The end credits of Deadpool & Wolverine are more awkward than any Ryan Reynolds joke

Warning, spoilers follow. In the very first scene of Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds’ Red Avenger makes it clear to the audience that he will not be respectful of the MCU and X-Men legacy. We then see the violent Narrator desecrate Logan’s corpse by using Wolverine’s adamantium bones as weapons against an army of agents.

Whatever you think of the bloody fight, it sets the tone for the third Deadpool film for the next two hours – a laugh parade at the expense of previous Marvel heroes, which either provokes stomach aches from all the cringing or diaphragm pains from all the laughing. End credits However, the self-proclaimed Marvel Jesus delivers something that does not fit at all with the rest of the film.

The end credits video in Deadpool & Wolverine is completely out of line

At the end of Deadpool & Wolverine, the hero duo saved Wade’s world together and so Ryan Reynolds’ character can take home not only slobbery lapdog Dogpool, but also his personal grumpy bear Wolverine. All’s well and good. But wait, there’s more! And not just the post-credit scene at the very end. As the credits roll, the film suddenly presents a retrospective outtake video past Marvel heroes.

As a compilation of old set shots, shots of a young Hugh Jackman in his first Wolverine appearance and the first Deadpool failed attempt in X-Men Origins: Wolverine flicker past. But that’s not all. In addition to the Marvel stars who have caused surprises in guest appearances, the best-of video also sprinkles Video clips of stars who weren’t even there – such as the X-Men around James McAvoy’s Professor Xavier and Nicholas Hoult’s Beast.

What is that supposed to be, an apology? Tonally, the compilation feels like a step back. After Deadpool has spent 120 minutes bashing Marvel with meta jokes about the Disney-Fox merger, grinning without pity, the behind-the-scenes collage seems like a tame attempt at reconciliation. An added “We all love each other” is completely inappropriate for Deadpool, who otherwise goes overboard so uncompromisingly.

Deadpool’s outtake video hits the wrong note

It is nothing new that a film looks back at its own (previous) history in its credits. Who could forget the credits of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, in which the stars of the entire trilogy came to life in drawn portraits? A gag reel, which, as a collage of failed scenes, made you smile at the end, is also a tried and tested practice with countless examples from Anchorman to The Proposal. But Deadpool & Wolverine wants to do both and fails due to the mix of humor and nostalgia – which his two dissimilar heroes actually live.

The video looks at the Marvel cinema history of the last three decades and inevitably revels in fond memories. Completely unironically. Even the silly behind-the-scenes nature of the footage cannot break this feeling. An honest appreciation of the past, however, is completely contrary to what Deadpool showed us in the previous film. This Mood change It’s a bit like Spider-Man: No Way Home showing Spidey’s adult violent scenes after the emotional ending or Avengers 4: Endgame retrospectively recounting Marvel’s animated history in the credits.

With the assembly Ryan Reynolds strokes the own ego as Marvel’s savior. But the gap between reality and fantasy is wide here. After all, Deadpool was always consciously an outsider who stayed out of the other superhero adventures and thus successfully fueled a large part of his jokes. Presenting himself as the highlight now doesn’t fit here. Worse still: the post-credits appearances diminish the strength of the rest of the cast.

Deadpool & Wolverine unpleasantly shows in the credits who is missing from the film

The countless previous cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine already celebrate 26 years of Marvel history with a wink. So we already have a best-of before this strange end credits film comes around the corner. But before that, all stars with guest appearances “Rejected goods” – and thus fit perfectly with the oddball Deadpool: a flopped Elektra (Jennifer Garner), an almost forgotten Blade (Wesley Snipes), a Fantastic Four hero (Chris Evans) who will soon be revived for the third time, and even a Channing Tatum who never got his Gambit dream fulfilled.

By having Deadpool & Wolverine roll out the red carpet for all heroes of the past, the bizarre characters are pushed out of the spotlight again. In the best case, this only causes an irritated frown or a shrug of the shoulders. In the worst case, it awakens Desire for all the heroes we have never seen again. That is, after the Professor Xaviers and Tony Starks of this world, for whom Deadpool is just the mangy little brother.

With the figurative name dropping famous stars, Deadpool shoots itself in the foot because the old footage inevitably raises the question of whether the film could not persuade these big names to make a “real” appearance.

The enormous success of Deadpool & Wolverine is of course assured, even with its end-credits wound. After all, Ryan Reynolds’ “Merc with a Mouth” has self-healing powers that make the misstep unnoticeable. It is nevertheless regrettable that Deadpool abandons his “everything is a joke” principles at the finish line in order to end on such an unbalanced note. failed nostalgia to end.