Deadpool & Wolverine is not as subversive as it thinks it is

In case Deadpool & Wolverine doesn’t make it clear enough (it does), Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool is now a Disney property and officially part of the MCU.

That’s why some Marvel fans were worried that the foul-mouthed superhero was about to lose all of his edge in order to get in line with the franchise’s brand of family-friendly action.

Luckily for them that’s not the case, as Wade Wilson is still the brutally violent and chronically horny character he always was.

What the MCU has taken, though, is part of his soul.

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This new movie’s biggest joke is knowing that Deadpool is talking about sex, drugs and other scandalous conversational topics in a movie owned by Disney and in a cinematic franchise where most movies are targeted to children.

The constant search for a gasp-induced reaction (“I can’t believe he just said that!”) is driving every decision, while making the MCU the butt of every joke.

But how deep can Deadpool & Wolverine cut when it’s now part of the machine?

It’s not that the character’s sense of humour has changed all that much from Deadpool and Deadpool 2, but, now that it’s directed at a gargantuan corporation he is now part of, his jokes feel toothless and inoffensive.

Wade waves a flag for those who use the term “politically incorrect”, poking fun at Gen Z and making the feminist Nicepool the only killable alternate in the movie, but it’s all extremely calculated and surprisingly boring.

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All the jabs at the MCU target common topics that fans are already tired of talking about in endless Reddit threads — the saga is at “a low point”, the multiverse is “messy”, avalanches of cameos feel like an empty attempt at nostalgia, nobody ever really dies… And yet, the movie utilises all of those things too.

It might feel like Deadpool is headlining at a roast about Disney’s acquisition of Fox, but it’s more like an attempt at explanation for viewers who, frankly, don’t even care that much about industry tribulations (according to Kevin Feige himself, part of the audience don’t even know the difference between Marvel and DC).

If Deadpool’s sass were as subversive as it thinks it is, he could have saved one of its many cameos for one of the 4,000 employees that lost their jobs during the Disney-Fox merger. Or perhaps it should have been gayer, instead of using queerbaiting to appear edgy and snatch some gay-panic-induced laughs.

Deadpool can joke about pegging, cocaine and Hugh Jackman’s divorce, but he can’t cut that deep after all.

Related: Deadpool & Wolverine cameos show a surprising amount of restraint

Let’s not forget that in the time that it took Deadpool to come back, Prime Video‘s hit TV series The Boys has delivered the most cut-throat parody of the superhero machine today, much more savage than anything Deadpool & Wolverine could ever dream of.

And for all the criticism (some of it fair) that She-Hulk got, the series’ finale offered a much more interesting, meaningful and slightly hurtful punch to the MCU, “revealing” that the franchise is actually run by an AI machine (K.E.V.I.N.) looking for “near-perfect products”, which explains why some stories feel written by an algorithm.

In the new Deadpool movie, Wade Wilson is too enamoured by the idea of the Avengers to truly offer transcendent comedy material at their expense.

At times, the script feels like The Simpsons‘ Mr Burns showing up in high school with a beanie hat to talk to the working-class youngsters, or a gargantuan corporation releasing a punk clothing line.

There’s nothing wrong with a mindless action movie banking on nostalgic fan service, but it’s hard to give Deadpool & Wolverine a pass when the movie desperately tries to hide its own complacency.

The first Deadpool felt like a refreshing jolt to the superhero machine. This one just feels part of the system.

For more on Deadpool & Wolverine, check out:

• Deadpool & Wolverine review
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• How to get Deadpool & Wolverine‘s necklace
• All the songs in Deadpool & Wolverine
• What age rating is Deadpool & Wolverine?

Deadpool & Wolverine is out now in cinemas.

Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
 Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. 

Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK. 

She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service.   
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She’s also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.   
 Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor. 

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