HUGE SPOILERS LAY WITHIN THIS POST - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
With the release of the highly anticipated Deadpool movie, fans have gone wild for everyone's favourite mercenary. The film has received phenomenal reviews, and Ryan Reynolds has teased fans that there are over 100 Easter Eggs and "In jokes" to look out for. This film is arguably one of my favourite in the superhero genre to date, the movie had one "shell" of a cast and an "egg-cellent" script that made the whole experience, well, perfect (I promise, no more bad egg puns).
So having seen the film earlier this week, I'm going to try my hardest to list off as many as I can. So strap yourselves in for a long old list, and prepare yourselves for some hazardous guesswork and wild stabs in the dark here.
If anyone wants to correct or point out those that I miss, I wont be offended, so please do as this turned into quite a mammoth task. That is what the comment section was designed for, that and a torrent of abuse occasionally, but I digress - so without further building of anticipation, let us begin.
(some items on the list may have multiple points in them, for the purpose of condensing.)
1. That Coffee Cup
In one of the best opening scenes to a film, you see a huge car wreck moving in slow motion. Within all this chaos, you will see one of the many nods towards one of Deadpool's co-creator, with the name "Rob L" written on a coffee cup.
2. The Green Lantern Gags Begin
In the same opening sequence, as Deadpool is dishing out his own brand of justice to a gang of thugs, you'll notice something fairly familiar in one of the thugs wallets. As the wreck is moving in slow motion, fans will notice one of the thugs has a collectors card that looks to resemble a smiling Ryan Reynolds in his former superhero outfit (or as close as the rights would allow).
3. Hello Kitty
The opening scene holds a handful of nods and references. As well as the ones listed above, you'll notice a tube of Hello Kitty lip balm, which in and of itself seems inconsequential. But fans of the Deadpool marketing campaign will know that the only other Twitter account the Deadpool Movie followed, was none other than, Hello Kitty. So given the long term commitment to this gag, it's safe to assume that this belonged to everyone's favourite Merc With A Mouth.
4-14. Those Opening Credits
OK, as previously mentioned, there is a hell of a lot of references in the opening credits alone. The sheer genius lies in the titles given to each person involved in the production process. Written in true Deadpool fashion, the list is as follows:
Some Douchebag’s Film
God’s Perfect Idiot (Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool)
A Hot Chick (Morena Baccarin – Vanessa)
A British Villain (Ed Skrien – Ajax)
Comic Relief (T.J. Miller – Weasel)
A Moody Teen (Brianna Hildebrand – Negasonic Teenage Warhead)
An Entirely CGI Character (Stefan Kapičić – Colossus)
A Gratuitous Cameo (Stan Lee)
Produced By Asshats (Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds)
Written By The Real Heroes (Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese)
Directed by Some Overpaid Tool (Tim Miller)
In my opinion, all opening credits should be written with this level of honesty.
15. Ryan Reynolds - People Sexiest Man Alive
In the last of the opening car wreckage (for this list so far), viewers will spot an issue of People Magazine featuring the films leading man as their sexiest man alive. Now viewers know this fact, and they also know that Deadpool knows this too, very Meta (Community's Abed would be so proud).
16. Adventure-Pool Time (Deadpool/Adventure Time Nod)
There's a large chunk of the online Fan-Art community dedicated to Deadpool and Adventure Time mash-up art, and Wade's taxi ride pays homage to this. Wade's wrist watch (that you can actually buy) gives fans of this work a slight tip of the cap that will surely only add fuel to that raging fire.
17. Joint Release Dates
Salt-N-Pepa’s Shoop featured in several of the trailers for Deadpool and also featured heavily in the movie's soundtrack. But it’s more that just an awesome addition to an already perfect film, the song was released in 1993, the same year that Deadpool got his first solo miniseries.
18. Smooth Criminals
None of the nods towards Wolverine come better than this. During Wade's monologue before he's about to face off against an army of thugs, he turns to the camera and explains how he got his shot at fame. He doesn't name drop directly, but speaks to the audience in an Australian accent and delivers the subtle hint, that he had to fondle the "Smooth Criminals" of someone who's name rhymes with, "Pullveriene".
19. Batman Joke
Whilst Deadpool is fighting in the car filled with thugs, his head is smashed into the radio a few times changing the channel. During this action, for a split second, one of the channels it skips to displays the old scene transition logo from the Adam West era Batman show. A small, but beautiful nod to the early days of the superhero boom.
20 - 26. Those Road Signs
On that incredible and epic fight scene of the highway, eagle eyed fans will notice the names of various creators involved in the inception of Deadpool, with both the film and the books. Firstly is Fabian Nicieza, co-creator of Deadpool. His street sign is placed together with another for a neighbouring street, creating Nicieza St and Fabian Rd, There is also a Liefeld St sign. These brilliant little nods are also close to the cleverly named, Miller St, which is another reference to the movie’s director Tim Miller. Not forgetting the reference to Deadpools often mistaken acquaintance Spider-Man, with Parker Boulevard. There are also other sign post with various names of the various effects teams on them (2 separate road signs pictured below), in true "blink and you'll miss it" fashion, or squint and you'll miss it with the poor screen grab. Leaving a total of 7 illusive, yet brilliant road signs to spot.
27. Xavier's Mansion
Deadpool's on again, off again relationship with The X-Men is captured perfectly in this film. The movie itself features two of The X-Men and a few choice shots of the new mansion itself, with a lovely interior view of their lovely kitchen.
28. That Pizza Scene.
Wade's non-costumed début in the film depicts a scene where he holds a pizza boy at gun point after breaking into some strangers apartment. The scene itself is familiar to fans of the Deapool comic, it’s taken straight from the pages of Deadpool issue number 10 (2012). Unfortunately for the pizza boy in the books, Wade ended up killing him as part of his contract. So the movie Wade is actually a softer version with more of a heart.
29. The X-Jet
With two X-Men featuring in the film, it's no shock to anyone that their favourite mode of transport made it into the flick. A small but equally incredible appearance.
30. Apocalyptic Nod
Negasonic Teenage Warhead makes a flippant comment about the mansion being blown up every week. This could be a clever little reference to the hazards of living in the institute in the book world, or it could be viewed more as a little wink at the recently released trailer for Apocalypse where the Xavier Institute is blown up entirely, for the first time in their cinematic history.
31. Kevin Feige's Second Job
In the scene mentioned above involving a pizza delivery, The company name on the box reads "Famous Feige's", a quiet nod towards the head of Marvel Studios. Feige actually got his start in the genre as a producer for FOX on X-men, Daredevil, Spider-Man 2 and even Blade Trinity with Ryan Reynolds himself.
32. Comic Book Style Cutbacks
The majority of the film is one long action sequence with flashbacks to Wades former life, before eventually catching up to the present day. The very first flash back to Wades life as a hired gun is accompanied by a "2 years earlier" stamp, in the same style as the book themselves.
33. Sister Margaret
The name of Weasel's is an obscure reference to a bad ass character in the X-Men 2099 series, a Nun that goes by the same name, Sister Margaret.
34. Mario Lopez
Even after the hilarious interviews with Mario Lopez for the marketing campaign of the film, Wade Wilson continued to include this fourth wall breaking gag into the film itself. During the marathon "love making" montage, Wade can be seen reading the memoirs of Mario Lopez, titled: "Just Between Us".
35. Enter The Creator
At the beginning of the film as Wade enters Weasel's bar, Co-Creator Rob Liefeld get his third cameo of the movie. Wade enters the bar and after greeting one member, he greets another with the name Liefeld followed by a shout out of, "fuck Liefeld". As an exciting and extra little Easter Egg, his name appears on the Dead-pool board above the bar.
36. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Call Back
When Wade is recounting his days working with special forces, he remarks "I got to travel the world". His friend then ends his sentence for him with, "going to exotic places to meet new, exciting people… and then kill them”. Fans with a sharp ear for movie dialogue will know, this line was lifted directly from X-Men Origins Wolverine.
37. Deadpools Origins, With A Cinematic Twist
The origins of Deadpool in this film are a closer representation to that of the comic books. In the books, Deadpool got his name from a betting pool the scientists working on Weapon X had, they bet which subjects would survive. In the same way the "Dead-Pool" (see what they did there?) is up in Weasel's bar. Even though it may not be 100% accurate, it still felt more true to the original source material, compare to say, what ever that previous mess can be called.
38. Copy Cat (Kind of)
Deadpool's love interest in the movie played an entirely different role in the books. Vanessa Carlysle was mutant who could shape shift, also known as Copycat. The movie doesn't touch upon this, but her illusive attitude doesn't entirely rule it out for the future.
39. Wades Favourite Toy
The Jabs at Wades former appearance on the big screen are sprinkled everywhere in this film. When Wade is talking about his prize possessions when packing up his belongings, the camera pans in on an action figure of the Deadpool we got lumbered with in Origins. Luckily though, it's his WHAM! album he's really after.
40. Liam Neeson
This gag comes in two brilliant pieces. When Wade is caught crying in the moon light, he rushes back to bed, claiming to have had a nightmare where he kidnapped Liam Neeson's daughter, a clear joke at the 3 title strong film series. But you may not know that back in 1988, there was a film titled "The Dead Pool", which featured non other than, Liam Neeson. Neeson is also a popular favourite among fans to play Cable in the films sequel.
41. Radioactive Shar Pei
Another wink towards Spider-Man comes when Wade is mocking his disfigured face in a hilarious monologue. He uses the line "I look like I was bit by a radioactive Shar-Pei", in one of many genius discussions about his new look.
42. The Suit
When Wade is being wheeled into the facility to begin his treatment for cancer, he's joking about his future as a "superhero". He makes the perfect joke at Reynolds last outing as a hero, asking for his new superhero suit not be "Green" or "Animated".
43. Marrow
There's not a lot you can see in the dark labs that Wade is taken too. But there is a clear shot of the mutant known as Marrow. With the recent rumours with her name being tied to an X-Force movie, this little glimpse could mean more than we think.
44. Which Professor?
When Wade is handcuffed by Colossus and being dragged back to the jet, Colossus says he's taking Wade to see The Professor. To which Wade responds "Stewart or McAvoy? This movie timeline is getting so hard to follow", another perfectly placed joke allowing Deadpool to break reality.
45. Stan The Man
Stan Lee delivers on his promised "Gratuitous Cameo", but this time his cameo was more of a "Deadpool" suited one. He can be seen DJ-ing at the strip club Weasel and Wade visit whilst looking for Vanessa.
46. Deadpool Rap
Back in 2013, Deadpool got his own video game, now over all it was hit and miss, but those that loved it, really loved it. One group was so in love with the title, that they created the Deadpool Rap that was released online. When time came to make the film, the group was brought in to write an updated version, this can be heard as Wade is hunting down Ajax's henchmen.
47. The Super Hero Landing
The superhero landing wasn't something I overly noticed until the wise Wade Wilson (lovely alliteration there) kindly pointed it out, in hilarious fashion. But as a quick Google image search proved, quite a lot do the exact same landing. So a little side note for those starting pre production soon, maybe mix things up a bit, and have them land in a whole new style.
48. Bob
Fans of the comic book would've instantly recognised the cameo from Deadpools long suffering pal, Bob. In the book Bob was a member of Hydra and often appears in many issues of Deadpool as the mercenaries friend/human shield, but naturally the rights for Hydra belong to the MCU. So in this universe Bob appeared to be a friend of Wades from his special forces days, a clever little nod, or a possible set up for the future. Only time will tell.
49. Star Wars?
I'm not sure if this counts as an Easter Egg, but I would definitely put it in the "In Joke" column. Fans of Deadpool will know he's a huge Star Wars fan, and Marvel have recently acquired the rights to this epic franchise. The original trilogy is named dropped when Wade and Vanessa are laying in bed together arguing about the titles. Little trivia for you, back when the films were originally released, there were no Episodic titles attached. Episode IV was simply "Star Wars", and Episode V was just called "Empire Strikes Back". Which makes their geeky debate, very accurate to the real world.
50. Chimichangas
It wouldn't be a Deadpool movie without the man himself referencing his favourite food of all time. Deadpool borrows a line from "Dunkin Donuts" by making their catchphrase his own, "make the chimi-fucking-changas!".
51. Blade
When Ajax and Angel storm into Weasels bar, the pair prompted to leave by the room full of mercenaries. This is where Weasel tells the villains to enjoy their late night screening of Blade, this could either be a gag at the poorly received film, or an joke aimed at Reynolds expense. It's anyone guess.
52. Agent Smith
Another small but brilliant piece of referencing. A "pre-Deadpool" Wade refers to this generic looking agent as Agent Smith, another case of Wades brilliant referencing of popular culture, drawing attention to the agents likeness to the one from the famous Matrix series.
53. Your Poor Wife
During a hilarious outburst of frustration, Deadpool attempts to vent his rage by punching Colossus several times, all of which end terribly. During this, Deadpool tries to punch Colossus in the nether regions, breaking his entire hand. At this point Wade shouts, "Your poor wife!", a subtle nod towards Kitty Pride, who is the wife or partner (depending on the timeline/universe) of fellow X-Man Colossus.
54. 127 Hours
When Deadpool is captured by Colossus, he attempts to break free by cutting off his own hand muttering "127 Hours spoilers". This is both a brilliant reference to the grotesque mutilation Deadpool is put through in the books, and a cheeky little nod to part of their own marketing campaign.
55 - 56. That Other Deadpool Again
When Ajax is taking Wade into the facility, he is easily annoyed by Wades constant jokes and talking, this is where they make another, not so subtle reference to the universally hated Deadpool from Origins, Ajax says, “Don’t make us sew your mouth shut”. Later in the film there is yet another well placed line, this time from Wade himself claiming, “My lips are sealed”.
57. That Gay Joke
When talking about Blind Al, Deadpool describes her as his Robin. It's here where he adds only old, black, blind, and in love with him - He then flips it into a joke aimed at the homoerotic undertones people often point out in the classic TV series.
58. Limitations
Because of Deadpools R rating, the budget for the film was limited by the studio. Deadpool brilliantly points this out as he visits the X-Mansion stating how strange it is that he only ever sees the same two mutants in such a big house, then blames the studio directly for not having enough money. Genius.
59. Hellicarrier?
During the films climax, Deadpool breaks onto the enemy base and he and his team end up taking the place down. Now as the base collapses, it strangely resembles one of SHIELDS Hellicarrier's. Or more importantly, as close as they could possibly get to one because of rights issues.
60-61. Those End Credits
The end credits pay homage to one of the first end credit scene from Ferris Buller's Day Off, Not much happens in these scenes but the pure genius of the joke is well worth staying through the credits for. Not to mention the soundtrack playing is just awesome, as well as the Deadpool cartoons provided on screen.
Then with a simple fade to black, and back. Deadpool re-appears to let fans know that in the next instalment of this film franchise, fan favourite and long suffering ally to Deadpool, Cable will be appearing. This news was suspected, but since it's official announcement, it has driven the internet wild with speculation. Not to mention some brilliant fan art, Now lets make that Liam Neeson joke in the film come full circle and have him play Cable. I mean, how much would that blow Wades mind?
With 61 potential Easter Eggs "Scrambled" together in this list, my brain is both tiered and melting away in true Raiders Of The Lost Ark style. I will head back to my local theatre this week to see this film again, as it is amazing in every possible way. The more child like attributes Wade displays throughout the film, really help to tone down some of the more extreme violence and help blend it all together over all, making this film one of the greatest R rated films I've seen in a long time.
But alas I'm roughly 19 references away from the complete list, despite the "maximum effort" I put in. So I'm calling out to all of you Deadpool fans to help me pin down the last stragglers and complete this beast of a list. So sound off in the comments section below and help me catch them all (sorry Pokemon).
“chicka-chickaaaa”