20th Century Fox
But who is Deadpool, and why is this a big deal?
Created in 1991 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, Deadpool was originally an antihero in the Punisher mold, a scumbag antihero with big guns and two swords. But in 1997 writer Joe Kelly and artist Ed McGuiness decided to reinvent the character completely, and it's thanks to those two that Deadpool is famous.
Marvel
Dead pool in his first comic book series. He was always talky, but the meta stuff would come later.
The Deadpool Kelly and McGuiness depicted was a parody machine, lambasting every trope of action heroes and superhero comics with an extra fourth-wall breaking twist: Deadpool knew he was a comic book character, and talked about it all the time. Since then, that's been a defining trait of the character, who has since become the hero of numerous violent action-comedy comics, each more ridiculous than the last (The recently concluded series by Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan, and Tony Moore kicked off with Deadpool taking on zombie US Presidents).
That's what people love about Deadpool: Over-the-top action and crazy meta-comedy.
And from the trailer screened at San Diego Comic-Con, it looks like this new movie is getting everything right.
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Deadpool has become something of a passion project for Ryan Reynolds, who has been committed to getting a faithful adaptation of the character to the screen.
Humor? Check.
Wilson then submits himself to a military experiment that promises to make him "a superhero" and heal him. In the comic books, this is the same Weapon X project that gave Wolverine his metal skeleton and claws. Just before the procedure begins, Wilson requests that they "please don't make the super suit green. Or animated!"
Meta-humor? Double check.
Then, an action sequence that looks like a pretty close live-action approximation of the leaked CGI test footage that fans adored - only with a sudden, surprise cameo by Colossus.
Then Deadpool tells the camera to "cue the music."
Breaking down that fourth wall? Definitely.
Oh, and then they reveal the side-effect to the experiment that turned Wade into Deadpool - his skin is horribly scarred and disfigured, and there are several very descriptive and filthy jokes traded between Wade and his pal about how ugly he now looks. "Like an avocado had sex with an older avocado" is probably the tamest one, I swear. Then there's a bunch of stylish and gory violence, complete with headshots.
R-rated comedy and violence? Totally there.
Deadpool is a character you sort of have to experience for yourself to understand why he has such ardent fans, but it's hard to miss the appeal of an exuberantly irreverent R-rated superhero comedy. It's something that we haven't really seen before outside of maybe the first "Kick-Ass," and as we become more and more accustomed to the spectacle of superheroes onscreen, "Deadpool" could prove to be an extremely fun palate cleanser.
At the very least, it's a heartfelt apology for the first time Reynolds played Deadpool in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Because that was horrendous.