Lines In Deadpool & Wolverine That Are More Important Than You Think

Deadpool has a lot to say. He can talk smack with the best of them, loudly and with colorful language. But in "Deadpool & Wolverine" he says some things that have more meaning than you may think. In fact, his self-referential, fourth-wall-breaking humor is full of references to everything from Wolverine's supersuit to the fact that the man who plays him is actually Ryan Reynolds — and that the man who plays Wolverine is actually Reynolds' friend Hugh Jackman.

That's why Deadpool has so many of these lines. Full of alternate meanings, they're just part of the way Deadpool talks. While everyone else in the movie plays things (mostly) straight, Deadpool makes even the most serious situation humorous with his constant barrage of insults and quips. The movie centers on Deadpool's quest to save his timeline after learning that it's dying because its "anchor being," Wolverine, has died. He finds a Wolverine to bring back to his timeline, and thus starts an adventure which spends most of its time in the Void, the dumping realm of the Time Variance Authority.

Whether he's in the Void, in his home universe, or at the TVA, Deadpool just can't seem to help himself and continues to quip until the movie's end. As a result, these lines in "Deadpool & Wolverine" all have meanings beyond what they seem on the surface. We're demystifying them below.

This is the rare line that isn't spoken by Deadpool. In fact, it's said by a nobody (or in Deadpool's words, a "day player"), a TVA agent who's horrified to see what Deadpool has done to the grave of Wolverine in the opening credits sequence. There are many ways that this agent could express his love of Wolverine. He could say he was a great hero. He could say he saved a lot of people. He could even say that he had great hair. But the fact that he says Wolverine is "The only thing worth a s*** to ever come out of Canada" is a very specific jab at Deadpool — and Ryan Reynolds.

Deadpool was born there, or at least probably. He doesn't really remember because he's been killed and then healed up so many times that his brain has essentially gone to mush. But the movies suggest he was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. And Ryan Reynolds definitely began his life story in Vancouver, British Columbia. Wolverine, too, was born in Canada, despite the person who plays him, Hugh Jackman, being Australian. In the end, Deadpool does not take the insult lightly, either for himself or his real-life alter-ego.

Deadpool says this line to a variant of Wolverine played by Henry Cavill. In the montage toward the beginning of the movie in which Deadpool searches for a Logan to bring back to his universe, Cavill confirms the wild rumors that he would show up as a version of Wolverine by appearing as the only one not played by Hugh Jackman. It allows Deadpool to take a fourth-wall-breaking shot at the DC Extended Universe — something Cavill wouldn't do, but is probably happy to listen to.

After Cavill turns around from working on his motorcycle and Deadpool notices that he's not Hugh Jackman, he declares, "I can't believe the way they treated you down the street." (Marvel's offices at Walt Disney Studios and DC home Warner Bros. Studios are literally a mile apart from each other in Burbank, California.)

DC definitely did Henry Cavill dirty. Cavill played Superman for several movies and was preparing to return to the role when DC changed directions, letting Cavill go and replacing him with no warning. While this quote doesn't directly reference Cavill's DC legacy, if you know about the Marvel-DC rivalry, then "down the street" has an all-new meaning. While Cavill has remained a gentleman about the snub, Deadpool has no need to be.

When Deadpool and Wolverine find themselves in the Void, Deadpool, as the chattier one, feels he has to introduce Wolverine to those they meet and fill in any extra details just for fun. It's the details he chooses to share that get him in trouble. "He's usually shirtless but he's let himself go since the divorce," Deadpool explains about Wolverine. Of course, Wolverine is not and has never been married, but those familiar with Hugh Jackman's love life will know that the divorce Deadpool is referring to is Jackman's own.

In referring to both Wolverine's tendency to get shirtless and Jackman's divorce from actor Deborra-Lee Furness, Deadpool conflates the character and the actor, making them one and the same. So while Jackman's Wolverine usually doesn't have a shirt on, Jackman has, according to Deadpool, gotten a bit heavier than usual since his divorce, thus the filmmakers' request that he keep his shirt on. Of course, later, we learn that this is not true when Jackman reveals his torso in all its glory; the comment was just Deadpool's way of being snarky. Wolverine has perfect pecs as usual.

This throwaway comment is Deadpool's way of referring to himself. He tells people that he can be called "Marvel Jesus. MJ if you're nasty." He calls himself Marvel Jesus throughout the film, in fact, because, as "Deadpool & Wolverine" is the first "Deadpool" film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Deadpool thinks of himself as the one that will help Marvel's fortunes rise from the ashes after some unfortunate box office bombs. 

However, it's also a reference to the Jacksons. And while many will think it's an allusion to Michael Jackson because of the "MJ," this is specifically a callback to Janet Jackson, who said her name is "Janet, Miss Jackson if you're nasty" in her 1986 hit song "Nasty." If you want a reference to Michael, however, that's in "Deadpool & Wolverine" too. Deadpool briefly dances like the so-called King of Pop after he gets his new uniform at the TVA. One way or another, Deadpool seems to have a slight obsession with the Jackson siblings.

When Deadpool and Wolverine are taken to Cassandra Nova's (Emma Corrin) headquarters in the Void, Deadpool needs something to threaten the bad guys with, and he comes up with the perfect dig — at least if you don't like musical theater. "He'll sing the entire second act of 'Music Man,'" Deadpool declares, "with no warmup." He's referring to Logan in this quote and, while Logan doesn't look much like a song-and-dance man, the person who plays him, Hugh Jackman, is.

In fact, Hugh Jackman has had a whole career on Broadway, which has included starring as Harold Hill in "The Music Man." He spent a year in the Broadway revival, from December 2021 to January 2023, and received a Tony nomination for best actor for his performance, after already winning one in 2004 for another Broadway show, "The Boy From Oz." So while singing without a warmup might be hard, Hugh Jackman — and therefore Wolverine — could certainly do it. Indeed, he'd probably blow everyone away with his amazing musical stylings, despite what Deadpool says.

Deadpool and Wolverine are stuck in the Honda Odyssey of an attractive Deadpool alternate when Deadpool lets this line drop. And he says it out of care. After all, "Friends don't let friends leave the house looking like they fight crime for the L.A. Rams" is a thoughtful statement. Wolverine is wearing a blue and yellow suit that looks a lot like what the Los Angeles Rams play in. A few tweaks to the L.A. Rams uniform and it would be the equivalent of Wolverine's super-suit. 

This was especially the case in the years when one of the NFL side's uniforms was all yellow with royal blue accents, but at least one version of the uniform is close enough today that Wolverine's suit will no doubt bring the team to mind. And, actually, Wolverine really does look like a glorified football player when he's in full superhero mode. He even crouches toward the ground like football players do in a snap. Deadpool quite understandably doesn't want his friend to be mistaken for something other than what he is.

This line takes place in the Void, when Deadpool and Wolverine have their big brawl in the Honda. At one point, when Wolverine gets a bit too close to Wade's, er, bits, he declares, "I'm telling Blake." This is another fourth-wall breaking reference to, of course, Ryan Reynolds' wife, Blake Lively. The man who plays Deadpool has been married to Lively since 2012 and has four children with her, a very different life from Deadpool, who, according to this movie, can't even keep Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) happy.

Reynolds enjoys referencing his wife and her projects in his work. In "Deadpool & Wolverine," in addition to this line, he also proclaims, "There are 206 bones in the human body, 207 when I'm watching 'Gossip Girl.'" This, of course, is a reference to the show Lively is known for and the fact that Reynolds gets, er, happy when he sees her in it. So threatening Wolverine with tattling to the actress is all part of a day's work for Deadpool.

Deadpool and Wolverine meet several heroes in the Void, including Jennifer Garner's Elektra. Garner appeared in Daredevil in 2003 and in her self-titled movie in 2005. Given the way that people remember those movies (not fondly, if at all), it's not surprising that Elektra ended up in the Void. And there were apparently many more heroes there, too, including her version of Daredevil, played by Ben Affleck. That is, until Cassandra dispatched them. When Deadpool learns this, he has a rare moment of sincerity, telling Elektra, "Daredevil? I'm sorry." To this, Elektra says, "It's fine."

While that could be Elektra's stoic way of dealing with grief, it also has a double meaning. In real life, Garner was married to Affleck for 10 years and they have three children together, but they split up in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2018. Affleck got back together with former flame Jennifer Lopez in 2021 and the pair are now married. So, it seems that when Elektra assures Deadpool that it's fine with her that Daredevil was taken out, she's also referencing the fact that, as Garner, it's okay with her that Ben Affleck is no longer her significant other, because she doesn't need him anymore.

Gambit, played by Channing Tatum, is another hero who landed in the scrap heap of the Void in "Deadpool & Wolverine," but his movie never even got made. In fact, Tatum spent years trying to get a Gambit movie off the ground and went through multiple directors for it before Disney canceled it after taking over Fox. Though Tatum is open to returning to the character, it seems unlikely, and therefore Gambit and Tatum's place in the Void is understandable. By asking, "Who's your dialect coach?" Deadpool is referring to Gambit's famous accent.

Gambit, who is from New Orleans, speaks with a Cajun accent and, therefore, to be authentic, Tatum adopts a very accented version of English when he plays him. It's barely decipherable, so it's hard to understand how a Gambit movie would work for English-speaking audiences. Deadpool is pointing this out with his comment, because, while Tatum can of course speak perfect English, there are times when his Gambit is almost impossible to understand, and Deadpool wants to know what dialect coach would let him get away with that.

Wesley Snipes' Blade is another hero found in the Void. When the group of heroes are traveling to confront Cassandra and her lackeys, Blade makes this comment: "Only been one Blade; only gonna be one Blade." While that seems innocent enough, this is actually a reference to the fact that Marvel has had trouble trying to get a new Blade movie off the ground. While Mahershala Ali has been cast as the half-vampire, Marvel has been working on the movie since 2019. Two directors have come and gone from the project and it seems no closer to being filmed. So, Blade may be correct; there may only be one Blade... at least in the movies.

On TV, it's a different story, because, despite what Blade says here, there's already been another Blade. In 2006, Sticky Fingaz portrayed Blade in the TV show "Blade: The Series." Though the series only lasted for a single 13 episode season, it was created by David S. Goyer, the man who wrote all three of Wesley Snipes' "Blade" films, so it had some pedigree. Still, after all the turmoil with the new Blade film, they may end up scrapping the whole thing, making Snipes the only Blade on the big screen.

When Deadpool and Wolverine jump through the portal provided by Cassandra from the Void, they come out on the other end in the parking lot of the place where Deadpool used to work, destroying a perfectly nice mini-van in the process. It turns out Peter (Rob Delaney) just sold said minivan to a family of four, and while the parents are horrified, their two boys are thrilled to see the two superheroes. Then Deadpool hits them with this quip about Wolverine, and more specifically Hugh Jackman: "They're going to make him do this 'til he's 90."

Wolverine has been appearing in comics for a long time and can keep going indefinitely. After all, someone can draw Wolverine forever. But Hugh Jackman can't keep playing Wolverine in the movies. At some point, something has to give, although it doesn't seem to have happened yet. He said he was retiring from playing Wolverine after "Logan" in 2017, explaining his body can't take much more. But then his friend Ryan Reynolds called and suddenly he was co-starring in "Deadpool & Wolverine." And now that Marvel's got him, who knows when they'll let him go. Deadpool may be right — he may play Wolverine into old age.

When Deadpool pulls a bait-and-switch on Wolverine at the climax of the film, instead of treating the moment with the gravity it deserves, he of course cracks wise, commenting, "I'm Marvel Jesus — or Spock — hard to say." As noted earlier, Deadpool refers to himself as Marvel Jesus throughout the film, and perhaps that's why he goes into the room where a deadly energy can kill him. After all, it was either going to be Deadpool or Wolverine, and while Wolverine volunteered, Deadpool decided he needed to do it. Not because he wanted to, but because people needed him to. 

The more interesting piece of the quote is his reference to Spock, the "Star Trek" character famously played by Leonard Nimoy. Deadpool is referencing the ending of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," and he's doing it because Deadpool's doing the exact same thing Spock does in that movie — sacrificing himself to save everyone. In fact, Deadpool even does a Vulcan salute just like Spock does in "The Wrath of Khan" before he perishes to save the Enterprise. Despite Deadpool's pending death, at least he gets to favorably compare himself to an iconic character.