Ryan Reynolds has done a bang-up job as Deadpool.
Deadpool 2 is almost here, and this time the Merc With a Mouth is not alone in his crazy adventures. To fight the time-travelling mutant soldier Cable, this depraved man forms a group with fellow mutants. Cable’s target is a kid. He knows something since he is from the future. At least that is what the trailers suggest. But the plot may be totally different and Cable may even turn out to be a good guy – or whatever passes for good in the Deadpool universe.
Deadpool may have been mainstreamed by Ryan Reynolds’ portrayal, but the character was popular among comic-book fans decades before the movie came out. And as good as the writing is in the movie, comic-book Deadpool is still way funnier. Or at least that is what the comic-book reader inside me says. Anyways, here are a few interesting facts about Deadpool.
1. Deadpool 2 was inspired by DC’s Deathstroke: Rob Liefeld, the creator of Deadpool, modelled Deadpool’s look and even weapons (two ninja swords sheathed behind his back) on Deathstroke, a much more grim character who was a Teen Titans villain but is now better known as Batman’s adversary. Both wear similar costumes, both are mercenaries, both are master swordsmen and both fluctuate between good and bad. Slade Wilson became Wade Wilson. He was both an inspiration and a parody.
Deathstroke and Deadpool’s similarities go beyond looks.
2. Deadpool is Canadian: Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool are both Canadian. This is just one of the reasons why Reynolds is perfectly suited to don the role.
3. Merc With a Mouth: Deadpool has this peculiar but cool nickname because he will not shut up. He continuously keeps mocking other characters, pop culture and life in general. If he were not such a great fighter, his motor mouth would be his biggest weapon. He once beat Galactus, who is one of the most powerful beings in Marvel universe, by just talking.
4. Deadpool is insane: In the comics, at least, Wade Wilson goes crazy after he becomes a mutant. Cancer has spread throughout his body and it is the tumours in his brain which makes him what he is. He also has incredible healing powers and they are what keeps him alive.
Deadpool 2 will release on May 18.
5. He is very sad inside: Yes, his frivolity is a mask he wears to guard his inner self against not just others, but even himself. There are a few moments when he lets the mask slip and he is overpowered by a bout of depression.
6. He is really smart: Deadpool 2 is not a mastermind in the vein of the Joker (although both are similarly insane), but he has a brilliant strategic mind.
7. Ripping through the fourth wall: He is known for breaking the fourth wall of fiction and directly addressing the audiences. Deadpool knows he is inside a comic-book or film universe and is amused by the thought.
8. Captain America is Deadpool’s idol: It may seem unbelievable, but Deadpool 2 finds Captain America with his sense of righteousness and justice endlessly inspiring even if he does not subscribe to those ideals. Cap is the only superhero Deadpool respects, and one cannot help wonder if his respect is ironic.
Deadpool and Captain America are unlikely pals.
9. He loves kids and animals: Deadpool has got a soft spot for kids and animals. And doesn’t that just make us love him more?
10. He is basically immortal: Thanks to Deadpool’s mutant powers and healing abilities, Deadpool will continue to annoy and entertain us practically forever.
Deadpool 2 will release on May 18.