non-organic (that I know of) Agent. Deadpool, too, is an outsider; his mutation forced upon him caused him so much pain that he’s gone too far off the deep end. All he can do is laugh and make fun of the world because every moment of his life is painful.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been an outsider plenty of times in my life, and humor is a great way to mask that. It also allows you to break the ice in conversations and make yourself less of one. It’s a universal language we all speak, and I think that’s a big part of why Billy Kid is so instantly lovable.
Deadpool is crass, swears a lot, and goes hell for leather on ultraviolence, blood and gore, and acts first for himself over anyone else. Billy Kid is a team player through and through, raining bullets down on enemies from afar and always hopping into a fight with a cry of support for whomever he’s jumping in next to.
Neither of these characters is in the battle for glory. Deadpool usually fights for revenge or himself in some way, while Billy Kid fights for justice, upholding the values of the Starlight Knights, a group of TV superheroes he admires.
He certainly has his moments, but I don’t think you can call Deadpool wholesome that often. Billy Kid takes that character and shows you what he’d look like as part of a team without the swords and foul mouth. I’m not saying he’s better, but he’s certainly charismatic and a breath of fresh air compared to both Deadpool and the rest of the Agents in Zenless Zone Zero.
