Deadpool

Character history & cinematic adaptations

Created by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza in The New Mutants #98 (February 1991), Deadpool emerged from Marvel's chaotic early-90s Image-style aesthetic as a deliberate Deathstroke parody — DC's Slade Wilson got Marvel's Wade Wilson. The character's defining trait — fourth-wall-breaking meta-comedy aware of his own comic-book status — was developed primarily by Joe Kelly's 1997-2000 Deadpool run and refined by Daniel Way and Gerry Duggan.

Ryan Reynolds's 2016 Deadpool changed the trajectory of R-rated comic-book cinema. After Reynolds's poorly-received first appearance as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) — where Fox infamously sewed the character's mouth shut — Reynolds spent years championing a proper Deadpool film, partly funding test footage that leaked in 2014 and forced Fox's hand. The resulting 2016 film grossed $782 million globally on a $58 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film ever made and proving comic-book cinema could thrive outside PG-13.

Deadpool 2 (2018) deepened the franchise with X-Force and Cable (Josh Brolin). Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) brought Hugh Jackman's Wolverine into the MCU for the first time, grossing $1.34 billion globally and serving as Marvel Studios' first R-rated film. Reynolds is confirmed for additional MCU appearances post-Secret Wars, likely including a Deadpool 4 or X-Force ensemble project.

For broader Marvel context, see our X-Men hub (Deadpool 1-2 are Fox X-Men productions), Phase 6 roadmap, and Wolverine ranking (which covers Deadpool & Wolverine in detail).

Films featuring Deadpool

Notable actor portrayals

• Ryan Reynolds