Lyndonville native spreads joy as Deadpool character at parades, special events

Photo by Tom Rivers: Matt Tabor dressed as Deadpool for the second straight year in Lyndonville’s Fourth of July parade. Tabor appears as the character and other versions of Deadpool to help spread some fun.

LYNDONVILLE – By day Matt Tabor works for National Fuel as a serviceman. He has been doing that job for 10 years.

On weekends Tabor often is in costume in one of his Deadpool characters. He was in the Lyndonville Fourth of July parade on Tuesday as Deadpool, a Marvel Comics character that Tabor likes for his very sarcastic sense of humor.

“I talk the same way and I identify with the character,” said Tabor, a Lyndonville native who now lives in Grand Island.

He creates his own costumes and has different variations of Deadpool. There is Darthpool, Pandapool, Venompool, Santapool and Deadpool Kid.

He also appears as X-Men Trainee, Hannibal Lecter, Ghostface, The Grumpy Pterodactyl, Aquaman and King Shark.

Photos courtesy of Matt Tabor: Matt Tabor has created other Deadpool characters including SantaPool and Wade Wilson, the Deadpool character portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in the X-Men and Marvel movies. The photo at right shows Tabor without a mask.

Tabor, 50, has been a big enthusiast for making characters since he was a kid and part of local haunted houses as fundraisers during Halloween.

He went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for special effects and makeup. For many years he appeared at events (comic cons) as a costumed vampire character before shifting to Deadpool about four years ago.

“It brings smiles to peoples’ faces and during Covid that’s what people needed,” Tabor said.

Matt Tabor’s Deadpool characters also include Darthpool and Pandapool.

He used to go to the grocery store wearing his Deadpool costume to try to lift peoples’ spirits during the peak of the Covid restrictions.

Tabor is part of the Western New York Cosplayers, a group with about 35 members who dress up as superheroes and villains. They often visit sick children in hospitals and appear at charity events.

Tabor said his schedule is getting busier and he is becoming more well known as Deadpool and some of the variations he has come up with. He recently attended comic conventions in Watertown and in Vermont.

Tabor makes his appearances, “work permitting.” He will try to keep Lyndonville in his schedule on the Fourth of July so he can visit friends and family, while bringing some added joy along the parade route. He is the son of Mike and Faye Tabor.

For more information, check Tabor’s website at www.716pool.com.