Wolverine is the best at what he does. And what he does consists of self-loathing and swear words although to be honest this is probably edited for a general audience so the original take probably had more colorful vocabulary. Wolverine is the best at what he does; that much has never indeed been up for debate.

Or at least it looks that way in the latest trailer to the mash-up of Deadpool and Wolverine courtesy of a returning Hugh. The third Deadpool movie was long promised to be an R-rated reunion of 20th-century Fox mutants and a way to bring the X-men villains. And the second follows in this trend with Wolverine. 

Along the way of course we get deep Marvel winks. Many of these twinkle by so quickly that it requires enhanced senses to catch them. 

In the words of the Merc with a mouth “ Fucking Let’s Go.” now let’s break down what the hell is going on in this latest trailer full of cameos and easter eggs. 

Old-man Logan-esque

For all that we loved about Hugh Jackman as Wolverine there has remained some trepidation over him playing the Ol’ Canuckledhead again because it undermines the catharsis of Logan. Written and directed by James Mangold Logan adapts part of Old Man Logan the 2009 comic book storyline by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven.

The trailer hints that Deadpool & Wolverine bring more of Old Man Logan to live action. This is when Deadpool & Wolverine do their never-ending sad drinks and insist on visiting the bar because they destroyed the old world. Why? How? We don’t know much about that yet. He does show up in the trailer with a very powerful telepath who has the guy make Wolverine go mean berserker against his mutant friends all of whom we see dead and buried in a vast graveyard. 

O Canada

The trailer's beginning harks to one of the first times we ever met Logan’s Wolverine in the cosmics. Following a vare-knuckle boxing match victory Logan sidles up to a Wolverine in the comics. Following a bare-knuckle boxing match victory Logan sidles up to a bar where a bigot soon hassles him.

It is the same scene in Deadpool & Wolverine from the 2000s X-men movies and at the start of 2013’s The Wolverine. This is the kind of environment that typically surrounds stories featuring a lot of Wolverine. Right from the 1982 miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller to innumerable other budding stories Wolverine likes to throw it down in Canadian watering holes. 

But the bar in Deadpool & wolverine isn’t the only Great White North representation. Then again not only is Ryan Reynolds a proud Vancouverite but Wade Wilson himself is canonically Canadian. Over Wade’s shoulder we can see the CN tower during the party sequence rendering the party in Toronto. 

And finally to top it all off on the television screen at Logan’s bar is a hockey game with the Maple Leafs; they are probably getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs just like in our universe! 

Cassandra Nova

It was confirmed a while ago that Emma Coriin would be playing Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine. The second trailer now shows her in action for the first time. 

Unless you are familiar with the material her comic book backstory is that she is the twin sister of Professor X and the fellow is a telepath. He is so powerful and evil that a fetal Xavier tries to kill her in the womb.

One of the big bads in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run in the early 2000s was Nova an antagonist who wiped out the mutant nation of Genosha a storyline that the recent X-Men ‘97 animated series while excellent and recommended for everyone remember isn’t in actuality a part of the MCU’s continuity. 

The first of the two shots of Nova offers little information. She says “Boys are so silly” which isn’t quite as intimidating in the trailer as it surely will be in the film. But the second shows Nova controlling Wolverine forcing his clawed arms to his side. If she can control Logan there Nova can undoubtedly force his clawed arms to his side. If she can control Logan there Nova can undoubtedly force Logan to commit unspeakable universe-destroying acts. 

Wolverine in Costume Almost

Of particular excitement regarding Jackman’s return is the prospect of him finally donning yellow spandex after taking the mickey out of it in 2000. The first set of photos of Jackman in blue and gold sent the internet ablaze but more than a few pointed out that the costume wasn’t entirely accurate. In the comics almost always Wolverine cut the sleeves off his costumes. Those hairy biceps needed to be shown. 

No they’re not at all hairy and yes they’re much longer than those of the 5’4” runt of the comics but Jackman’s arms are on full display in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer’s first who acts. How great it would have been if this signaled an MCU-style bite of perfect appearance out of comics yet we seemed deprived of that intrinsic component of the outfit the winged mask.



Liefeld’s Feet

Jackman’s arms are so incredible that most would miss the signage on the buildings in the background. One signage mentions an inn called Copperhead’s which could be alluding to the serpent society member that has plagued the lives of Captain America Daredevil and Wolverine. Copperhead and the Serpent Society are set to make an appearance in Captain America brave new world so it is not that difficult to imagine him here. 

But the best sign of Liefeld’s Just Feet. The etymology is this: Rob Liefeld was the artist/ writer who introduced Deadpool in 1990’s New Mutants #98. Liefeld’s take had none of the fourth-wall-breaking humor that fuels the character nowadays. Still those qualities were slow to arrive via various mad deconstruction crews of hired gunslingers named Joe Casey Christopher Priest and Gail Simone.