With the impending release of Deadpool & Wolverine, all eyes are on the most important aspect of any superhero film: the sweet costumes everyone will be wearing.
Sure, the writing is important, and the MCU‘s action set pieces are so big that artists start working on them before the filming starts. But if the costume looks dumb, fans will quickly tune out.
Deadpool has managed to avoid it so far by accurately adapting his comic book costume, but Deadpool & Wolverine will mark a turning point for the titular Wolverine. After years of appearing in movies that seemed embarrassed of embracing their superhero movie identity, he’ll finally get a proper super suit.
Before the most foul-mouthed duo stars in what could be the best MCU movie to date, let’s look at the significance of what everyone is wearing.
Deadpool’s suit in the new movie
Deadpool doesn’t get a new suit, though its origins are new. We know Deadpool is seemingly retired when the movie begins, and he eventually gets a new suit from the TVA. The overall design is unchanged, though the red appears to be a touch brighter than in previous films.
The new suit does include some tweaks. Reports indicate the katanas are now adamantium blades. And while his sword hilts previously had BEA ARTHUR engraved on them, they now say DR BS, a nod to Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia of The Golden Girls rather than just Bea herself.
It’s still exciting, but not nearly as exciting as when fans realized Deadpool would be represented accurately in the original 2016 film. No, fans are much more excited for another hero’s costume this time around.
Wolverine dreams come true
Most fans’ excitement comes from Wolverine’s iconic costume. For the first time in the character’s 20-plus years in film, Wolverine will finally be in his traditional yellow-and-blue costume.
It took a long time to get here. The mentality of the original X-Men films was that fans wouldn’t take the budding franchise seriously if characters wore neon yellow costumes. As a result, the X-Men franchise spends much of its run time in black leather outfits.
It’s exciting, as Wolverine’s costume is as instantly recognizable as any other hero’s. While he has occasionally ditched the bright shades for more earthen tones or even casual wear, the popularity of that original 1970s costume means it always comes back in some way, shape, or form.
Logan was long gone when proper X-Men costumes showed up in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, which finally added a shot of yellow to the looks. Deadpool & Wolverine will mark the first attempt at Wolverine wearing an actual comic book costume, and it’ll hopefully include one crucial detail.
Now we just need the mask
The mask is what Wolverine has been missing the most in live-action. It’s an iconic piece of Wolverine’s costume that has undergone many changes over the years.
Wolverine’s mask originally looked closer to a kitty cat than it did a feral creature. It was updated to its more well-known depiction after artist Gil Kane drew the mask wrong on the cover of Giant-Size X-Men #1.
It’s not entirely clear why, but Kane mistakenly drew the mask closer to Batman’s cowl than the cat ears and whiskers Wolverine originally sported. The book’s interior artist, Dave Cockrum, liked the new mask and altered the finished pages for the story to match the cover.
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As of this writing, we have yet to see the live-action Wolverine mask in all its glory, but we know from early word of mouth and merchandise that it will appear in the movie.
Wolverine’s mask has almost made it to the screen a few times in the past, such as in a deleted scene from 2013’s The Wolverine and the comic books featured in 2017’s Logan. Its debut in Deadpool & Wolverine will mark the fulfillment of a long-time promise to fans of Wolverine in his costume.
Comic book inspirations
Despite some differences, Deadpool & Wolverine marks an exciting turning point in the MCU. It is impossible to deny that these are the most comic-accurate looks the MCU has ever adopted.
So far, The MCU suits have been pretty good, but they’ve seldom just done what the comics do. And when they do, it’s for gags like Captain America’s World War II USO Tour costume. There are rumors that we’ll see other comic-accurate looks in the film, though.
We’ll get a ton of comic nods for Deadpool & Wolverine, though. Sneak peaks have revealed both Wolverine in his brown costume (a look he adopted in the ‘70s because then-artist John Byrne hated his blue-and-yellow color scheme) and Wolverine in his guise as Patch, a one-eyed Madripoor club owner, among other fun nods.
What’s everyone else wearing?
Sadly for fans, the name of the game for Deadpool & Wolverine’s many cameos doesn’t seem to be comic accuracy. Instead, it’s a love letter to the now-defunct FOX universe of X-Men films.
Obviously, we have seen characters like Lady Deadpool and Cowboy Deadpool, who are wearing riffs on Deadpool’s movie costumes. It’s not that surprising, considering just how close to his comic look Deadpool’s movie costume is.
The other characters we’ve seen are nods to their looks in the films. We’ve seen Tyler Mane’s Sabretooth, and stills appear to have revealed X-Men: The Last Stand’s Juggernaut and some version of Blade.
They’re not comic book costumes, but they are important. Blade, in particular, had a huge impact on the character, who was a human vampire hunter until the movie’s success prompted Marvel to turn him into a vampire.
One notable standout is Pyro, who returns after last being seen in X-Men: The Last Stand. For the first time, he’ll finally get something resembling his old comic book costume.
There will surely be countless other cameos and fun nods that Marvel will keep close to the vest before Deadpool & Wolverine releases. We’ll all find out together on July 26 just how many new costumes they’ve prepared for fans.
Until then, you can read about other upcoming Marvel movies like Captain America 4 or The Fantastic Four. You can also read up on the best new movies on streaming this month or all the upcoming Disney+ releases.
