Deadpool & Wolverine’s ‘constant gay jokes’ leaves Marvel fans completely divided
The internet is divided over the “constant gay jokes” in Deadpool and Wolverine, with some labeling the jokes as “relentless and annoying,” while others are defending the Marvel film.
Deadpool & Wolverine hit theaters on Friday, with the superhero film grossing a whopping $211 million in its opening weekend.
But viewers appeared divided over the film on social media, largely due to the number of jokes Ryan Reynolds’ character Deadpool made about his desire to get intimate with Hugh Jackman’s character Wolverine.
X, formerly Twitter, was immediately flooded with messages on the topic, with some people reacting strongly to the ongoing jokes about Deadpool and Wolverine’s sexual orientation.
“POV: You’re watching Deadpool and Wolverine and they make another lame gay joke,” one person wrote alongside a GIF of a person looking less than happy in a movie theater.
The internet is divided over the ‘constant gay jokes’ in Deadpool & Wolverine – with some labelling them ‘relentless and annoying’, while others defend the film
The Marvel film hit theaters on Friday and grossed a whopping $211 million at the box office in its first weekend.
“Me when Deadpool makes the fifth joke in a row where the punchline is ‘being gay,'” another user added, along with a GIF of someone drinking bleach.
“It was a very interesting choice by Marvel to fill Deadpool and Wolverine with relentless and tired gay jokes,” a third tweet read.
“If you keep repeating the same joke, at some point it becomes outdated,” a fourth person chimed in.
“Deadpool & Wolverine was good, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many gay jokes in a movie,” another user confessed.
“I kept waiting for them to stop with the lame gay jokes and come up with new material,” someone else scathingly said.
However, others defended the film, saying they appreciated its humorous approach to the subject.
“There are definitely a lot of jokes, but they’re not joking about gays/the topic,” someone defended.
“I actually thought they were funny because it never felt like they were making fun of Deadpool for being gay,” another agreed. “It just felt like that’s who he is, and that’s cool.”
But viewers seemed divided on social media, especially with the amount of jokes Ryan Reynolds’ character made about his desire to get intimate with Hugh Jackman’s character
X, formerly Twitter, was immediately flooded with messages on the topic, with some people criticizing the constant jokes about Deadpool and Wolverine’s sexuality.
However, others came out in support of the film, saying they enjoyed its humorous approach to the subject
To promote the film, Marvel released a series of posters that seemed to indicate that Deadpool and Wolverine would become romantically involved.
In one of them, their hands formed a heart, with the letters “D + W” carved in the background, similar to what lovers carve into a tree.
Another poster showed Deadpool rubbing his finger over one of Wolverine’s claws, while a third poster showed the character slow dancing, similar to the poster for Beauty and the Beast.
They also sold a bucket of popcorn with Wolverine’s mouth wide open in a very provocative pose.
In the Marvel comics, Deadpool is depicted as pansexual; Wolverine’s orientation is not revealed, but there is a storyline in the comics set in an alternate universe in which he is in a same-sex relationship.
It was also suggested that he was involved in a threesome with Jean Grey and Cyclops.
Some people weren’t unhappy about the jokes themselves, but about the fact that the film contained so many homosexual comments, yet Deadpool and Wolverine didn’t end up getting together.
“It really annoyed me that Deadpool referred to gay people in the new movie as “the gays,” as if he himself isn’t queer,” someone else said.
“I hate that his homosexuality is only presented as a joke and is never genuine.”
“Today I had a discussion with a random person about Deadpool’s sexuality. I thought it would be interesting if it was an actual plot element instead of a comedic crutch in the new movie,” read another tweet.
During the promotion of the film, Marvel released a series of posters that seemed to suggest that Deadpool and Wolverine would become romantically involved
In one, their hands were forming a heart shape with the letters “D + W” etched in the background, similar to what lovers might carve into a tree. In another photo, they were slowly dancing
They also sold a bucket of popcorn with Wolverine’s mouth wide open in a very provocative pose
In the Marvel comics, Deadpool is depicted as pansexual; Wolverine’s sexuality is not revealed, but it is implied that he was involved in a threesome with Jean Grey and Cyclops
One reviewer for The guard even accused Marvel of “queerbaiting” in its marketing.
“That the film’s pansexual innuendo goes no further is neither surprising nor particularly damaging to its joyless functionality as multiplex fodder,” the publication’s review reads.
‘The film’s caution on this front, however, underscores the queerbaiting cynicism of its marketing, which places significantly more emphasis on Deadpool’s sexuality than the final product ever does.’
The outlet criticized the film for portraying “same-sex attraction” as “little more than a joke.”
“The possibility of the two characters having sex is such an extreme possibility that it falls into the category of promotional satire: hilarious to joke about, too shocking to think about,” the story continued.
“It’s a form of scorn on par with schoolyard homophobia, and Deadpool’s self-identification as gay does little to alleviate it.”
Digital spy also criticized the film for making “hints” about the characters’ sexuality in the posters, but later turning this into a “joke.”
‘Allusions to [their sexualities] in marketing amounted to a joke. And it was a lame, homophobic joke,’ it said.
“It’s so 90s, the idea that men love other men is bullshit, regardless of the intentions behind it.”