Superhero movies weren't The Marvel Cinematic Universe was born when Robert Downey Jr. declared, “I am Iron Man” — and there have been big hits, big flops, and a slew of comic book universes before the MCU. The history of the MCU is long and complicated, a virtual universe of copyright ownership and shady licensing deals, all competing against each other and jockeying for position until one true intellectual property god — some call him “Kevin” — had enough godlike influence to bring it all together under one corporate umbrella. The deal between Marvel Studios and Sony over Spider-Man has been a win-win for both parties. More importantly, it’s been a boon to fans who have been itching to see the webslinger mingle with the MCU’s top players. Ever since Mouse acquired 20th Century Fox, which had gotten into the superhero movie game early on, those same enthusiasts have been salivating at the idea that the Avengers, and others, would become part of the MCU. They will exchange jokes and sarcastic comments with the converts on the other side's intellectual property trails.
Ryan Reynolds knows this. And Deadpool, the character he has portrayed in Marvel in three different films and series, is happy to tell you, the viewer, that he knows Ryan Reynolds knows this, because the fan-favorite sarcastic character doesn’t let the fourth wall go unbroken for five seconds. In the comics, professional assassin Wade Wilson, who is similar in his intelligence and wit to the X-Men, was known for being horribly disfigured, skilled with weapons, and impossible to kill, even impossible to silence. He had an incredible ability to heal quickly, but his true superpower was his extreme disrespect—to the villains, to the people who wrote and drew his comics, and to the medium as a whole. The nickname “the mercenary with a mouth” was well-deserved.
Deadpool was already hugely popular among X-philes by the time Reynolds created a new screen version with a solo film in 2016 (to say the least about the character's 2009 experience). X-Men Origins: Wolverine, This movie was a perfect fit for the self-mocking actor, the beloved comic book character, and the genre that bordered on self-parody. Audiences were either good at superhero movies, tired of their ubiquity, or some combination of the two. The Deadpool movies were able to deliver the usual superhero rush while also commenting on how predictable and silly these big-budget movies can be. They didn’t insult the intelligence of their viewers but still managed to continue to indulge them. Reynolds could indulge in the snarky, self-deprecating persona that had quickly become his trademark. The studio had the license to sell T-shirts and print money. Everything was fine except the transition. That, and pairing him with another equally beloved antihero.
Yes, Deadpool and Wolverine This film brings both of those previous outlaw films into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, marking a bold new step toward full superhero synergy. The film still packs all the ultra-violence, shock-joke, and nihilistic humor you’d expect from a Reynolds side franchise, but now the mouthy mercenary can legitimately mention Thor and Kevin Feige in his asides. It also revives Hugh Jackman’s Logan, who you may know as Wolverine, for one last (?) round of what Deadpool refers to as “fun, mayhem, and leftovers.” The retractable-clawed fighter was always the alpha mutant of the X-Men films, pushing the boundaries of superhero comics in the 1980s and becoming the poster boy for male superhero movies in the early 2000s. Jackman retired the character after the 2017 film Logan This movie still stands as a landmark for superhero movies that aspire to be more than just a collection of shocks and blows. But thanks to the multiverse, along with what the actor referred to as unfinished business and what we can assume was a great deal in the end, the mutant and the man who played him are back. You can literally hear the excited fans screaming in ecstasy before collapsing onto their couches in agony.
For example: Wolverine is still just a bag of adamantium-encrusted bones, which is a slight hurdle since Deadpool needs this X-Man alive. Once, Wilson auditioned to join the Avengers. No matter which of the surrounding MCU heroes interviewed him, he didn’t get the part. Six years later, Wilson has hung up his alter ego and is selling cars for a living. Then a bureaucrat from the Tennessee Valley Authority — the time-variance authority, you know, from Loki In a TV series called Paradox (Matthew Macfayden), Wade is called in. They try to tie up some scattered threads, and because the “anchor” in his world, Logan, sacrificed himself, they decide to shut down this particular reality. Enough is enough. He says, “The multiverse doesn't need a babysitter. It needs a mercy killer.”
But hey, if Wilson wants to get back into the Deadpool costume and insult and/or kill people in the Sacred Timeline, Earth-616, or Vegiverse, he's in! He loves the idea of finally making friends with the Avengers, but he can't let his friends and loved ones perish. Armed with a device that allows him to jump from one world to another, he sets out to find Logan— any Logan – who is still alive and kicking. He finally settled on someone who looks remarkably like the one we met at the beginning. X man (2000), but more drunk and depressing. This version appears to be the “worst version of Logan,” but that would prevent the extinction of Deadpool's timeline. Except that Paradox still plans to go ahead and wipe the slate clean, and send both heroes to the “trash heap” – a no man's land where, according to 20th Century Fox's half-buried slogan, failed intellectual property and franchise dreams go to die.
Hugh Jackman in “Deadpool & Wolverine”.
Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios
At this point, we’ve already watched Deadpool slaughter people while dancing to NSync’s “Bye Bye Bye” — the cheesy needle moves are strong in this scene — and we’ve watched Reynolds do his “Aren’t you stinky?!” act ad nauseam. A montage of Wolfie’s alter egos gives a brief history of a character whose real-world rivals are only Batman and Spider-Man, while references to things like the “John Byrne era” are dropped on real-world heads. Deadpool isn’t just an opportunity for Marvel to poke fun at itself or for Reynolds to throw slobber balls at an industry he’s a big part of; the character is actually the identity of superhero movies as a whole, relentlessly critiquing clichés and rolling his eyes at the dark revisionism that has turned antiheroes like Wolverine into teen idols. That the mercenary does all of this in the voice of Van Wilder and within the confines of a typical superhero movie is impressive, but not as much as the franchise’s creators would have you believe. It’s prefabricated subversion.
Once Deadpool and Wolverine The film enters trash-heap territory, however, embracing the franchise’s already-core aspects to an absurd degree and never looking back. Reynolds, director Shawn Levy, and co-screenwriters Rhett Reese, Zeb Wells, and Paul Wernick have designed this team-up to be an R-rated buddy comedy and road movie, with the main characters occasionally pausing to slice, stab, shoot, and beat each other up. But this is really just the most elaborate inside joke ever conceived in a Supernatural movie, devoted to turning the island of misfit toys into an excuse for visual gags and cameos—some you know, some we won’t—so much so that he starts digging his own anus. (Given Deadpool’s anal addiction, we assume he’ll appreciate the phrase.) Even resident supervillain Emma Corrin is there for the world-building that has been established beforehand. The whole thing relies on a deep knowledge of not just superhero movies, but the culture that those movies have produced and served. Either you get really excited because a decades-old, discontinued project is getting a lot of praise here or you just don't understand everything.
Other films based on the multiverse such as: Spider-Man: No Way Home And the light They took advantage of the anything-goes mentality by mixing and matching past and present character incarnations, timelines, reboots and resets. D&W This doubles down on the idea in a way that strips away everything but the banal answers and nostalgia. And since Levy and Reynolds also free man (2021), a similarly IP-obsessed comedy that mistook branding for genuine creativity, shouldn’t be surprising. It’s disappointing, though, and no amount of late-night or emotional rumination about seeing Jackman rock his scowling, claw-like face again can erase the feeling of being cheated. The Deadpool movies were once a much-needed counterpoint to all the overly serious Marvel cinematic stories. They still act like the gruff clown in the back row, but now they’re just more white noise dressed in red, yellow, and black.
Speaking of emotions: There's a post-credits scene, as usual, but while the cast and crew list is rolling, you also get a montage of deleted scenes from Fox's superhero production, starting with the first scene. X man The movie is dedicated to the failed Fantastic Four movies. Set to the tune of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” for maximum nostalgia, after two hours of slapstick, gore, and snarky one-liners about pedophile scout leaders, the movie wants you to soak in all the feels. It’s cheap, but it’s also revealing. We’ve already seen an organization try to suppress a timeline and fail. Watch this long eulogy for Fox’s former superhero squad being absorbed by a bigger one, and you’ll find another one doing the same thing and succeeding.
