Deadpool is a character that doesn't march to the beat of his own drummer, so much as he is the drummer - as well as the rest of the band, and the audience. Yet the smartassed merc with a mouth we all know and love wasn't born overnight In fact, he came from a very specific, extremely unexpected point of inspiration: the 1988 comedy Twins.
Believe it or not, Rob Liefeld – Deadpool's creator – admitted that the Ivan Reitman film was what inspired him to eventually create Wade Wilson's anti-heroic alter ego. Liefeld also cites Wolverine as the other source of inspiration for Deadpool, as he was designated "Weapon X," with Deadpool earning the moniker of "Weapon IX." The numbering is significant, as Liefeld explains the mishmash of inspiration in the following snippet:
I took inspiration from the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito movie Twins. In the middle of that movie, a scientist explains how they were created and he points at Arnold and says, ‘you’re the good stuff,’ and he looks at Devito and says, ‘you’re the crap,’ and that’s Wolverine and Deadpool.
You can clearly see the inspiration in the way the two characters tend to fight. While both have absurdly strong healing factors, Wolverine is the fighter so tough that he can take a punch when he needs to, while the only way Deadpool tends to win a fight is by taking all of the punches, wearing his enemies down to the point where he can take them on. At least, that what it seems like when you go back and watch the trailer for February's upcoming Deadpool movie, which we've shared below for fun.
Of course, Deadpool's other main weapon is is mouth, and that's something he definitely gets from his Danny DeVito counterpart. Reading how Rob Liefeld created and nurtured his character, thanks to the USA Today interview he recently granted, you can see how influencial the Reitman film was on the genesis of his famous character. Throughout Twins, DeVito's Vincent would get himself into trouble, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Vincent would use his superior intellect and strength to get his brother out of the scrape he'd gotten himself into. Of course, Vincent would get in a couple of punches when he could, and always had the last word while being pummeled by his opposition. Though, to give Deadpool a little more credit, he does have some fighting skills of his own that he can fall back on.
With an inspiration as lively as a classic character from the prime era of Danny DeVito's comedic talents, it's no surprise that Deadpool is as quick with his mouth as he is with a sword. Much like DeVito before him, Ryan Reynolds has made a career out of always competing for the final say in any situation. His latest foray into the world of the Marvel splinter universe not only looks much closer to the intent that the character was created with, it looks like it'll be the funniest comic book movie we've seen yet. Maybe Rob Liefeld's claims that Deadpool will change the face of comic films isn't as outlandish as it sounds.
Deadpool looks to win the hearts and minds of every comic book fan on February 12, 2016.
