Deadpool & Wolverine Sneakily Reveals The MCUs Main Deadpool In Avengers: Secret Wars Theory
Deadpool & Wolverine secretly revealed the main MCU timeline’s Deadpool, according to one Marvel movie theory. Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cameos and cast provided a huge number of Deadpool variants, including appearances from some of Ryan Reynolds’ children. While the Deadpool Corps introduced a huge range of variants to the movie, few got considerable expansion, since the group’s main role in the plot was to provide Wade and Logan with an epic fight against a huge selection of Deadpools near to the Deadpool & Wolverine ending.
Indeed, this arguably was the best use of the Deadpool Corps possible for the film, as it conveyed the R-rated and playful tone of the franchise effectively and stylishly, without feeling obliged to detail the inner lives of the Deadpool variants when it wasn’t strictly needed. However, based on a combination of the existing MCU lore, and Marvel’s comic build up to the story of Secret Wars, one variant could secretly be far more important than the Deadpool Corps scenes seem, as they’re a viable candidate for the identity of the main MCU universe’s Deadpool.
Deadpool & Wolverine’s Zenpool Is Earth-616’s Deadpool According To MCU Theory
Deadpool & Wolverine raises a lot of questions regarding the way it changes the overarching MCU multiverse, but one of the most interesting is where exactly the main timeline’s Deadpool is. The sheer number of Deadpool variants that comprise the Deadpool Corps strongly suggests Wade Wilson is in most timelines – albeit in some very different forms – and as such, it’d seem unusual if this was missed out for Earth-616. That said, explaining the total lack of Deadpool references in that timeline until now had a red-masked quipping mercenary been wreaking havoc would also be hard to justify.
However, Marvel Comics do provide a pretty reasonable explanation for all this that could allow Earth-616 to still have a Deadpool variant who logically wouldn’t have been noted to the same degree. Zenpool – the Deadpool & Wolverine Wade Wilson variant who can be seen in the gray mask and suit rather than Deadpool’s usual distinctive red – is a version of the character who appears in the comics after Wade’s mind is altered to make him a pacifist.
Notably, Zenpool appears to perhaps even still be a pacifist member of the Deadpool Corps, since he’s not shown fighting when the Corps try to take down Wolverine and Deadpool. With the MCU surely set to keep Ryan Reynold’s main Deadpool on as the central version of the figure, using this variant as the Earth-616 iteration could ensure this approach makes the most sense.
It’s worth noting that the Zenpool story takes place just before Wade dies as a result of Marvel’s Time Runs Out storyline. The Time Runs Out narrative builds up to the 2016 Secret Wars comic story that the MCU looks set to adapt for Avengers: Secret Wars based on its exploration of incursions, which in Time Runs Out lead to the destruction of the main Marvel universe.
This detail means it would make particular sense for Earth-616’s Deadpool to have simply been Zenpool for most of the MCU timeline, as the approach would simply be the franchise adapting Deadpool’s comic story in this chapter of Marvel’s history. The theory also explains why the character hasn’t been mentioned in the main universe, since he wouldn’t be as known for his usual blood-soaked antics – especially if he left for the Deadpool Corps some time ago.
Why The Main MCU Timeline Still Needs A Deadpool
The MCU has run for some time without a notable number of heroes being considered fully part of its canon, including major figures like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. However, the franchise has recently been taking steps to bring these missing figures into the main universe, with the Defenders heroes becoming MCU canon – as well as Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin – the Fantastic Four impending with Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the X-Men starting to be set up for an Earth-616 debut via Namor and Ms. Marvel being established as mutants.
As such, avoiding at least explaining who Earth-616’s Deadpool is feels like going against the grain, especially since this would only really need a joke to address the matter. Even if the franchise ends up rebooting as is rumored to happen following Avengers: Secret Wars – a move that would likely see Reynolds’ hero become the main universe Deadpool – this really only leaves the floor more open for the previous “main” universe Deadpool to be a comic gag, which is something the MCU may be in need of in upcoming installments as the Multiverse Saga starts to reach its dramatic peak.
Making Earth-616’s Deadpool Be Zenpool Works Perfectly To Justify Ryan Reynolds’ Hero Being The Main MCU Deadpool
While having no Deadpool variant in Earth-616 might risk raising unnecessary questions itself, having a different Deadpool variant in the main universe also could present a weird scenario for the franchise, since comparatively ignoring the main timeline’s Deadpool in lieu of another could seem off given the general focus Earth-616 otherwise gets. Zenpool, on the other hand, presents none of these issues, since it would mean there’s not another Deadpool who perhaps should be the “main” Deadpool – there’s Zenpool, and there’s Deadpool.
Zenpool does revert to his usual Deadpool self in the comics, but the MCU has never been afraid to divert from adapting the comics identically, and as such, it would be entirely possible to keep Zenpool as he is for any prospective future appearances. With the MCU likely to have heroes meeting their own variants as a staple of the upcoming Multiverse Saga movies, having Deadpool and Zenpool interact further also works, as giving the volatile and instinctively violent Deadpool a seemingly pacifist version of himself to either fight or team up with feels inherently MCU-esque story wise.
With Ryan Reynolds’ iteration of the Marvel antihero being so popular, it stands to reason that the MCU should capitalize on this by keeping the focus on his version of the character. With this in mind, intertwining Zenpool and Earth-616 offers a suitably entertaining way to further justify this decision while also satiating the curiosity of any fans who want to know about what happened to Wade Wilson in the franchise’s main timeline following Deadpool & Wolverine.