Deadpool & Wolverine Confirms the Biggest Problem With the Multiverse

Warning: The following article has spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the Spider-Verse films.

In 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse wowed audiences. It was a phenomenon that was somehow surpassed by its sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Then the MCU decided to take their swing at it. Slowly and surely the quality has been dropping, and that’s finally culminated with Deadpool & Wolverine.

My fiancée and I rarely argue. We have fun debates, mostly bonding over our thoughts on fantasy, sci-fi, and the like. However, there has always been one sticking point. My fiancée does not care for multiverse stories. She has always found that it lowers the stakes. When you lose a character and another can show up to take their place, why care?

I’m on the opposing side. I adore multiverses. I love the idea of all those possibilities. Unfortunately, the multiverse phase hit the MCU and I now have to admit her argument is valid. And Deadpool and Wolverine shine the brightest light on this problem. Damn you, Marvel.

Okay, Minimum Effort

It began harmlessly enough with Loki and the introduction of the TVA. Thankfully, with Tom Hiddleston leading the way, the story took center stage. Unfortunately, it didn’t take the MCU long before it saw what the Multiverse could offer them: variants. This is what Deadpool & Wolverine capitalize on. The film talks big game about the importance of family and loved ones, but think about how long the residents of Wade’s universe are actually in the film.

All the emotional bandwidth of the film is taken up by meaningless nostalgia. The Wolverine we follow in Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t even our Wolverine. The director and writers are hoping we simply associate Hugh Jackman with Wolverine and our nostalgia will stop us from thinking any further. Our Wolverine’s story ended and it was powerful. This new Wolverine simply coasts off the goodwill of Jackman’s previous portrayal, and any emotion evoked is because you likely remember how you felt seeing the original Wolverine do what he did best.

This has become a fine science to Marvel. They have been honing this “skill” across much of their content. Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are two of the biggest offenders. Multiverse of Madness gets more leeway from me because it has a fascinating story, a brilliant and threatening villain and it gives its hero an emotional arc.

Meanwhile, you have No Way Home and, much like Deadpool & Wolverine, it relies on nostalgia to sell its product. With all the wonders of the multiverse, what do audiences get? The same villains we’ve seen before telling the same jokes they were famous for decades ago. I just didn’t care; their stories had been told.

Deadpool & Wolverine: Let’s Go, I Guess?

With Deadpool & Wolverine, this problem is pushed to the nth degree. When Jennifer Garner’s Elektra walked through the doorway, I heard people cheer. Why? The films she’s part of have been derided for years. Not only that, 90% of the characters that we saw in The Void were not the original cast from the films they were a part of. Deadpool pointing out these cast choices with lines like “This year’s Juggernaut”, isn’t smart. It’s lazy writing trying to cover for more lazy writing.

When multiverse stories are handled well and with care, they can be phenomenal. Loki and, in particular, the Spider-Verse films come to mind. However, when they’re pandering for cheap nostalgia, they can be garbage dumps for cash-in-hand cameos that do nothing for a story. And with the return of true “Marvel Jesus” Robert Downey Jr. in what is to be sure a nostalgia-ridden Avengers film, the only way is down as we fall further into this particular multiverse of muck.

Deadpool and Wolverine is available to watch now.