Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool had a long journey before joining the MCU in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, which started in 2011's Wolverine Origins (officially titled X-Men Origins: Wolverine).
Reynolds spent years yearning to play Wade Wilson after the antihero described himself as looking like "Ryan Reynolds crossed with a Shar-Pei" in Marvel Comics' Cable and Deadpool #2 (Fabian Nicieza and Mark Brooks) from 2004.
He finally got that opportunity half a decade later when he joined Hugh Jackman for the Australian's first Wolverine solo movie under 20th Century Fox, which showed James Howlett/Logan's origin story. While it was far from the Deadpool fans now know and love, it got his foot in the proverbial door.
Deadpool's Origins in Wolverine Origins
"Great...stuck in an elevator with five guys on a high-protein diet."
- Wade Wilson, 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (2009)
In 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds is introduced as expert swordsman and motormouth Wade Wilson, part of William Stryker's (Danny Huston) Team X, a mutant black ops unit.
That team also includes Will.i.am's John Wraith, Kevin Durand's Fred Dukes/Blob, Daniel Henney's Agent Zero, and Dominic Monaghan's Bradley before Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Liev Schreiber's Victor Creed/Sabretooth are recruited.
In the film's first act, Wade has a few moments to show off his mutant skills, which mostly involve his use of two deadly katanas.
He can wield those katanas at superhuman speeds to deflect and slice up bullets, which he does as the team infiltrates a diamond trader's stronghold in Lagos, Nigeria in search of Adamantium.
He then assists Stryker in forcing a local village to give up the location of an Adamantium meteor fragment before Stryker tells the team to kill the entire village. Logan refuses and walks away from the team.
Deadpool’s Return at the End of Wolverine Origins
"Wade, is that you? I guess Stryker finally figured out how to shut you up."
- James Logan, 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (2009)
Ryan Reynolds does not return in X-Men Origins: Wolverine until the final scene when Wade is transformed into something completely new.
After Stryker infuses Wolverine's entire body with Adamantium, he has bigger ambitions to create the most powerful mutant ever: Weapon XI.
Wade Wilson is infused with the powers of multiple mutants, including John Wraith's teleportation, Cyclops' optic blasts, and superhuman strength, agility, and reflexes. More importantly, he now has Wolverine's healing factor and two katana blades that extend from his wrists like Logan's claws.
For Stryker's sanity (and sadistic pleasure), he also sews Wade's mouth shut, making him "the perfect soldier." Now able to control Wade, he dubs Weapon XI the "mutant killer" and even uses the name codename Deadpool.
After Wade is deployed to kill Logan, Wolverine has to put aside his differences with Victor Creed to take down Weapon XI for good. Following a lengthy battle atop a cooling tower, Logan chops Weapon XI's head off and escapes.
In a post-credits tease, Wade's hand crawls out of the rubble to find his head, realizing his mouth is starting to open once again. Once his eyes pop open, the film comes to an end.
Deadpool 2's Retcon of Wolverine Origins
"Hey! It's me! Don't scratch! Just cleaning up the timelines! Look, eventually, you're gonna hang up the claws, and it's gonna make a lot of people very sad. But one day, your old pal Wade's gonna ask you to get back in the saddle again, and when he does, say yes. Love you..."
- Deadpool, 'Deadpool 2' (2018)
2018's Deadpool 2 sees Deadpool take a wild trip through time in the post-credits scene as he uses Cable's (Josh Brolin) time-travel device to fix his life.
This includes telling Peter (Rob Delaney) to walk away instead of saving Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgard), killing a version of Ryan Reynolds before 2011's Green Lantern is made and even nearly murdering baby Adolf Hitler in the film's extended cut.
In that scene, he also travels back to the end of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, prematurely killing Weapon XI by shooting him in the head before he can attack Wolverine.
This version of Wade Wilson is different from the one in X-Men: Origins, as he does not see Logan in the X-Men universe until Deadpool & Wolverine.
In the extended version of Deadpool 2, he even teases the idea of Jackman returning to the role after he'd announced that Logan would be his last movie in 2016 (read more about Logan's death).
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How Is Deadpool Different in Wolverine Origins?
"I think we can all agree that shit just went sideways in the most colossal way...well, maybe not *the* most."
- Deadpool, 'Deadpool' (2016)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is chided and bemoaned by fans for using a version of Wade Wilson that did not resemble his comic counterpart in most ways. While he uses katanas and has the same way with words, that is where the similarities end.
Most noticeable power-wise is that Reynolds' take on Deadpool does not have extra superspeed in his solo movies as the Origins version does in the first big Team X scene.
He even makes fun of that moment in Deadpool 2, slicing only one bullet from Cable at normal speed before most shots hit him square in the chest in the second act.
Additionally, in Origins, Deadpool does not officially get his healing factor until he is turned into Weapon XI when Stryker takes that power from Wolverine's DNA. In Reynolds' solo movies and the comics, the healing factor is far slower and is used to help cure his cancer (see more about Deadpool's appearance).
The worst part, however, is that Wade does not get the iconic red Deadpool suit, which he says he uses so that "bad guys can't see [him] bleed."
Instead, he is relegated to black pants and a black tank top upon his initial entry. This is changed to red pants and no shirt when he is transformed into Weapon XI at the end of the film.
While Reynolds has not shied away from poking fun at the Origins take on his character, these changes have been rectified as his work has manifested in three fan-favorite superhero outings.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is streaming on Disney+. Deadpool and Wolverine is playing in theaters worldwide.
Read more about Deadpool and Wolverine below:
Ryan Reynolds Hints at Deadpool and Wolverine Scene "I know why Thor was crying"
Lady Deadpool Actress Reveals Herself & Breaks Silence on Deadpool 3 Role
Deadpool & Wolverine Breaks 13 Box Office Records (Updated)
How to Watch Every Hugh Jackman Wolverine Movie In Release Order
