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Deadpool has become a wildly popular character throughout the years, due to the character’s charm, wit, dark humor, and X-rated tendencies. Every media that includes the character, whether it be film, television, or comics, has embraced the character’s famous breaking of the fourth wall. The fourth wall derives from the modern theater and preserves the illusion of the magic of storytelling. While the fourth wall keeps the audience locked in on the fantasy of the story, the anti-hero proves that breaking it can also be an extremely effective technique for comedy.
Breaking the fourth wall can create a deeper connection between the character and the viewer, let the audience in on the information that only the main character knows, and create humor by immersing the audience in a stand-up comedy like style. Let’s examine some of Wade Wilson’s most significant fourth wall shattering moments, and how they enhanced the viewer experience! (( “CBR.” cbr.com, 2018 ))
Credits Don’t Lie
The films and comics typically broke the fourth wall through action or dialogue; however, Deadpool‘s opening credits (2016) took the breaking of the fourth wall to a whole new level of innovation. The credits are a perfect example of how the film was able to incorporate this cinematic tool in such a creative and spontaneous way. The film opened up with a wild car explosion sequence. Despite the action, the words spread across the screen were the most eye-catching.
Each “credit” broke the fourth wall by boldly calling out each contributor to the film. One credit read, “Starring God’s Perfect Idiot,” referring to Reynolds. To add to the breaking of the fourth wall, the following image was of People Weekly, with Reynolds’ face smack on the front page, reading, “Sexiest Man Alive!” The rest of the credits to follow were overly outlandish and candid, adding to the film’s comedy aspect immensely.
A Wink To The Audience
This moment in Deadpool (2016) was significant for several reasons, as it was the first time that Wade Wilson (Deadpool) met his future love, Vanessa. Wade was aware that Vanessa was a prostitute, which is quite an unconventional character in a superhero’s leading lady. However, when it comes to Deadpool, the audience would expect nothing less than an offbeat meet-cute setup like this one.
Wade breaks the fourth wall by saying to Vanessa,
“I just want to get to know the real you, not the 2D sex object peddled by Hollywood.”
In the comics, Vanessa’s character was extremely sexualized and revealing. This line felt like a nod to the audience, as most of Wade’s quotes do. The character let us know that the film made a progressive choice to go with a more modern version of Vanessa’s character. This line also stated that Vanessa’s profession does not mean that she has to dress like her stereotype. It was also an enjoyable quote for the Deadpool comic fans who were able to understand the joke fully.
POP Goes The Reference
“You ever see 127 Hours? Spoiler alert!”
-Deadpool
The Deadpool franchise was full of pop culture references, which added to the breaking of the fourth wall having an “inside joke” tone. This quote was spoken in Deadpool 2 (2018) by the main character as he was trying to escape Colossus’ shackles. Deadpool whipped out a knife and proceeded to cut his hand off, at which point he mentioned the film, 127 Hours (2010).
127 Hours starred James Franco and showcased a famous scene where Franco was forced to saw his own arm off in order to escape a gap in a mountain. This joke hit the mark because it referenced a serious and terrifying film, adding to Deadpool’s dark sense of humor. On top of that, it was a pop culture reference, so anyone in the audience who had seen the 127 Hours scene found it hilariously spot-on. The viewer also knew that the character was immortal and that his body easily regenerated limbs. Hence, the reference comes off even bolder, knowing that he has no problem cutting off his own hand. (( “Bottle Rocket Media.” bottlerocketmedia.net, 2018 ))
Shame On You, Hollywood
“‘Oh! Oh, hello!’ our hero says, as he sits up on an overpass, waiting to ambush some bad guys. I know, right? Whose balls did I have to fondle to get my own movie? … I’m not going to name names, but it rhymes with Polverine.'”
Deadpool
Deadpool killed a tremendous amount of comedic birds with one stone in this scene. Not only did the character foreshadow the ambush for the audience, but he also made cracks at Wolverine, Hugh Jackman, Hollywood, and himself. First off, the character was making a joke out of himself, like Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool, stating that he would never be able to land a movie without performing a sexual favor on someone important in the industry. Through this quote, he was also highlighting that sexual favors is how Hollywood goes about their business.
It is clear that Deadpool is knowledgeable about the outside world and other franchises. He not-so-subtly eluded to the sexual favor being for Wolverine, from the X-Men, played by actor Hugh Jackman. It has been a cruel rumor in Hollywood for a long time that Jackman may not be straight, so Deadpool was poking fun at the ridiculousness of Hollywood in that aspect as well. (( “The Daily Fandom.” thedailyfandom.org, 2020 ))
Breaking The Fourth Wall On Page
“Hey, if you looked like Ryan Renolds crossed with a shar-pei, you’d understand!”
Deadpool
Not only is the character a fourth wall breaker on the screen, but on the page, as well. The character in the films mimics the humor of the original comic version. This fourth wall break was significant because it foreshadowed details about the cinematic version that would later be created and who would play the main character. The comic version was known for breaking the fourth wall, which clearly successfully transferred over to the silver screen.
Surprisingly, in the comic Cable and Deadpool #2 (2004), Reynolds was mentioned by Deadpool with the quote seen above, which was a very on-brand pop culture reference. It was not until later that Reynolds began investigating the idea of creating a film solely focused on the character. Little did Reynolds know that he would eventually go on to play that very role. It’s also hilarious to note that Reynolds’s name was spelled “Renolds” in this comic strip. It’s already a dig that Deadpool was claiming that he looked like a shar-pei dog, but to mix Reynolds into that was very on point for the character.
I’m Talking To You!
Wade Wilson made it very apparent that he knew he was a character trapped in a comic book with readers hanging on to his every word. The image seen below let the reader know that Deadpool was fully aware of the events that were about to take place and how many pages it would take to get there. He even gave the reader a song choice to listen to while reading along! Wilson broke the fourth wall with complete ease and comfortability. His dry humor gave off a great sense of confidence, self-awareness, and candor. (( “Retcon Punch.” retcon-punch.com, 2018 ))
Wilson’s personality is mainly showcased through his fourth wall breaks. The line, “If you don’t have it, play whatever crap you like,” created a sense of relatability. He was the type of character that said what everyone was thinking, completely unfiltered. This is an enormous reason why audiences are so attracted to the superhero. The character puts zero pressure on the viewer/reader to value his personal opinion or laugh at his jokes; it is take it or leave it.
Breaking The Rules
Breaking the fourth wall is an unpredictable path to go down. This tool can either be extremely effective or dangerously disastrous. The character of Deadpool, no matter what form of media, hit the target every time. This storytelling tool humbled Deadpool by bringing him to our level as the audience. It removed the superhero complex and allowed the viewer to come face to face with the character. He confided in the audience, turned to them to debut his best jokes and even his largest concerns. (( “Mashable.” Mashable.com, 2016 ))
In the comics, the characters occasionally asked Deadpool who he was speaking to during his fourth wall breaks; this was much less common in the films. Either way, it was overlooked in the way that Deadpool didn’t care as much about the other characters’ approval as he did the audience’s.
Viewers and readers enjoyed the comfortability that Deadpool had with them and the bond that breaking the fourth wall created between the worlds of fiction and reality. Everyone was so used to stories staying within the guidelines and keeping up with the illusion that it was not reality.
It was ironic because that was the exact reason why we immersed ourselves in fiction in the first place; we wanted to escape reality! However, Deadpool broke that wall down so much so that we craved those personal moments. We wanted to connect with him, have him speak to us as a friend, rather than a viewer. Deadpool’s hilariously raunchy close talks had us all saying, go on, break the rules!
