Deadpool & Wolverine might be the most self-referential movie ever filmed by Marvel Studios. Deadpool and its sequel chafed against the fourth wall, but Deadpool & Wolverine takes a chainsaw to it within the fir饾劰st five minutes and spends the rest of its two-hour runtime gr饾悊inding whatever鈥檚 left into dust.
It helps that the film has plenty of material to work with. After Disney bought Twentieth Century Fox in 2019, Marvel Studios regained the film rights to the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and a healthy handful of other popular Marvel characters. Deadpool & Wolverine presses this advantage to its limits, making so many celebrity cameos and Easte馃厾r Eggs that it鈥檚 hard to track them 馃崈all.
I鈥檝e watched Deadpool & Wolverine twice and left the theater with a page or two of cameo-related notes. So, let鈥檚 run down the list and unmask every cameo, reference, and Easter Egg in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Logan’s skeleton’s seen better days
Hugh Jackman鈥檚 received a terrific send-off in 2017鈥檚 Logan, sacrificing his life to save his daughter Laura and the next generation of mutants. Unfortunately, Deadpool & Wolverine reve嗖宎ls Wolverine was the 鈥淎nchor Being鈥� of Earth 100馃摉05, the reality in which Fox鈥檚 X-Men films took place, and his death triggered the slow death of that universe.
Desperate to save his timeline, Deadpool steals one of the Time Variance Authority鈥檚 TemPads to try to 鈥渇ix鈥� his 馃world鈥檚 Wolverine. Unfortunately, all that鈥檚 left of Wolverine鈥檚 body is an adamantium-coated skeleton, which Deadpool uses to solo a platoon of T.V.A. soldiers in the film鈥檚 in-media-res opening scene.
Happy Hogan tells Deadpool “No”
Jon Favreau鈥檚鈥� Harold 鈥淗appy鈥� Hogan has been a staple of the MCU since the first Iron Man movie, graduating f馃崚rom Tony Stark鈥檚 put-upon chauffeur/bodyguard to a trusted member of his boss鈥檚 inner circle. So, it鈥檚 only fitting that Happy is the first MCU character Deadpool interacts with.
Deadpool 2 ended with Deadpool 鈥渂urrowing鈥� Cable鈥檚 time-traveling device and jumping back and forth through time. Deadpool and Wolverine reveal Dea饾劰dpool made a quick stop in Earth-616, the MCU鈥檚 鈥淪acred T馃叿imeline,鈥� and asked to join the Avengers. Happy, understandably, turned him down.
Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor reminds us he had a heart
As the film moves into Happy鈥檚 office, it reveals a treasure trove of MCU Easter Eggs. One of the most prominent is Tony Stark鈥檚 Arc Reactor, which sits鈾� on a small stand on Happy鈥檚 desk. This pacemaker-o饞壈n-steroids was the only thing keeping Stark alive after his fateful encounter with the Ten Rings, and it became a symbol of the character鈥檚 personal growth.
Captain America’s Shield judges Deadpool
Captain America鈥檚 star-spangled shield (or a very accurate replica of it) holds a prominent place of honor in Happy鈥檚 office. Steve Rogers passed his mantle to Sam Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but his legacy looms over Deadpool as he tries (and fails) to 馃惣become an Avenger.
Pepper Potts back in the spotlight (sort off)
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts was the center of Tony Stark鈥檚 world and a significant player in his heel-turn from cold-blooded CEO to noble hero. After her boss-turned-husband sacrificed himself at the end of Avengers Endgame, Pepper, fo馃r understa鉀刵dable reasons, stepped out of the spotlight.
The post-Endgame MCU films have referenced Pepper a handful of times, so naturally, Deadpool and Wolverine does, too. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, Pepper shows up in Happy鈥檚 office on the cover of a copy of Forbes magazine.
Deadpool and Thor’s touching moment
Footage from multiple MCU films plays during Deadpool鈥檚 visit to the T.V.A鈥檚 headquarters. The lengthiest clip is an altered version of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki鈥檚 鈥渄eath鈥� scene from 2013 Thor: The Dark World, with Deadpool taking Loki鈥檚 place in Ch戋抜rs Hemmsworth鈥檚 Thor鈥檚 arms.
Never look down on short Wolverine
After he learns that saving his timeline鈥檚 native Wolverine is impossible, Deadpool embarks on a reality-hopping odyssey to find a new Wolverine that can become his reality鈥檚 new Anchor Being. One of the first Wolverine he runs into is a few sizes too s馃mall, standing a full head-and-shoulders shorter than the Merc with the Mouth.
This Wolverine戛�, whom Deadpool calls a 鈥渃omic-accurate short king,鈥� is about the same height as Wolv馃悎erine in the comics. For the record, .
Weapon Omega welcomes Deadpool to the Age of Apocalypse
One of the Wolverines Deadpool crosses 馃尦paths with during the 鈥淲olverine鈥� montage is a vicious and poorly groomed specimen that instantly attacks him. This variant of Wolverine is identical to the one that appeared岍氠岍氠岍氠鈦も仱鈦も仱岍氣仱鈦も仱鈦め鈦も仱鈦も仱岍氿拃贬岍氠 in the Age of Apocalypse, an alternate timeline in which the X-Men villain Apocalypse took over the Earth.
Patch keeps it classy (and violent)
Another Wolverine that appears during Deadpool鈥檚 search is a 醼ell-dressed version with an eyepatch playing cards at a fancy casino. Comic fans will recognize this Wolverine as 鈥淧atch,鈥� an alias Wolverine took馃儚 up during an undercover mission on the lawless island of Madripoor.
The Hulk hands Deadpool his first Avengers team-up
While Wolverine has become a staple of the X-Men, his first appearance saw him go claws-to-fists with the Incredible Hulk. Deadpool encounters a Wolverine wearing the costume he wore in The Incredible Hulk #180. The Hulk-revealing shot that follows references the鈾� issue鈥檚馃厴 iconic cover, drawn by Todd Macfarlane.
Crucified Wolverine is not okay, Deadpool
One of the most horrifying scenes in Deadpool and Wolverine sees Deadpool behold a crucified Wolverine. This scene references a famous one in comics where cybernetic mutant-hunters known as the Reavers crucify Wolverine, wh饾摪o suffers a traumatizing hallucinat馃惣ion.
The Cavillrine
When Disney got the X-Men鈥檚 film rights back, Marvel fans wondered who would play Wolverine in the MCU. Henry Cavill was always one of the most popular choices for the role, but he became the most popular after his time as the DC Extended Universe鈥檚 Superman and The Witcher鈥檚 Geralt ended.
Deadpool and Wolverine gave MCU fans a taste of what a Wolverine played by Cavill would be like. T馃挒his Wolverine, dubbed 鈥淭he Cavillrine,鈥� doesn鈥檛 stick around long, but I have a hard time believing this will be the last time we see him in the MCU.
Rest in peace, Twentieth Century Fox
Despite their best efforts, Twentieth Century Fox鈥檚 Marvel films never fou軎渘d their footing. Their failure to win over audiences contributed to Fox鈥檚 eventual downfall. So when Deadpool and Wolverine fall into 鈥淭he Void,鈥� it鈥檚 almost poetic that one of the first things they encounter is a ruined, statuesque version of the iconic Fox logo.
The Void’s Artifacts
Artifacts from other Marvel films litter the barren fields of the Void. Here鈥檚 a list of all I caught: a S.H.I.E.L.D Hellicarrier, Peter Quill鈥檚 Milano starship, the foot of a mutant-hunting Sentinel robot, Odi馃Ιn鈥檚 Palace, and the Black Order鈥檚 Q Ship.
Chris Evans’ Human Torch fools us all
Chris Evans told the world that he had no plans to return to the MCU as Captain America in 2022. So when he showed up in the Void, I was as excited and confused as everyone else in the theater. Then, just when it looks like he鈥檚 about to say 鈥淎vengers Assemble,鈥� he shouts 鈥淔lame on,鈥� revealing that this isn鈥檛 Captain America at all; it鈥檚 the Human Torch, who Evans played in 2004鈥檚 Fantastic Four.
Cassandra Nova’s army of evil mutants
Characters from Fox’s X-Men films comprise most of Cassandra Nova鈥檚 army. The list includes Tyler Mane鈥檚 Sabretooth, Ray Park鈥檚 Toad, Aaron Stanford Pyro, Dania Ramirez鈥檚 Callisto, Jason Flemyng鈥檚 Azrael, Vinnie Jones, Juggernaut, Kelly Hu鈥檚 Lady Deathstrike, Olivia Munn鈥檚 Psyloc軎e, and Kevin Nash鈥檚 鈥淭he Russian.鈥�
The Resistance is full of big-name heroes
Not every Marvel character trapped in The Void bows to Cassandra Nova. A ragtag resistance fights against the psychic tyrant, formed by big-name actors and 馃吅actresses who appear in Fox鈥檚 superhero films馃椆. This team comprises Jennifer Garner鈥檚 Elektra, Wesley Snipes鈥� Blade, Channing Tatum鈥檚 Gambit, and Dafne Keen鈥檚 X-23.
The Deadpool Corps
As Cassandra Nova prepares to destroy the multiverse in Deadpool and Wolverine‘s last act, she puts a deadly obstacle between herself and the titular duo: the Deadpool Corps. Made up of Deadpool Variants from across the multiverse, this legion of Mercs with Mouths is a veritable incubator of Easter Eggs.
Almost every noteworthy Deadpool variant in the Deadpool Corps is a hidden cel戛礶brity cameo. Lady Deadpool is Ryan Reynold鈥檚 wife Blake Lively, and their children, Inez and Olin, play Kidpool and Babypool. Nathan Fillion is the zombi鈾歠ied Headpool, Mathew McConaughey voices Cowboypool, and Tom Holland鈥檚 brother plays Haroldpool
Published: Aug 6, 2024 1:25 PM UTC