SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Deadpool 2, now in theaters nationwide.
After the first Deadpool became a runaway box office success, it was inevitable that the Merc with a Mouth would return to the big screen before long, and now, that time has finally come!
Of course, no Deadpool film would be complete without Wade Wilson’s unique brand of metatextual humor, and Deadpool 2 certainly spares no expense in that department.
While rounding up every example of Wade breaking the fourth wall is practically an impossible task, we here at Epicstream did our best to compile all the outright instances of meta-humor (and not just simple pop-culture references).
Be sure to let us know in the comments section if we missed anything, here’s nearly every instance Wade Wilson breaks the fourth wall in Deadpool 2:
The MCU
- After losing his powers, Deadpool says, “gimme a bow and arrow and I’m basically Hawkeye.”
- Deadpool calls Dopinder “Brown Panther.”
- Deadpool calls Cable “Thanos,” in reference to Josh Brolin’s other major superhero movie role this year.
- Deadpool calls Domino “black Black Widow.”
- Deadpool compares Cable’s metal arm to that of Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier.
- Deadpool attempts to use the “lullaby” Black Widow uses on Hulk in Avengers: Age of Ultron on the Juggernaut, but to no avail.
DC/The DCEU
- When Cable asks who Deadpool is during the prison riot, the Merc with a Mouth says, “I’m Batman” a la Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader in the 1989 Batman film.
- Deadpool tells Vanessa he ended a fight with a “caped badass” after the pair realized their mothers were both named “Martha,” which is a nod to one of the many polarizing moments from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
- Deadpool goes back in time and shoots himself in the head – or rather Ryan Reynolds – just as the actor holds up a copy of the script to the critically panned Green Lantern, which Reynolds also starred in.
- Deadpool asks Cable if he’s from the DC Universe, due to the character’s overtly dark nature.
Other Cable/Josh Brolin Jokes
- Deadpool calls Cable “One-Eyed Willy” – a clear nod to Josh Brolin’s role in the 1985 classic The Goonies.
- When Deadpool is re-growing his legs in Blind Al’s apartment, he’s wearing the same shirt as Chunk from The Goonies, once again poking fun at Josh Brolin’s Cable.
- Deadpool calls Cable “John Connor,” in reference to the clear Terminator influences fans have pointed out concerning Cable over the years.
X-Men Films
- Deadpool is seen winding a music box, which features Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine impaled on a tree stump, much like the character’s tragic death scene in 2017’s Logan.
- Deadpool expresses jealousy over Jackman’s aforementioned heroic death scene in Logan.
- Deadpool points out how the original film is just below The Passion of the Christ in the domestic box office for R-rated films. However, he does also point out that it beat the film in the international market, “where religion doesn’t exist.”
- Deadpool says that the Cerebro helmet smells like longtime Professor X actor Patrick Stewart.
- Deadpool signs a box of Hugh Jackman/Wolverine-branded cereal as “Ryan Reynolds.”
- Deadpool, while fighting Cable, deflects a bullet with his katana in the same manner as the version of Wade Wilson from X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
- Deadpool goes back in time and kills the version of Wade Wilson that appeared in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
- Deadpool gripes about how “the studio” (i.e. Fox) should have thrown them a bone by allowing more X-Men characters to appear during the scenes in the X-Mansion. (This, of course, is followed by a cameo featuring James McAvoy's Charles Xavier, Evan Peters' Quicksilver, Tye Sheridan's Cyclops, Alexandra Shipp's Storm, Nicholas Hoult’s Beast, and Kodi Smit-McPhee's Nightcrawler, all unbeknownst to Deadpool).
Comics/Miscellaneous
- Deadpool tells Domino her mutant abilities are absurd and that they were likely created by someone who “can’t draw feet.” This, of course, is a reference to artist and Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld, who’s been criticized on countless occasions for obscuring characters’ feet in his art due to his “inability” to draw them.
- When Deadpool hears who we later learn is the Juggernaut while he and Russell are in prison, Wade makes it a point to call this moment out as a “steaming pile of foreshadowing.”
- Upon seeing the Juggernaut for the first time, Deadpool calls out some of the character’s most iconic comic book appearances, including Thor #411, Uncanny X-Men #183, and X-Men Unlimited #12.