Not even the most avid Deadpool fans can claim that they went to see the multiversal adventures of Deadpool and Wolverine for the narrative intricacies, but even they wouldn’t have expected the cameo-fest the movie has produced, making the venture feel more like a comic-vine fanfiction. As an interconnected universe, the MCU has become increasingly dependent on cameos and Easter eggs to create massy fan service moments through nostalgia pandering these days, and the film is quite evidently the best/worst example of that. All in all, the steady decline of the cinematic universe’s fourth and fifth phases might just have been halted by catering to the fanboys in the guise of honoring the legacies of yesteryear’s Marvel movies, and going forward, a similar approach will be taken to create massive crossover events like Avengers: Secret Wars. Without further ado, let’s go through all the expected and unexpected character appearances that have helped Deadpool and Wolverine hog all the limelight since its release.
Spoilers Ahead
Happy Hogan
Tony Stark’s trusted associate and friend Happy Hogan has been as instrumental a presence in MCU as Nick Fury, and as Deadpool ventured to Earth-616 for the first time in 2018, he approached Happy requesting to join the Avengers. Beginning the cameo-fest with the man who kicked off the MCU in the first place (“Iron Man was directed by Jon Favreau”) was a nice gesture indeed.
Hunter B-15
The chief temporal peacekeeping organization of the MCU, the Time Variance Authority, aka TVA, played a prominent role in the narrative, and as its prime overseer, Hunter B-15 appeared during the final moments of the movie, which also conveyed the fact that Deadpool and Wolverine takes place after the second season of the Disney+ series Loki.
Comics Accurate Wolverine
Now coming to the better part of the expected and unexpected cameo appearances, Deadpool stumbles upon the shorter, hairy comic accurate version of Wolverine while searching for a suitable replacement Logan variant for his universe, also played by Hugh Jackman. It should be mentioned at this point that all the Wolverine variants, except one, are played by Hugh Jackman.
Age of Apocalypse Wolverine
While searching for a suitable variant, Deadpool arrives in the dystopian universe of the Age of Apocalypse storyline, where a savage, edgy, overly muscular, one-armed version of Wolverine in red and blue leotard welcomes him by slicing and dicing. The stylization of this version of Wolverine is in sync with the 90s character redesigns, and the temperament matches just fine as well.
John Byrne Brown and Gold Wolverine
Deadpool interrupts the iconic Hulk vs. Wolverine fight in one of the universes, where viewers get to see the classic brown and gold costume wearing Logan taking on the green behemoth in the wilderness. Fans will surely be eager to see the continuation of the fight later on; perhaps Secret Wars can once again pit these two savage brawlers against each other.
Alter Ego of Wolverine, Patch
One of the variants of Wolverine is seen wearing a white tux, black bowtie, and a pirate eyepatch, and this formally dressed version of Logan resembles his alter ego from comics, known as Patch.
Fever Dream Wolverine
One of the Logan variants is seen crucified on a giant X-shaped construct atop a mountain of skulls as blood rains from the sky. This scenario was inspired by the Fever Dream storyline of Uncanny X-Men, written by Chris Claremont.
Wolverine Variant Played By Henry Cavill
One of the most surprising moments of the movie was when Deadpool came across a version of Wolverine played by Henry Cavill. Despite rumors about Henry Cavill joining MCU making a buzz in the last couple of years, hardly anyone would have thought that a major fancasting gimmick on socials about Henry Cavill playing Wolverine would be fulfilled some day, that too like this. Does this signify that he might take up the mantle from Hugh Jackman in the upcoming days? Or perhaps the fact that the former DCEU Superman actor has officially joined the rivalling franchise? Guess we will find out later on.
A Multiverse of Deadpool
During the climactic battle of the movie, Logan and Wade take on an army comprising numerous odd variants of Deadpool, which includes Headpool, Kidpool, Lady Deadpool, Babypool, Cowboy Deadpool, Welsh Deadpool, Ronin-Pool, Deadpool 2099, Golden Age Deadpool, Zenpool, Zombiepool, and a horde of other unspecified variants of the merc with a mouth. A special mention should be made to Nicepool, who died brutally in the battle, and Dogpool, who finds a new friend in the prime version of Deadpool from Earth-10005.
Human Torch
Actor Chris Evans’ first venture in Marvel tights began with the Fantastic Four movies, where he played the role of Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, although his Captain America became the actor’s most iconic and popular portrayal till date. It was a delightful surprise for the fans to see Chris uttering the famous ‘Flame On’ catchphrase and see their beloved cap return once again, albeit as Johnny Storm. The Captain’s adherence to using kid-friendly language is also mocked, as in his portrayal of a loudmouth, hothead Johnny goes on a crazy rant about the movie’s prime antagonist, Cassandra Nova. Deadpool and Wolverine meet Human Torch in the wasteland of the Void.
Blade
As part of the resistance group of the borderlands of the Void, the group known as the Others consisted of four key characters, and Blade, portrayed by actor Wesley Snipes in the Blade movie trilogy, was an instantly recognizable face. Live action ventures of MCU owe a lot to yesteryear’s Marvel classics, especially to the success of the Blade trilogy, and honoring that aspect by bringing Wesley Snipes onboard as the Daywalker, the hybrid vampire hunter, was definitely a great decision on the makers’ part.
Elektra
Actor Jennifer Garner portrayed the deadly assassin Elektra both in Ben Affleck’s Daredevil and the spin-off movie, Elektra. With both the movies failing big time critically and commercially, the actor never took on the say ever again, until Deadpool and Wolverine brought the character back as part of the Others.
Gambit
Actor Channing Tatum’s Gambit solo movie had entered the early stages of development back in 2014 and remained in the production hell ever since until getting cancelled five years later. Remy LeBeau got a chance to deal the cards in live action once again as Channing Tatum played Gambit in Deadpool and Wolverine, and among all the former actors appearing in the course of the movie, this particular version of Gambit has the greatest chance of returning.
X-23 aka Laura Kinney
The iconic father-daughter chemistry between Wolverine and his clone teenager Laura Kinney, aka X-23, as seen in James Mangold’s masterpiece, Logan, contributed to the emotional core of the movie, and seeing a variant of the character appearing in Deadpool and Wolverine was a welcome surprise for the fans as well. There is a chance that Laura will appear in a larger role in upcoming MCU ventures, especially in Young Avengers, as the roster of teenage superheroes in MCU has already stacked up quite a bit.
The Brotherhood of the Mutants
As part of Cassandra Nova’s crew of the multiverse’s rejected mutants, a number of anti-human Magneto supporters from Brotherhood of Mutants appear in the movie, which includes Wolverine’s archenemy Sabretooth, Juggernaut, the pyrokinetic sleazy villain Pyro, Toad, Psylocke, Azazel, Callisto, Lady Deathstrike, and a number of other villains. All the characters were played by their respective actors who took part in X-Men movies produced by Fox Studios.
