Back when I wrote entertainment news for IGN, I constantly wrote about superheroes. In my never-ending quest to find interesting ways to lead into the latest news story, I inevitably just ended up repeating some version of "it's a great time to be a fan of superhero movies." But god dammit I was right.
Just finishing up its second weekend, Deadpool continues to be the top film at the box office. It's earned over 200 million in the U.S. box office in just 9 days, which is faster than any other R-rated title. It's already surpassed the gross earnings of Fifty Shades of Grey, and it's on track to take out The Passion of the Christ as the highest earning R-rated movie ever.
So, yeah. It's a pretty good time to be a fan of superhero movies. Not least of all because, this week, we're talking Deadpool.
Just finishing up its second weekend, Deadpool continues to be the top film at the box office. It's earned over 200 million in the U.S. box office in just 9 days, which is faster than any other R-rated title. It's already surpassed the gross earnings of Fifty Shades of Grey, and it's on track to take out The Passion of the Christ as the highest earning R-rated movie ever.
So, yeah. It's a pretty good time to be a fan of superhero movies. Not least of all because, this week, we're talking Deadpool.
It's not super surprising to anyone who's seen Deadpool that it performed big at the box office because it's absolutely delightful. It's funny and violent and sexy--and clearly for an adult audience. But prior to its release, there were a lot of naysayers. For one, no one thought a rated R movie could perform this well. Secondly, this movie has been in development for forever with tons of behind the scenes problems and lack of studio support, and that almost never bodes well for a film. Finally, after the disaster that was Green Lantern, some people were concerned about Ryan Reynolds' ability to pull this off. But this was legit a passion project for Reynolds, and almost every scene shows how much fun he's having getting to do it.
Now, one of the weirdest things about the Deadpool movie is how often Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the viewers. Not only does he talk to the viewers, but he seems to understand the X-Men cinematic universe, even referencing Hugh Jackman. The whole movie sort of feels like an inside joke or a high five to people who are up on their superhero movies, which I loved.
So, I'd never actually read a Deadpool comic, and I was curious. Is breaking the fourth wall true to the story? Was that just a storytelling device? What's going on here? So, naturally, I asked my local comic book expert and got some answers.
Apparently, that's how the Deadpool comics are too. The character knows he's in a comic and is talking to the reader as if he's also up on all the happenings in Marvel, including what's happening in the movies. Then this on point reddit thread popped up on my front page, which asks whether Professor X can break the fourth wall if he reads Deadpool's mind. And you guys, if you read the comments, you find out that this little match up has already happened in a series called Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.
Naturally, that's super something I'm into reading, and thus, this week's topic was born. So, join me this week, while I read my first Deadpool comic (yay!) and celebrate with some Deadpool cosplay and chimichangas.
Now, one of the weirdest things about the Deadpool movie is how often Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the viewers. Not only does he talk to the viewers, but he seems to understand the X-Men cinematic universe, even referencing Hugh Jackman. The whole movie sort of feels like an inside joke or a high five to people who are up on their superhero movies, which I loved.
So, I'd never actually read a Deadpool comic, and I was curious. Is breaking the fourth wall true to the story? Was that just a storytelling device? What's going on here? So, naturally, I asked my local comic book expert and got some answers.
Apparently, that's how the Deadpool comics are too. The character knows he's in a comic and is talking to the reader as if he's also up on all the happenings in Marvel, including what's happening in the movies. Then this on point reddit thread popped up on my front page, which asks whether Professor X can break the fourth wall if he reads Deadpool's mind. And you guys, if you read the comments, you find out that this little match up has already happened in a series called Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.
Naturally, that's super something I'm into reading, and thus, this week's topic was born. So, join me this week, while I read my first Deadpool comic (yay!) and celebrate with some Deadpool cosplay and chimichangas.
Post by Rachel Paxton. She'll be pretty busy with the whole Deadpool comic thing, but maybe she'll tweet something. Probs not.
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