Deadpool & Wolverine

There’s a key moment in Deadpool & Wolverine, the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hugh Jackman, marking 10 appearances in 23 years as clawed killer and tortured hero Logan, bare-chested and ripped, gives a classic superhero pose, only for Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool to give a lascivious leer through the Merc with a Mouth’s trademark red-and-black mask.

The fan service runs deep. Yes, it’s the return of two of superherodom’s biggest stars, made even more miraculous because Jackman had seemingly wrapped up his time in tights with the immaculate bow of Logan. Yes, it’s a big action scene that’s been replicated in the comics for years but only seen on screen in a bastardized version in the execrable X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But it’s also Reynolds letting the audience know that, yes, it’s OK to ogle superhero eye candy.

The third in the Deadpool series, Deadpool & Wolverine brings in Marvel newcomer Shawn Levy as director, and there are elements of both of his prior collaborations with Reynolds – the reference-heavy goofiness of Free Guy and The Adam Project’s time-hopping sci-fi antics – that make him a sensible fit. But then, mostly his job is to create the best possible context for this eagerly awaited mashup of the two most popular characters of 20th Century Fox’s run of Marvel flicks, before the studio was bought by Disney and their films folded into the MCU. Or, rather, some of them. Multiverses are tricky that way.

Wait, wait, come back. Yes, Marvel’s been in a dry spell, and the convoluted Multiverse arc is partially to blame. But Deadpool has always been about meta, so when he gets the offer from Time Variance Authority agent Paradox (Macfadyen, channeling petty bureaucracy perfectly) to pop across timelines to do that Capital-A avenging thing, of course he says yes. Only problem is that his old universe will die in the process, which is an excuse for him to bring Wolverine back. Or rather, a Wolverine. To do this, real-world MCU supremo Kevin Feige has turned all the “no” switches to “yes” and unleashed the most violent, funny, self-critiquing, cameo-laden MCU film imaginable. Deadpool even gets to tell us, to our faces, that the Multiverse sucks.

So whether you’re here for obscure characters like Charles Xavier’s lost twin Cassandra Nova (Corrin), grisly sword vs. claw fights, queer comedy, MCU mythology, the cover of Uncanny X-Men #251, or just Jackman and Reynolds having a blast being hams, Deadpool & Wolverine has you covered.

So far, so fan service. But what Jackman, Levy, and Reynolds get is that the best Fox movies featured violent characters trying to be better. That’s why Logan worked, and it’s a theme that has rippled through the Deadpool films. After all, Wade is the most amoral of villain-killers: as he said in the first Deadpool movie, “I may be super, but I am no hero.” Deadpool & Wolverine flips that script. This is a Deadpool that wants to be a hero but doesn’t know how and entertainingly teams him with the character doomed forever to be a superhero. Above all – and we’re in a franchise here, folks, never forget this – Deadpool & Wolverine transfers both characters to the Sacred Timeline while still giving all the other Fox heroes the farewell they never got.