Summary
Deadpool & Wolverinehas managed to reignite the spark of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with its inoffensive rated-R antics, but there’s one controversy stemming from the successful threequel that has very little to do with its contents and a lot to do with the comic medium’s long history.
Deadpool & Wolverineis a solid lifeline that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in dire need of, especially following the disastrous performance of the franchise in 2023 that saw the well-received Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 eclipsed on both sides by the failures ofAnt-Man and the Wasp; QuantumaniaandThe Marvels,the latter of which set a new low for the entire genre. In addition to bringing Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool into the MCU, the film was also a massive cameo collection, with all sorts of old and new faces making a return. Most notable was the return of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who was the deuteragonist alongside Deadpool and the most prominent ofseveral variants of the Wolverine character in the movie.
While the film itself went off without a hitch and is on a race to the top of all sorts of charts and lists, one seemingly inconsequential part of the film has been the trigger for reigniting a long-drawn controversy. The film credits Marvel Comics mainstay Roy Thomas as one of the creators ofJakcman’s resurrected characteralongside writer Len Wein, character designer John Romita Sr. and artist Herb Trimpe, refueling the controversy surrounding his legacy with the character once more. The inclusion of Thomas, who served as an editor at the time of the character’s creation, has been a controversial topic in the fandom for years as editors usually don’t get such credits and was exacerbated when Christine Valada, widow of widely recognized co-creator Wein and an entertainment and copyright attorney, publicly disputed the claim.The Hollywood Reporterrecently gave Thomas a platform to express his thoughts on the issue, and the long-time Marvel stalwart politely made his case, reiterating widely verified facts about the creation of the character and bemoaning the controversy.
The four of us made a good team on that book, with myself as editor-in-chief quite content to let Len, John and Herb handle things once I gave out general marching orders. It’s a shame and pity there’s been so much ill-considered ill will generated in recent months since Marvel decided to give me the official co-creator status that I’ve never for one moment doubted that I (just like Herb) deserved … the more so since my side of the creation story has been a part of the public record since articles printed in 1982 and 1999.
Thomas, who commissioned the creation of the character with specifics about his name, origins, personality and powers, has been pushing for recognition for a long time, with Marvel finally acquiescing in 2022 when the company credited him as a co-creator during an announcement for a project he was headlining at the company. As a result, Marvel Studios also credited him onDeadpool & Wolverine, and that really should be the end of it. Due to the fluid nature of comics, many facets of the original design and story for Wolverine have changed over the years without input from Wein, Romita, or Trimpe, all of who are dearly departed now. However, the immutable parts of the character, like the iconic name and the powers and personality that it intoned from the very beginning, are still a part of him today. That alone should speak to how much credit Thomas deserves. It’s kind of fitting thatthe MCU’s love letter to a bygone erawould ignite a controversy from even further back, and highlights just how hitch-free the film’s rollout itself has been.
While this longstanding issue is finally on its last legs, the film that retrenched it has spawned so much more.Kevin Feige confirmed that Hugh Jackman’sDeadpool & Wolverineperformance might have opened the doors for others to returnand potentially revitalize the franchise bu infusing it with stars past. Whether or not Thomas’s Wolverine will be a continued part of this process is still up in the air, but the man himself says he’d love that.
