Peter Parker/Wade Wilson

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Pairing
Pairing: Peter Parker/Wade Wilson
Alternative name(s): Spideypool, Deadpool/Spider-Man
Gender category: M/M, Slash
Fandom: Marvel Comics
Canonical?: Non-canon
Prevalence: Common
Archives:
Other:
"Wade, in his Deadpool costume, is climbing up the side of a wall and has wrapped his arms around Peter, in his Spider-man costume, at the top. There are little hearts around Wade's head, and and exclamation mark above Peter's"
SpideyPool losers by SebbysGirl13 (2016)
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Peter Parker/Wade Wilson, also known as Deadpool/Spider-Man or Spideypool, is the slash pairing of Wade Wilson (Deadpool) and Peter Parker (Spider-Man) in the Marvel fandom. Spideypool is a term that can also refer to their canonical team ups.

The pairing is popular within Marvel Comics fandom, where they are canonically friends and allies, but the pairing has also bled into film franchise fandoms like the MCU, The Amazing Spider-Man or the Deadpool movies, even though the two characters have never appeared on screen together.

Events in the late 2010s conspired to bring this pairing to wider attention and resulted in increased fanwork production. The very ship-friendly Spiderman/Deadpool comic series began in 2016, the same year Ryan Reynolds' R-rated Deadpool movie was released. Then a kiss between Spiderman and Deadpool actors at the 2017 Golden Globes resulted in media attention being drawn to the Spideypool fandom and its reaction.

This pairing has raised questions about the distinction between fan service and queerbaiting, as comics canon has played up the romantic elements of their relationship without ever making this ship canon. There has also been discourse in fandom about the appropriateness of shipping character iterations where the actors have large age differences.

Spideypool remains the most popular pairing for both Peter Parker and Wade Wilson on the fanfiction website AO3. There are also a substantial number of gen works featuring these characters.

Fandom

The ship began in the comics fandom: Spider-man and Deadpool had their first official meeting in 2006 in the issue Cable & Deadpool #24, and from nearly the beginning they had a unique and fun dynamic that attracted fans. Many moments in comics canon seem to point to the fact that Deadpool has a huge crush on Spider-Man, like Deadpool being a Spider-Man fanboy, calling him pet names like "lover", and having Spider-Man be on his "free pass list". Spider-Man, however, is not shown to feel the same way about Deadpool.

The Spiderman/Deadpool series, beginning in 2016, was a comic series focused almost entirely on their team-ups and provided a huge source of material for shippers. The series was even proposed by people who ship Deadpool and Spider-Man, with a fan campaign encouraging Marvel creators to make it a reality, and the series continued for 50 issues.[1][2] This series was also chock full of romantic tropes, including the soulmate trope, with a one-shot issue establishing that Spider-Man is Deadpool's "heartmate".[3] This led to discussions in fandom regarding the line between fan service and queerbaiting, as Spideypool never became canon during this series.

The announcement of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and his eventual appearance in his first stand-alone film, also encouraged more interest in this pairing with fans began to ship the live-action versions of these characters. The first to appear was Andrew Garfield's Spiderman being shipped with Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. A kiss between actors Ryan Reynolds and Andrew Garfield at the 2017 Golden Globes brought this comic ship to wider attention. The kiss resulted in social media posts declaring Spideypool was now canon, as well as increased fanart featuring these two iterations of the characters, and wider media attention drawn to the fandom's reaction to the kiss.[4]

Following the appearance of Tom Holland as the MCU's Spiderman, some fans began to ship his Spiderman with Deadpool. Others are uncomfortable with this iteration of the pairing due to the age difference of the actors. A subgenre of superfamily works specific to the MCU Spideypool fandom imagines how Peter Parker's dads would react to him having a relationship with Wade.

The release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse led to more works in this pairing. Despite Deadpool not appearing in this source material, fans began to ship Peter B. Parker with him. Many fans headcanon that Peter B. never got back together with Mary Jane, and instead had a relationship with Deadpool.

Many fan writers use AO3's freeform tags to specify which iterations of the characters appear in their fanfiction. As a result, there is now a canonized Peter Parker Played By Andrew Garfield tag on Ao3. There are similar tags for the Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland iterations of Spiderman.

Common Tropes in Fanworks

  • Hurt/Comfort: Peter being hurt and Wade providing comfort is slightly more popular, however, it is not uncommon to find works with a hurt Wade, or both of them being hurt. These fics will also often include the tags Peter Parker Needs a Hug or Wade Wilson Needs A Hug
  • Protective Wade Wilson: Wade being protective of Peter, occasionally in a physical way, but more often in an emotional sense
  • Humor: Spideypool fanworks often include a high amount of humorous situations and snappy dialogue
  • No Powers AU: where Peter and Wade do not have superpowers and are not superheroes, and they often meet under more conventional circumstances
  • Aged Up: depending on the version of canon, there is sometimes a large age gap between the two characters, so fans will often make Peter older
  • High School AU or College AU: common because of Peter's relative age in some canons, to make this work fans will often make Wade younger so he is closer in age to Peter. These AUs may be ones where they are still superheroes trying to go to school and maintain a normal life, or they may just be mundane AUs
  • Identity Reveal: Peter and Wade revealing their alter egos to each other, or something happens to accidentally reveal their true personas
  • Established Relationship: fanworks that skip over them getting together and go right to domestic fluff
  • Top/Bottom Dynamics: Bottom Peter tends to be the most popular, although the reverse is not that uncommon
  • Alpha/Beta/Omega: Omega Peter and Alpha Wade seems to be the most popular dynamic for omegaverse fics, and Mpreg seems to occur in about roughly half the stories

Challenges

Fanworks

Cosplay

Fanart

Fanfic

  • Sick Days by DarkMoonMaiden. (2013) In which Peter gets sick, the team coddles him, and Wade sneaks in to cuddle him. Spideypool and Superfamily (Steve/Tony) Rated T
  • Quackery by CAPSING. (2014) In a world where the first words your soulmate will say to you appear on your left wrist at your tenth birthday, Peter gets the short end of the stick. Rated M
  • finger tap pulses by twentytwosevens. (2014) "The first time Peter’s timer stops he is eleven years old. It times out in the middle of the night and wakes him up like an electric shock. The blank timer stares at him from his wrist as he yells and screams for his aunt and uncle." Spideypool AU with timers where Wade keeps getting killed and making Peter's timer go blank. By the time they meet he's pretty pissed off. Rated T
  • Am I Going to be Tonightless Again? by Katastrophi & Meeps. (2016) After months of noticing a cute little brunet following him to a bar, Wade Wilson decides to take matters into his own hands and confronts him about it. It’s more than either of them could have hoped for. Rated Explicit
  • Questions and Answers by Remy_Writes5. (2016) Peter Parker makes the mistake of taking a picture of Deadpool. Rated Explicit
  • Knightly Wanderings by Lori_S21. (2016) Wade Wilson is a man of integrity. A man of strength, wisdom and honour. He immediately breaks into Spider-Man's apartment to warn him of a new menace that is currently terrorising New York City.../Yeah...a menace in his PANTS./ [Yep, we're totally messing with you. He invites himself into a sleeping Spidey's bed for purely heroic reasons of course... Does some stuff, ends up with a concussion - it's some real good times] Well what else would you expect, you kinky weirdos?! Rated Explicit
  • Coming Home by reservoirgays. (2016) Wade keeps hanging around Peter's apartment. Peter's not sure what it means. Rated Explicit
  • Crossing The Line. by Maya_Desires. (2016) Wade has been in love with Peter for a long time. Peter wouldn't admit to it, not even to himself. Because their roles weren't meant to be. Wade is a demon and Peter is an angel. And humans have written for centuries that star-crossed lovers only have sad endings. Rated Explicit
  • Falling In Love Will Kill You by vvmpireking. (2016) Peter Parker and Wade Wilson are in love. They just don't know it yet. Rated Explicit
  • You're Only Mine by MosImagination. (2016) Peter is kidnapped during his heat. Wade finds him. They connect to share his heat. A/B/O Dynamics. Rated M
  • Join the Club by arrafrost
  • The One With Laser Tag by arrafrost
  • Christmas Exposure by arrafrost for Nicknacks22

Fanvids

Meta

Spider-Man & Deadpool More Than Friends? Spideypool (2016)
Is Deadpool Too Old For Spider-Man? - Spideypool Update (2018)
The Spider-Verse Gave Us Spideypool? (2019)

Podfic

Example Art Gallery

Archives & Fannish Links

Tumblr

References

  1. ^ Will the Spider-Man/Deadpool crossover comic be the love-fest fans want? by Aja Romano, writing for the DailyDot, Feb 9 2016
  2. ^ Spideypool = Queer Baiting? by tumblr user wadewilson-parker
  3. ^ Confirmed: Spider-Man Is Deadpool's 'Heartmate', Jamie Lovett, comicbook.com. Published September 5, 2017 (Accessed July 6, 2022).
  4. ^ Ryan Reynolds and Andrew Garfield Made Spideypool Happen at Golden Globes; Internet Reacts Appropriately posted at The Mary Sue, Jan 9 2017