Is Deadpool in the Avengers’ Universe?

It’s established that Deadpool swims in his own little eddy in the great Marvel River. Marvel is a pretty big entertainment property, spanning The X-Men (including Deadpool as their R-rated step-child), the MCU, the comics, and a whole host of related TV shows falling under the franchise’s umbrella.

It’s not a free-for-all, though it seems like one. The MCU stands alone, keeping the heroes in its galaxy firmly to themselves. And Deadpool is definitely set within  the X-Men lineup (little as they seem to want anything to do with him — they find Deadpool even less of a team player than Wolverine and far more annoying).

Here are the little hints that Deadpool might be straddling both ends of the Marvel worlds.

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WARNING: Spoilery spoilers below… 

Wade Wilson/Deadpool cracks a lot of jokes about things a fictional character shouldn’t know. He’s aware of himself as a comic book anti-hero and of his own movie actor, Ryan Reynolds (whom he shoots in DP2, mid-credits, to Canada’s “everlasting gratitude”).

He knows about the multiple X-Men timelines, the continuity breaks, and how different actors are currently playing the same roles (“McAvoy or Stewart? I can never keep these timelines straight”).

He knows pop culture and the difference between the Marvel and DC worlds.[pullquote position=”right”] And while the powers that be try to contain him within that R-rated eddy of the X-Men river, we see hints that the Avengers are also in his universe,  peripherally.[/pullquote]

As I watched the Deadpool double feature last week, I made  some notes hinting that Wade Wilson might live a little in the same cinematic universe at the MCU. I’m sure there are other clues that I missed, and we’re not even going to mention the asides about mothers named Martha and how dark the DCU is: 

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That Big Old S.H.E.I.L.D. Helicarrier:

At the end of the first movie, the climactic set piece is aboard one of the Avenger’s flying aircraft carriers. It’s a derelict, presumably on the scrap docks after the Battle of New York, but still clearly marked as one of Nick Fury’s own. Keep an eye out for the sign behind Francis and Wade as they tussle. You can catch bits of the words here and there, warning people to “beware of jet blast, propellers and rotors” (see minute 0.05).  Then, the wide shots show most clearly what this hunk of junk really is. It’s very recognizable to MCU fans.

Nick Fury:

In the stinger after DP1’s credits, Deadpool chides us all to go home, before releasing the bomb that Cable will be in the next movie (played perhaps by Keira Knightly)…and that there could be a Samuel Jackson cameo, with an eyepatch, if they are lucky. Fury, as we know, assembled the Avengers in the first place.

Hawkeye In Deadpool 2:

When Deadpool gets his control collar on, he loses his powers. Ever ready to poke fun at the Avengers, he says something like, “Now I’m only as strong as Haweye!” Dis! But also, yeah: Hawkeye shoots a mean bow, but so did Katniss. So Hawkeye’s a now a male Katniss. Why he’s even on the Avengers core team is a story for another day.

Clips from DP2 are not released yet, but here is a little comic book scene establishing their psuedo-frenemy-partnership:

Stan Lee appears in both DP films, in one way or another. We can’t actually count this as just an MCU thing — Stan Lee appears in everything he’s laid a finger on. Stan Lee is like a demi-god in the Marvel worlds (and we recently discovered his overarching “Watcher Informant” role to the Marvel’s intergalactic mightiest). Here Stan Lee makes another delightful cameo in this early teaser for the Deadpool 2 film:

And then we have this delightful letter, with Deadpool trying to join the Avengers. Tony Stark is brutally clear: “No. Absolutely not. Go bother Professor X. No.”

I know I missed more references. And you bet I will hunt them down and pin them to this page like a live bug.

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Here’s someone else’s hard work about how DP is secretly an MCU member:

Or tell me what I missed in the comments and I’ll give the credit to you.  Enjoy, maybe over a nice chimichanga.

Amd remember, Deadpool can say chimichanga in seven languages. Can you?

Jill Florio

Co-Creator of RunPee, Chief of Operations, Content Director, and Managing Editor. RunPee Jilly likes galaxy-spanning sci fi, superhero sagas, fantasy films, YA dystopians, action thrillers, chick flicks, and zany comedies, in that order…and possesses an inspiringly small bladder. In fact, that little bladder sparked the creation of RunPee. (Good thing she’s learned to hold it.)