As the X-Men universe’s rival superhero franchise, Deadpool 2 can’t resist poking fun at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many of the Avengers getting a namedrop or allusion at some point in the movie.
One of the more subtler jabs, though, comes at the expense of Black Widow and Hulk, and a particular moment they shared in the MCU. You may have missed it, but near the end of David Leitch’s sequel, DP, Cable and Domino run into the Juggernaut. Unsure of how to take him down, the Merc jumps on his back, sticks his swords into the villain’s collar and softly says to him, “Hey big guy, the sun’s getting real low.”
Of course, this does nothing to the iconic X-Men villain, but Marvel fans should get a good laugh out of it. If you’ll recall, back in Age of Ultron, Natasha says the same thing to Bruce. It was later mocked in the MCU as well, with the God of Thunder saying a variation of the line to Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok.
Of course, Banner and Black Widow are far from the only ones who get made fun of in Deadpool 2. From Infinity Stones to the shoddy CGI work of Justice League and, in particular, Steppenwolf, ‘Pool throws down the Infinity gauntlet, as he lampoons every superhero movie convention and hackneyed cliche under the sun. There may be a strange case of the pot calling the kettle black going on here, though, as some critics have called out Deadpool 2 for its wonky pacing and overstuffed plot.
Be that as it may, the film is still faring pretty well over on Rotten Tomatoes (84 percent at the time of writing), with the official review round-up revealing that the sequel delivers a “gory, gleeful lampoon” of the genre it calls home.
Though it threatens to buckle under the weight of its meta gags, Deadpool 2 is a gory, gleeful lampoon of the superhero genre buoyed by Ryan Reynolds’ undeniable charm.
Those reviews look to translate into a very successful weekend at the box office as well. From what we’ve heard, Deadpool 2 scored a massive opening night and could be headed for a $150 million finish by Monday morning, which would ensure it snags a whole number of impressive records.