Go to any Comic-Con, and you’ll witness dozens upon dozens of people clad in his trademark red-and-black full-body jumpsuit. After suffering through a dismal period of low sales and chronic disinterest, Deadpool had a remarkable - and, to this day, unexplained - explosion in popularity that made him a pop idol. Created just before a financial collapse that left the comics industry in ruins, he was briefly a massive sensation, then became a cult-hit character beloved by a devoted few.
While Deadpool’s been around for 25 years, only in the past decade has he experienced a wild and improbable ride that’s brought him to imminent cinematic fame. And when his best writers take on his adventures, those de-suspensions of disbelief aren’t just catty winks - they’re a way to offer a loving critique of a genre that has taken over popular culture. Only Deadpool - nicknamed “the Merc with a Mouth” - is there to act as a pressure-release valve, directly addressing the audience to point out how ridiculous the whole superhero endeavor can be. Even the lighter ones are pretty self-serious, blindly accepting the bizarre tropes of the genre.
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We’re approaching Peak Superhero, glutted with TV shows and movies about tortured Übermenschen who embark on heroic journeys and triumph against all odds. That last bit is what makes his Ryan Reynolds–starring film extremely timely. But most important - and this is a key element of his big-screen incarnation, too - he’s the only A-list superhero character who regularly breaks the fourth wall and acknowledges that he’s in a superhero story. His irreverence and oddity have made him the rare character that can be embraced by progressive critics and bro-ish frat boys alike. He’s as liable to burst into song or declare his love for Bea Arthur as he is to decapitate you. But anyone who’s read his adventures or played him in a video game knows his real superpower is his mouth: He never shuts up, tossing one-liners and references the way Batman flings Batarangs.
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Ostensibly, his superpower is that he heals very quickly and has learned how to be brutally effective with blades and bullets. The character is queer, mentally ill, a rape victim, a cancer patient, and a remorseless killer - yet somehow one of the most riotously funny figures ever to emerge from a comic book. In an entertainment landscape that’s become astoundingly dense with spandex-wearing crusaders and vigilantes, Deadpool stands alone for a number of reasons. This article was originally published in February 2016, in advance of the release of Deadpool.