‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
The Two Faces of Trauma Revealed
The Fifth Phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been the most emotionally stirring phase to be introduced to the franchise – and when Marvel announced that Deadpool was joining the MCU, the reaction was very split between fans.
Most thought that Deadpool’s raunchy and inappropriate tendencies would be silenced by Marvel Entertainment’s owner, the Walt Disney Co. Others thought perhaps the Sony Corp.’s Deadpool misgivings would be corrected, and that the hilarity of our favorite Merc-with-a-Mouth would be the perfect break to the tearjerkers that the past few movies have been.
After watching “Deadpool & Wolverine,” released in July, I am pleased to announce that not only did Disney nail the vulgarity and dark humor of a proper Deadpool movie, but it also managed to stick with the MCU Phase Five’s main theme: overcoming trauma.
Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) has had his fair share of trauma after being subjected to torture to release his mutant genes and needing to rescue his girlfriend from the evil clutches of Ajax in the first “Deadpool” movie, and then watching her die in front of his face with no way to save her in “Deadpool 2.”
Aside from those experiences, Wade Wilson likely had extensive trauma from serving in the Canadian Special Forces during the Vietnam War. Even through his trauma he has always been known for putting on a smiling face and fighting the pain with the crudest of humors. So it was only a small surprise that Deadpool & Wolverine’s opening scene involved Wade performing a perfect mimic of the choreography of NSync’s “Bye Bye Bye” with the rotted corpse of James Howlett, known as Logan, and more famously referred to as The Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).
After being accosted by the Time Variance Authority and learning that his timeline is dying, Deadpool travels through several timelines in search of a Wolverine with a less-exposed adamantium skeleton, meeting various Wolverines along the way until he finds the perfect one – a Wolverine so hated in his timeline that he isn’t even welcome to drink himself to death in a bar.
He captures the depressed mutant and forces him to join his mission, despite being told that he was the ‘worst Wolverine.’ Together the two must fight themselves through various perils including escaping The Void, countless Deadpools, a dangerous variant woman (Emma Corrin) who seems to love putting herself inside their brains, and yes, the lifetime of trauma weighing on Logan’s shoulders after he was unable to save those who mattered most to him.
Deadpool & Wolverine shows the dramatic contrast of coping, between those who wallow and drown in their trauma and those who put on a mask (in this case, literally) and make outlandish and racy jokes about their lives.
The two men contrast each other vastly. Logan, who copes with his trauma by indulging in enough alcohol to kill several adult men lacking a Healing Factor, and lashing out at those around him, must deal with the flirtatious and annoying advances of a Deadpool on a mission. Wade copes with his crippling self-esteem issues after losing his girlfriend and believing himself to be a chronic failure by believing in the delusion of being “the Marvel Jesus,” destined to save his timeline by whatever means necessary.
Together they somehow manage to prove to each other their worth after overcoming a threat to the Sacred Timeline together, a form of trauma bonding that very much so can exist in the real world – and proving once again that the MCU’s Fifth Phase is centered around overcoming trauma.
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