Deadpool: Superhero Landing & 9 Other Classic Gags From The Movies

In a moviegoing landscape with a constant barrage of superhero blockbusters that all blend into the same movie (at least in the eyes of Martin Scorsese), it’s refreshing when a genuinely original take on the genre comes along. With the hard-R antics and fourth-wall-breaking of the Deadpool movies, Ryan Reynolds has provided just that.

Thankfully, Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox won’t affect the Deadpool franchise, and Kevin Feige is taking an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it approach with an R-rated Deadpool 3 set in the MCU. During the interminable wait for the highly anticipated threequel, Deadpool’s classic gags from his first two films have made those movies into endlessly rewatchable gems.

10 Superhero Landing

In almost every superhero movie ever made, the hero or villain crashes down into the battlefield to make a cool entrance. But, as Deadpool points out, these superhero landings are “really hard on your knees.”

Ever since the Merc with a Mouth hit the nail on the head with this bit, it’s impossible not to be reminded of ‘Pool every time a superhero does a “totally impractical” bent-knees landing in a comic book blockbuster.

9 The Fake Opening Titles

The opening credits of Deadpool took audiences aback. The usual names and job titles were replaced with self-deprecating barbs. Instead of “Starring Ryan Reynolds,” it said, “Starring God’s Perfect Idiot.” Instead of “A Tim Miller Film,” it said, “Some Douchebag’s Film.”

This joke was used to greater effect in the first movie than the second one, whose opening credits focused entirely on the fridging of Vanessa, but in both cases, it’s a creative subversion of what audiences expect.

8 “Don’t Make The Super-Suit Green… Or Animated!”

Throughout the Deadpool movies, Ryan Reynolds has never missed an opportunity to poke fun at his previous attempt at a superhero franchise: 2011’s Green Lantern. In that movie, he played Hal Jordon with a fully computer-generated suit.

As Wade Wilson is taken off to be subjected to experiments that will bring out his mutant DNA, he tells Ajax, “Just don’t make the super-suit green… or animated!”

7 Death By Zamboni

Deadpool kills a bunch of people in a bunch of different ways while searching for Francis (a.k.a. “Ajax,” named after the dish soap). In one scene, as a gangster crawls across a hockey rink, ‘Pool chases after him atop a slow-moving Zamboni.

He laughs, “You’re about to be killed by a Zamboni,” before telling the gangster, “Tell me where your f*cking boss is or you’re gonna die… in five minutes.”

6 If I Could Turn Back Time

In the mid-credits scene of Deadpool 2, Negasonic manages to fix Cable’s time-traveling wristwatch and ‘Pool uses it to fix a bunch of timelines, like the one where Peter died and the one where his mouth was sewn shut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” plays on the soundtrack. After saving Vanessa from being fridged, ‘Pool says, “We’re definitely naming our kid Cher!”

5 “McAvoy Or Stewart?”

When Colossus captures Deadpool during the bridge battle in the first movie, he tells him, “You will come talk with Professor Xavier.” ‘Pool asks, “McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines can get so confusing.”

Ever since Fox started filling in the X-Men’s backstory from the ‘60s to the ‘90s with the prequel movies while continuing the mainline series, complacent audiences have been baffled by the timelines. At least the studio itself acknowledged this confusion in Deadpool.

4 Baby Legs

During the second-act set piece in Deadpool 2, ‘Pool is ripped in half at the waist by the Juggernaut, his favorite of all the X-Men (also played by Ryan Reynolds). When Domino and the others catch up with ‘Pool at Blind Al’s house, his legs are still in the middle of regenerating, so he’s a grown adult from the waist up and a baby from the waist down.

Suffice to say, it’s a disturbing image. The cherry on top is the moment when he crosses his legs in front of Cable like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.

3 “F*** Wolverine!”

Deadpool has never missed an opportunity to roast Wolverine, and Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have a jokey social media feud in real life. It’s a shame that Jackman’s now-retired Wolvie will likely never appear alongside Reynolds’ Deadpool, but the many jokes at his expense are a nice consolation prize.

At the beginning of Deadpool 2, Wade says, “F*ck Wolverine!” He calls him out for riding his coattails with Logan’s R rating before trying to join him in the dead superheroes’ club.

2 The Ferris Bueller Post-Credits Scene

The post-credits scene in the first Deadpool movie is a spot-on recreation of the one from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, down to the bathrobe. Much like Ferris, he encourages the audience to stop watching credits and leave the theater.

He says to the camera, “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home! Oh, you’re expecting a teaser for Deadpool 2. Well, we don’t have that kind of money. What are you expecting? Sam Jackson showing up in an eyepatch and a saucy little leather number? Go!”

1 Most Of The X-Force Die Horrifically During Their First Mission

Ever since 2008’s Iron Man set the stage for the global phenomenon that is the MCU – which rakes in billions of dollars from multiple blockbusters a year – every studio has been filling its tentpole movies with characters who can be spun off into their own franchises.

Deadpool 2 seemingly sets up a bunch of spin-offs when ‘Pool assembles the X-Force and they’re all played by big stars like Terry Crews and Bill Skarsgård. But as soon as they start their first mission set to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” most of them die horrifically in quick succession. There’s subverting the audience’s expectations and then there’s this – the trailers fully made it look like an X-Force cinematic universe was on the horizon (and since Domino and Cable survived, it still could be).

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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