Wade Wilson
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Wade Winston Wilson |
| Occupation: | mercenary |
| Relationships: | Mickey and Hailey Wilson (parents), Mercedes Wilson, Gretchen Wilson, "Niagara Bride," Vanessa Carlysle, Orksa, Lurleen, Satana (ex-wives), Shiklah (wife), Evil Deadpool, Widdle Wade (clones), Eleanor Camacho (daughter) |
| Fandom: | Deadpool, Cable and Deadpool, The New Mutants, X-Force, Marvel Comics, X-Men Origins: Wolverine/Deadpool Movieverse, Ultimate Spider-Man, X-Men: The Animated Series, The Avengers (Marvel), Hulk vs., various video games |
| Other: | Wikipedia |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Wade Wilson is a Marvel Comics character that is well known as Deadpool.
Canon
Deadpool first appeared in The New Mutants #98 (February 1991), created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld. Deadpool was originally a supervillain in his first appearance in The New Mutants and later in issues of X-Force, before eventually becoming an antihero.
Deadpool is a disfigured and mentally unstable mercenary with the superhuman ability of an accelerated healing factor. He is known as the "Merc with a Mouth" because of his talkative nature and tendency to break the fourth wall, which is used by writers to humorous effect.
Wade's name is considered an inside joke to DC Comics' character Slade Wilson/Deathstroke since Nicieza thought so when he was shown the design and characteristics.
Ryan Reynolds portrayed the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and reprised the role in the character's 2016 titular film Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds also portrayed the character in Deadpool 2 and Once Upon A Deadpool.
Fandom
Deadpool's Sexuality
Wade Wilson is pansexual, despite never referring to his sexuality in canon. It's widely accepted in fandom, that Deadpool's sexuality was confirmed by a tweet from writer Gerry Duggan in 2013.
I didn't write the annual, but I did wrote Deadpool NOW 11, and I consider DP to be ready & willing to do anything with a pulse.[1]
This tweet was in part a response to an essay, Deadpool's Sexuality by Tumblr user fuckyesdeadpool. The author of that essay updated it to highlight that it should now be read in the context of how this aspect of Deadpool’s character was presented before an official statement was made. The essay was a well known meta on Deadpool's sexuality and widely reblogged on Tumblr. It also continued to be tweeted at writers of the Deadpool comics. In 2015, the essay was shared with Deadpool writer Fabian Nicieza and his reply was not well received by fans.
sorry, but anyone who writes such an extended column trying to "prove" deadpool's sexuality does not understand deadpool's sexuality.[2]
In further tweets, Fabian said he didn't intend to be dismissive of fans. However he was accused of conflating Deadpool's sexuality with his mutation, and possible mental illness. He stated that the character can be "gay one minute, hetero the next." The writer faced a lot of criticism on Twitter for his comments.
This also led to several discussion in the Deadpool fandom. Some questioned the power of creators to add additional canon in a tweet, especially when they are not the sole contributors to that canon. Comparisons were made to JK Rowling's tendency to add additional canon.[3]
Some fans agreed with Nicieza; pointing out that Deadpool in canon is not consistent about his sexual preferences, and has sometimes reacted with panic when his non-heterosexual desires are noticed.[4][5] Some fans also noticed that Deadpool had never had a non-heterosexual relationship in canon. This has led to accusations of queer-baiting, which is rare for canonically LGBT characters.[6]
Some also questioned the appropriateness of sharing speculative fanworks with creators.
Common Tropes & Fanon
- Breaking the fourth wall, usually to the reader but also to the writers, usually with references or opinions on what's happening or something unrelated.
- Fanboying various characters
Shipping
- Wade Wilson/Peter Parker ("Spideypool")
- Wade Wilson/Nathan Summers
- Wade Wilson/Matt Murdock
- Wade Wilson/Matt Murdock/Peter Parker
- Wade Wilson/Darcy Lewis
Fanworks
Vids
Meta
- Deadpool, Archived version character profile by everycharacterisamarvel
- Deadpool's Sexuality by fuckyesdeadpool, last updated August 2015.
Fanfiction
- The Cable & Deadpool Yuletide Special by David Hines(Hradzka). (2009)
- Deadpool's Awesome Fanfiction by Emeraldjewel, The merc with a mouth, in his usual awareness of the continuity, realizes that he is in a fanfiction and decides to correct some common issues with the medium. (2009)
Archives & Fannish Links
- Wade Wilson works at AO3
- Stories tagged wadewilson or deadpool on Wattpad
Resources
- Deadpool at Marvel.com
- Deadpool at Marvel Database
References
- ^ Twitter thread with Gerry Duggan's confirmation of Deadpool's sexuality, December 2013. Archived here on December 14, 2020.
- ^ @kawy's Tweet and writer Fabian Nicieza's replies on Twitter, August 2015. Archived here on December 14, 2020.
- ^ Let's talk about Pansexual Deadpool.... Is he? discussion on Reddit, May 2017.
- ^ A little critique on that whole ‘Deadpool is pansexual’ thing, archive link a meta post by rallamajoop on Tumblr, September 2016.
- ^ Why Deadpool Is The Best Queer Superhero Ever! a Reddit discussion, March 2016.
- ^ Spideypool = queer baiting?, Archived version a meta post by fuchyesdeadpool, reblogged in January 2017.