Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine sees the titular Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) declare himself the “Marvel Jesus,” as the R-rated antihero creates a bridge between Fox’s X-Men universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The film is something of a meta-commentary on reboots, sequels and Hollywood’s addiction to nostalgia, both mocking and indulging in fan service.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige has yet to recast Wolverine, and Hugh Jackman’s return to the role serves as a reminder why he’s so difficult to replace; even as a punchline in a silly Deadpool movie, the man has some serious gravitas.
A compelling opening sequence sees Deadpool desecrate Wolverine’s corpse, using his adamantium-coated bones as weapons to take down a swarm of TVA agents.
Warning—spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine and Loki ahead
What Is The TVA?
The Time Variance Authority (TVA), for those who have not watched the Loki TV series, is an agency that monitors the multiple timelines of the MCU, maintaining the stability of the multiverse, sometimes by destroying problematic timelines, a practice known as “pruning.”
Loki finds the TVA to be a tangled mess of time paradoxes and authoritarianism, so he chooses to sacrifice himself and restructure the multiverse into the World Tree of Norse myth.
In the process, Loki ascends into a real god, the God of Stories, with his new purpose to maintain the infinite, ever-expanding strands of the multiverse. The TVA still exists, but has been reformed into a kinder, gentler organization, and no longer “prunes” faulty timelines.
Deadpool’s universe, however, has come under the eye of a rogue TVA agent, Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden), who wants to go back to the old ways, and erase the X-Men universe quickly.
Paradox wants to use a macguffin known as the “Time Ripper,” to accomplish this goal. The Time Ripper is a new device, with nothing to do with Loki or Kang, and can be used to prune timelines quickly, rather than letting them decay.
What Universe Does Deadpool Live In?
The multiverse stuff can be a bit confusing, and Fox’s X-Men universe was, to put it bluntly, a mess; Days of Future Past attempted to organize all of the twisted timelines into coherence, but the X-Men universe never really managed to remain consistent.
Deadpool & Wolverine retcons Fox’s X-Men universe (Earth-10005) as Deadpool’s original universe, which doesn’t make a great deal of sense, as there are different depictions of certain mutants, along with other inconsistencies, but who cares?
It’s cleaner—let’s all agree to pretend that Deadpool was there with the X-Men the whole time.
Deadpool & Wolverine introduces some new multiverse rules, such as the concept of “Anchor Beings,” heroes who are so important that they literally hold up their entire universe, like load-bearing pillars.
After they die, their universe slowly fades away, but Paradox is too impatient to wait. It’s revealed that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was the Anchor to the Deadpool/X-Men universe, and his tragic death in Logan marked the end of the timeline.
Thus, Deadpool is tasked with finding a new Anchor to replace Logan and save his universe, which is not how the TVA does things.
How Does Deadpool Appear In The MCU?
Deadpool used Cable’s (Josh Brolin) time travel device from Deadpool 2 to travel to the MCU (the main Marvel timeline is known as Earth-616) to ask to become an Avenger.
However, Deadpool is not deemed important enough to earn a meeting with Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man, and is declined by Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). Deadpool is deemed too selfish to be a true hero.
Interestingly enough, the timing of Deadpool’s visit to the MCU (March 14, 2018) is right before their devastating battle with Thanos in Infinity War (in hindsight, the team probably could have used an annoying ally who can regenerate).
After being rejected, Deadpool starts to suffer from imposter syndrome, more or less, and becomes deeply depressed.
Where Does Hugh Jackman’s Logan Come From?
After Deadpool’s X-Men universe is doomed to fade, he steals a time travel device (known as a TempPad) from the TVA, and browses the multiverse for a good replacement Wolverine.
Deadpool eventually finds a dejected Wolverine who completely failed as a hero and wears a comic-accurate costume in memory of his fallen friends, the X-Men (the sight of Wolverine in his CGI-enhanced cowl immediately makes it clear why he never wore it before).
Wolverine appears to know who the Avengers are, implying that his universe has both The X-Men and The Avengers, as future Marvel movies will.
After battling against Paradox and Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), and blocking both from using the Time Ripper, the failed Wolverine has ascended into a true hero and the new Anchor of the Deadpool/X-Men universe, to take the place of the legendary Wolverine who died in Logan.
Wolverine’s original universe is viewed as something of a write-off, with Logan reminded that without his tragic origin story, he never would have been motivated to step up and save Deadpool’s universe.
The Ending Of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ Explained
While Paradox used the Time Ripper to tear up old universes, Cassandra wants to use it as a tool to destroy every single branch of the multiverse and allow her to rule the Void, unchallenged.
After Wolverine and Deadpool battle the multiverse Deadpools and make their way inside the TVA, they learn that the only way to stop the Time Ripper is self-sacrifice—someone has to use their body as a bridge to connect the matter and anti-matter, causing a chain reaction that will destroy the machine.
Wolverine wants to sacrifice himself, having failed his old universe, but Deadpool also wants a chance to kill himself for a higher cause, as his selfishness caused him to be rejected from the Avengers.
The two join hands and sacrifice themselves together; the fusion of the two regenerative superhero bodies allows both men to survive, ensuring that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will return.
Does Deadpool End Up In The MCU?
Not yet. By the end of the film, Deadpool is still in his original X-Men universe with his old friends, along with Wolverine and X-23 (Dafne Keen), who is technically from the future of that timeline, but has decided to remain in Deadpool’s present.
The end-credits scene is a joke about how Chris Evans’ Human Torch essentially deserved to die, but it establishes that Deadpool still has his TempPad, giving him a window to enter the MCU in a later film, most likely in Secret Wars.
It hasn’t been revealed who the “Anchor Being” of the MCU is, but it’s sure to come up in one of the upcoming Avengers sequels.
The scene of Thor crying over a dying Deadpool seems very likely to come to fruition in Secret Wars, while Jackman is unlikely to be replaced as Wolverine anytime soon; Deadpool even jokes that the actor will remain in the role long past his prime.
In a later Marvel movie, such as Avengers: Doomsday, Deadpool might well face off against Robert Downey Jr’s incarnation of Doctor Doom, and maybe even crack a joke about Marvel recycling their most famous actor.