Deadpool and Wolverine Films Ranked
4. Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)
Most people would agree that Logan was a fitting end for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. There was, however, one thing missing from his iconic run as the character: a true team up with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool.
Deadpool is approached by the Time Variance Authority (the T.V.A.) to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he decides to recruit a variant of Wolverine to help save his universe from extinction instead.
Placing Deadpool in the MCU increases the size of his playground. The meta jokes have never been better, and now Deadpool can riff on the post-Endgame slump that many fans believe the MCU is in. These jokes are rewarding for long-term MCU fans as much as comic book fans, who’ll gleefully pick up the more obscure references. The cameos deliver on the surprise factor and add to the meta awareness of the film, but most surprisingly they stick around for longer than expected, allowing most to feel like genuine characters.
Where the film falls flat is in the rest of its humour. Some of the recurring gags end up being more awkward than laugh out loud, and there are only so many times a slow-motion shot of Dogpool set to REO Speedwagon can be seen without cueing an eye roll. Most dammingly, the constant dick jokes suggest that the Deadpool schtick may be overplayed.
The filmmakers handle Wolverine in a respectful way, and most of the film’s strongest elements surround his character, while Jackman’s chemistry with Reynolds is rightly the film’s biggest selling point, ensuring there are enough good moments to distract from the relatively weak script and loose story. In many ways a victory lap for both of these characters, Deadpool and Wolverine will ultimately go down as a success for fans.
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3. Deadpool (2016)
After the character assassination of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and years of development hell, the Merc with a Mouth’s first live-action feature adventure was a long time coming.
Wade Wilson, a former Special Forces operative turned mercenary, is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He undergoes an experimental treatment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers but horribly disfigured. Adopting the alter ego Deadpool, he embarks on a mission to hunt down the man responsible for his transformation, Ajax (Ed Skrein). Deadpool is joined by X-Men members Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), and is motivated by his love for Vanessa, giving the film an unexpected romantic twist.
2016 was the perfect year for Deadpool. The MCU was firmly established, DC was finally getting the cogs of its shared universe turning, and B-list heroes like Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy had become household names. Superheroes were everywhere and their appeal was universal, so a Deadpool movie felt like a joke that everyone could be involved in. Meta jokes, such as Deadpool asking Colossus if Professor X would be “McAvoy or Stewart”, were honest and necessary jabs at the absurdity of the genre. The film is still quoted today to highlight when comic book movies do something generic – superhero landing anybody?
The low budget compared to its contemporaries forced invention, ensuring the filmmakers were more creative. The central narrative isn’t the most original, but the flashback structure allowed the Deadpool character to become more fleshed out. Tim Miller’s over-the-top action was also fun, but the real star in Deadpool was and continues to be Ryan Reynolds. His love for the character is no secret, and thankfully that passion is captured on screen. His trademarked witty humour goes hand in hand with Deadpool’s obscenity.
Deadpool was a bigger success than anyone imagined, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time in 2016. A genius marketing campaign and respect for the source material allowed Deadpool to successfully leave his mark on pop culture.
