New suit. New attitude. Some kind of existential crisis needing to destroy a McGuffin where the fate of all existence hangs in the balance. Plus, you know, Wolverine.

Following the 2018 after-credit scenes of Deadpool 2, Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) gives up his superhero shenanigans to try (gulp) living like any regular person. It isn’t the happily ever after he nor Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) would have chosen, but a visit from the Time Variance Authority confirms Wade was indeed meant for bigger things. One problem: the rest of Wade’s universe isn’t on the VIP list according to Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden) and is due to be wiped from the Sacred Timeline. Risking pretty much everything, Deadpool flees the TVA in search of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the greatest superhero/X-man he can think of, to save everyone and everything he loves… and we’re all going with him.

Fans mostly don’t care that Shawn Levy directed and co-wrote this homage to the 20th Century Fox “in association with Marvel” films properly spilling over into the MCU… not unlike the way Spider-Man was liberated from Sony. All the folks who’ve been hanging on every trailer and product promotion while speculating which characters might show up and played by whom are about to be answered, doing absolutely nothing to alleviate their one-on-one who’d-win mock matchups (and that’s okay). Stan “The Man” Lee explained long ago how these things must go, so there’s not many secrets here… not really. That said, how does one go about reviewing an R-rated critic-proof ultra-violent comic book movie without giving away the goods or spoiling it for everyone? By teasing it mercilessly, of course.

Getting the original Deadpool onto the big screen was a feat unto itself, one that required leaking secret test footage to the masses — it’s still a mystery who would have done such a vile and dishonorable thing, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more — until audiences would no longer be denied. Due to the IP rights being reacquired by Disney after an amazing sequel, it reportedly took Reynolds eighteen treatments for Kevin Feige to green light this team up, thanks in no small part to Jackman feeling the itch only adamantium claws could scratch. 2023 was a less than epic year for Marvel movies due to strikes hindering production and promotion, resulting in this single MCU entry for the entirety 2024 carried by the Merc With a Mouth and his grumpy yellow-costumed colleague. It’s a gleeful celebration of pre-MCU fare infused with a decadent dose of classic comics and clever casting, with adrenaline-fueled fan service turned up to eleven and zero apologies for it.

After diehards kept up with thirty-three previous MCU movies and dozens of Disney+ television series events, this film simply happens “now,” bringing not only the Deadpool Universe into the MCU but everything early-Marvel along with it. Because of the Time Variance Authority introduced in Season 1 of “Loki,” all variants are canon, whether it’s Alligator Loki, Classic Loki, or Lady Loki (you should really watch those two seasons). Unlike Disney’s Star Wars deciding to “legacy” everything following Return of the Jedi while also mining it for story scraps, the Marvel Multiverse instead allows everything to exist no matter how obscure. Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk? Bring it. Comics Cassandra Nova played by Emma Corrin? Done. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Thor from Adventures in Babysitting? Here for it. Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four? Um… forgiven-ish. Fun fact: even the overlong Eternals referenced DC characters — and was presumably permitted to — so is the DC Cinematic Universe already part of the MCU? Only James Gunn knows for sure.

The more a viewer knows about Marvel films and comics in general, the more they’ll get out of this, but everyone gets to play; let cosplayers come up with whatever their heart’s desire and be part of the family. For all of the farce, however, there are still genuine beats of fear, regret, and rage, played out like Oscar clips by the cast because those character moments matter, if only for that instant in time (and yes, there’s a post-credits scene that’s entirely worth the wait, so now you know).

Deadpool and Wolverine is rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references, and Kevin Feige still trying to pretend the MCU movie timeline is Earth-616. Fix this, Iman Vellani — you’re our only hope.

Four skull recommendation out of four