The Merc with the Mouth is the oddball of Marvel’s roster of heroes and anti-heroes. Wade Wilson aka Deadpool was created by Rob Liefield as a parody of his DC counterpart, Deathstroke. Deadpool’s expert hand-to-hand combat skills, proficient marksmanship, skilled swordsmanship, slightly enhanced strength and speed is derived from DC Universe’s greatest assassin, Deathstroke. His astounding regenerative ability is sometimes considered to be better than Wolverine, which says a lot.
Despite having such insane abilities, Deadpool’s greatest power is his awareness. As the constant breaker of the fourth wall, Deadpool is aware of the fact that he is a comic book character. In Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, the Regenerating Degenerate kills everyone, including the comic book writers. Also, his vast knowledge of pop-culture makes him an adorable geek with lethal skills.
Also see: Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe pitched by Ryan Reynolds to MCU?
In the comics, Deadpool had mentioned Ryan Reynolds as his scarred version. Years later, Reynolds played the role of The Merc with the Mouth. Staying faithful to the comics, Reynolds ensured that his portrayal of Deadpool will be true to the character which includes breaking the fourth wall and random pop-culture references with his crass mouth. Let’s check out the top 10 pop-culture references made by Deadpool in the movies.
10. Top Gun
Deadpool has a quirky set of friends and allies. In the movies, one such character is an Indian-American cab driver named Dopinder. Dopinder and Deadpool’s conversations are absolutely hilarious.
In Deadpool 2, Wade uses the dialogue “Talk to me, Goose” in the cab. This is a direct reference to the Tom Cruise starring Top Gun. Interestingly, Deadpool was once made to look like Tom Cruise by Loki as part of a curse. During that time, he was called Thom Cruz.
9. R.I.P. Avengers
Ryan Reynolds did not leave any chance to poke fun at the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From taking digs at Hawkeye for being just a guy who shoots arrows to calling Domino as the ‘black Black Widow’, Deadpool pulled no punches.
As Josh Brolin was cast as both Cable in Deadpool 2 and Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame, Deadpool had a barrage of jokes lined up for the occasion. From calling Cable as Thanos to comparing his robotic arm with Bucky’s, the jokes never get old. He also calls Dopinder as Brown Panther as a reference to Marvel’s Black Panther. In the fight against Juggernaut, Deadpool pushes it to the extent of using Black Widow‘s dialogue “Hey, big guy. Sun’s gettin’ real low” to calm down Juggernaut. Wade doesn’t leave the chance to do the iconic ‘Wakana Forever!’ while jumping from the plane in Deadpool 2.
8. Adventure Time Watch
A man of culture, Deadpool has great taste in classic cartoons. As a homage to the famous Adventure Time, Deadpool wears a watch with Finn the Human, Jake the Dog, and Princess Bubblegum.
In the movie, he gives away his watch to Domino before his death, which was obviously thwarted by Cable using time travel.
7. 2Pac and Ice Cube
A nod to the legendary rappers from the West Coast, Deadpool 2 puts in a hilarious reference to Tupac Shakur and Ice Cube.
In the prison, Russel/Fire Fist befriends the Juggernaut where he tells him, “We’re a team. We’re like thugs, we’re like gangsters. I’m like Tupac and you’re like Ice Cube”. Real talk, homies.
6. The DC Universe
The DC Extended Universe’s decision to take the darker and grittier path earned polarized reviews from fans. But more importantly, it became a gold mine of jokes for Deadpool to be used in the movies.
When Cable attacks Deadpool ruthlessly, the Merc is taken aback by the violence and blurts out “You’re so dark, you sure you’re not from the DC Universe?”. Similarly, when Cable asks Deadpool about his identity, he replies “I’m Batman!”. Wade also pokes fun at the (in)famous Martha scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice by telling that he was fighting a caped badass, [then] he discovered that his momma’s name is Martha too. Not cool, Deadpool.
5. Wassup, RoboCop?
Deadpool is not the only character who is knowledgeable in pop-culture. Fellow X-Men member Colossus also tries his hand at an iconic dialogue before he gets called out instantly.
Colossus says “Come quietly, or there will be trouble” to Firefist during their first interaction. With regular Deadpool humour, the Russian mutant gets caught by Firefist, followed by Wade himself for copying the dialogue from RoboCop.
4. Stranger Things
One of the most popular shows of recent times, it is only natural to expect Wade to have watched Stranger Things. In Deadpool, Negasonic Teenage Warhead is a powerful mutant of few words and a violent temper.
In Deadpool 2, when Negasonic is trying to fix Cable’s time-manipulation device, Deadpool calls her Eleven, the major character in Stranger Things played by Millie Bobby Brown. Bitchin’!
3. Taylor Swift and her Kitties
The 10 times Grammy award-winning Taylor Swift needs no introduction. The massively popular singer is a major icon, and also close friends with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
As a homage to the country turned pop singer, Wade wears a t-shirt with the pictures of Taylor Swift’s two cats, Meredith and Olivia. Also, listen to Taylor Swift’s latest album folklore.
2. Flashdance
If you thought that the poster of Deadpool 2 seemed familiar, you are not the only one. The poster was an iconic recreation of Alex Owen’s nightclub stage water splash in Flashdance (1983).
In the sequence where Celine Dion sings Ashes, Wade recreates that scene once again. Funnily, he tries to have a banter with Celine Dion but instead gets called as Spider-Man. More power to you, Celine!
1. Yentl vs Frozen: The Dawn of Tune
Barbra Streisand’s musical Yentl (1983) becomes a much talked about topic in Deadpool 2. The first instance arises when Wade and Vanessa are watching the movie as Wade tries to sing ‘Papa, can you hear me?’.
After Vanessa’s death, Wade increasingly starts singing the tune and compares it to Disney’s blockbuster Frozen. Frozen‘s ‘Do you wanna build a Snowman?’ sounds eerily like ‘Papa, can you hear me?’. Once you listen to both the songs, you will never be the same. Damn you, Deadpool!
As Ryan Reynolds has been confirmed to reprise his role as Deadpool in the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to the Fox-Disney merger, it’s safe to assume that the Merc with the Mouth will be around for a few more years for his wise-crackin’ and irreverent humour.
