Ryan Reynolds has made Deadpool one of the most beloved superheroes on the silver screen since 20th Century Fox finally let him play the character in an R-rated movie. He’s called “the Merc with a Mouth” for a reason. He is constantly spouting hilarious insults and snappy one-liners, to the point that he’s already one of the most quotable characters in the history of cinema.
With just two movies, Deadpool has joined the ranks of Darth Vader and Ron Burgundy in terms of quotability. So, with the spirit of maximum effort in mind, here are the 10 greatest Deadpool quotes.
Updated on May 23rd, 2020 by Ben Sherlock: Since the first Deadpool movie hit theaters in 2016 and the second one came out in 2018, we were probably on for Deadpool 3 this summer if Disney hadn’t acquired 21st Century Fox. Unfortunately, with the merger going through, the threequel has been indefinitely delayed. Still, it looks as though the wait will be worth it, as the merger means that the Merc with a Mouth is now free to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the meantime, we’ve updated this list with some new entries.
15 On Getting His Own Movie
“I know, right? You’re probably thinking, ‘Whose b***s did I have to fondle to get my very own movie?’ I can’t tell you his name, but it rhymes with ‘Polverine.’ And let me tell you, he’s got a nice pair of smooth criminals down under.”
Although it seems crazy now that the movie has become a huge box office hit and launched a lucrative franchise, an R-rated Deadpool solo movie seemed impossible just a few years ago.
And the movie itself addresses this in the opening moments, as ‘Pool tells the audience that he had to perform certain acts on Wolverine to secure the movie.
14 On Lazy Writing
“Well, that’s just lazy writing.”
Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, the screenwriters behind the Deadpool movies, have often joked that their goal with the movies is to satirically critique superhero movies while still hitting all the familiar beats.
Wade Wilson’s ability to talk to the camera gives Wernick and Reese a pass to shrug off some convenient plot turns by having their hero point out their “lazy writing.”
13 On Liam Neeson Nightmares
“I had another Liam Neeson nightmare. I kidnapped his daughter and he just wasn’t having it.”
After Wade’s cancer diagnosis, when he can’t sleep at night, he tells Vanessa that he had “another Liam Neeson nightmare,” in which he kidnapped Neeson’s daughter and he came after him for revenge, like in the movie Taken.
This leads to a discussion about the fact that there are three Taken movies, which suggests that maybe Neeson’s character Bryan Mills is “just a bad parent.”
12 On Thanos
“Zip it, Thanos!”
Apparently, Marvel characters played by Josh Brolin are like buses. You wait years for one to come along, and then two come along in the same summer release window. In 2018, Brolin played Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Cable in Deadpool 2.
It would’ve been crazy if Deadpool 2 didn’t acknowledge Brolin’s portrayal of Thanos, especially with it being the second of the two to be released.
11 On Negasonic’s Name
“Negasonic Teenage – what the sh*t!? That’s the coolest name ever!”
As the most self-aware character in the Marvel universe, Deadpool will often comment on other superheroes’ personas, whether it’s their powers, their costumes – or their names. When Negasonic Teenage Warhead first introduces herself to ‘Pool, he can’t believe how badass her name sounds.
Hopefully, when Deadpool eventually becomes a part of the MCU, Negasonic can come with him, because Brianna Hildebrand has made her one of the franchise’s most beloved characters.
10 On competing with Wolverine
“F**k Wolverine. First, he rides my coattails with the R rating. Then the hairy motherf****r ups the ante by dying. What a d**k. Well, guess what, Wolvie? I’m dying in this one, too!”
It was a bold move by the writers of the Deadpool sequel to make the opening line of their movie, “F**k Wolverine.” Between Deadpool and Deadpool 2, Logan came out.
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Logan was nominated for an Oscar and it marked Hugh Jackman’s final appearance as Wolverine with humanity, heartbreak, a bleak visual style, and an R rating. The movie only got that R rating because Deadpool’s success filled the studio with confidence, so Deadpool calls him out for it.
9 On keeping safe
“All of these elderly white men on the walls, I should have brought my rape whistle.”
Arriving in the summer of 2018, Deadpool 2 was one of the first major blockbusters to be released in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Naturally, with the franchise’s penchant to break the fourth wall with caustically witty comments, there was going to be some mention of the biggest news story to hit Hollywood in years.
Deadpool says this when he wakes up in Charles Xavier’s mansion with Colossus. To be fair, the walls of that mansion are full of pictures of old white men.
8 On the downfall of Detroit
“I want to die a natural death at the age of 102 – like the city of Detroit.”
This one requires a little bit of backstory to fully get it. Of course, it’s a crack at Detroit, one of the less prosperous and beautiful cities in America. But it’s important to note that not only is Ryan Reynolds of Canadian origin – Deadpool is, too.
The comics revealed him to have been born in an “unrevealed location in Canada.” So, if the Merc with a Mouth is a Marvel superhero who makes fun of DC, it stands to reason he’s a Canadian who makes fun of America’s weaker spots, too.
7 On post-credits scenes
“You’re still here? It’s over. Go home! Oh, you’re expecting a teaser for Deadpool 2. Well, we don’t have that kind of money. What are you expecting? Sam Jackson showing up in an eyepatch and a saucy little leather number? Go!”
Deadpool did a post-credits scene in the perfect way. It’s an exact recreation of the post-credits scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – the scene that reportedly inspired Kevin Feige to put a post-credits scene in every MCU movie – down to the bathrobe and everything. And then it makes a satirical comment about why people stick around through the credits of superhero movies these days.
6 On the longevity of movie franchises
“You know what we need to do? We need to build a f**king team. We need them tough, morally flexible, and young enough so they can carry this franchise ten to twelve years.”
This line from Deadpool 2 works even better having seen the whole movie. At first, it’s just a meta line about how young actors are hired to star in superhero movies to make sure the franchises can go on for years. But then it also serves to mislead you.
Like most superhero movies, you’re led to believe these characters are invincible. They’ll never die, because of sequels. And then, of course, everyone in the X-Force dies horrifically on their first mission. This line sets that up perfectly.
5 On scant movie budgets
“It’s a big house. It’s weird I only ever see two of you. Almost like the studio couldn’t afford another X-Man.”
This line is right on the money. All throughout Deadpool, despite various scenes taking place at Charles Xavier’s mansion, we only ever see Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Rather than ignore this, ‘Pool decides to address it.
The sequel called back to this moment brilliantly with a cameo appearance from pretty much every other X-Man. They shut the door on Deadpool when he interrupted their meeting. It was pretty clearly a superimposed green screen shot through the door filmed during the production of Dark Phoenix, but it was still funny.
4 On superhero landings
“Superhero landing. She’s gonna do a superhero landing. Wait for it! Superhero landing! You know, that’s really hard on your knees. Totally impractical, they all do it.”
Most superhero blockbusters just mindlessly go along with all the tropes without labeling them, but not Deadpool. We all know what a superhero landing is and we’re familiar with them from the countless superhero landings we’ve seen in the MCU and the DCEU and every other superhero movie ever made. Deadpool gave a name to something we all knew about but never thought to give a name. It’s like a superhero version of Seinfeld.
3 On the DC universe
“So dark. Are you sure you’re not from the DC universe?”
Despite their excessive use of graphic violence and explicit language, the Deadpool movies are among the lightest and most fun-oriented in superhero cinema, especially when compared to Zack Snyder’s movies in the DC Extended Universe.
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While Deadpool and the other X-Men movies aren’t a part of the MCU, all of those movies share the same lighthearted, colorful tone, and they all come from the same source material, so it’s fair to lump them together. This is yet another meta comment about the state of the film industry, with ‘Pool pointing out how dark Cable’s character is.
2 On joining the X-Men
“If I ever decide to become a crime-fighting s**t swizzler, who rooms with a bunch of other little whiners at Neverland Mansion with some creepy, old, bald, Heaven’s Gate-looking motherf****r...On that day, I’ll send your shiny, happy ass a friend request.”
Deadpool is known for his long, sweary, insult-laden tirades directed at people, especially when they’ve done something to irritate him. Nothing irritates him more, at least in the first movie and at the start of the second, than the idea of joining the X-Men. So, this is how he puts that delicately to Colossus when he tries to recruit him to the team.
1 On super suits
“Please don’t make the super suit green...or animated!”
This is quite simply the greatest quote from either Deadpool movie – it’s hilarious, it’s self-aware, it’s self-deprecating, it’s witty, it’s incisive. It’s got it all! That’s the reason this was one of the only jokes used in the trailer for the first movie, because it tells you everything you need to know about the tone and comic sensibility of the character.
Deadpool knows it’s a movie about a comic book superhero – plus, its lead character knows he’s being played by Ryan Reynolds and also knows he was in a crummy Green Lantern movie.