Deadpool & Wolverine gives Marvel a chance to dig itself out of its current hole with Wolverine Prime who might appear in Avengers: Secret Wars.

The invariably countless possibilities in the realm of Marvel multiverse have become a sort of safety net for the studio which hasn’t seen a single good day in the last half-decade. The situation is further exacerbated by the lack of an Avengers film, which, given the state of the MCU right now, seems like a distant dream rather than a viable prospect.

The experimental phase that lasted 5 years but felt like 50 has only gone on to deliver diminishing returns, with a ray of sunshine here and there with No Way Home and Loki on Disney+.

Spider-Man: No Way Home [Credit: Marvel Studios]

The fact of the matter stands, however, when one looks at the statistics. Compared to the 23 films of the Infinity Saga, the staggering 18 projects that Marvel released from January 2021 to November 2022 almost amount to the decade-long build-up of the MCU’s first three phases. And yet, Marvel is yet to accomplish a feat that is substantial.

Henry Cavill Could Pull Marvel Out of the Trenches

Despite complaints of Deadpool & Wolverine not serving the plot or focusing on a substantial story, one might find that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s movie rather cleverly disguises its motives behind fan service, laughter, and explosive cameos. The threequel establishes a crucial roster of its variants and the events that take place away from the purview of the Sacred Timeline.

Henry Cavill as Cavillrine in Deadpool & Wolverine [Credit: Marvel Studios]

After 25 years, Marvel established Foxverse’s X-Men saga as taking place on Earth-10005; at least, that seems to be the case for the Wolverine that we bid farewell to in James Mangold’s Logan in 2017. This canonically makes Earth-10005’s Old Man Logan a variant in the multiverse.

Every other Wolverine that Deadpool visits during his multiversal romp is ripped straight out of the comic book pages, even going so far as to recreate some iconic X-Men comic book covers.

The montage brings out Old Man Logan, Weapon Omega from the Age of Apocalypse storyline, Wolverine from Todd Macfarlane’s The Incredible Hulk comics issue #340, crucified Wolverine from Marc Silvestri’s famous cover of The Uncanny X-Men #251, while Patch and Short King constitute a blend of generic Wolverine personalities across all comics.

Henry Cavill’s aptly named Cavillrine is the only original invention in the Wolverine montage that pays homage to the IP’s century-long comic history. This gives Marvel the liberty to crown him Wolverine Prime of the Sacred Timeline. Placing him in Earth-616 also justifies the She-Hulk easter egg that referred to an out-and-about clawed mutant involved in a bar brawl.

With Deadpool & Wolverine essentially eliminating all possibilities of Earth-616 Wolverine from its montage line-up, Henry Cavill is left to swoop in during Secret Wars, fight alongside the Avengers, and save the day, all while having the fans lose their heads from an overdose of giddy euphoria.

The MCU Barricades Itself Against Its Past Failures

Like the passing of autumn, Marvel has shed its seasonal obsession with experiments, spending a cold winter out in the open while facing the fans’ and critics’ withering hatred and wrath. With spring now blossoming a new era for the weary franchise, or at least the promise of one, as MCU prepares a hail of summer blockbusters with the resurgence of Avengers.

Robert Downey Jr. returns as Doctor Doom [Photo: Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, YouTube]

But enough with the extended metaphors. After Deadpool & Wolverine steps outside the sandbox with a smorgasbord of delightful action and characters, Marvel seems almost ready to put on a new identity. No longer bound by studio regulations and censorship, the studio can finally liberate itself from the constraints of Disney’s PG-13-approved factory

Instead, Feige barricades the Marvel Cinematic Universe from repeating the mistakes of its past by reverting right back into the shell of its tried-and-tested formulaic recipe — not just in terms of plots and stories but also the actors and directors, too.

With Robert Downey Jr. as the face of MCU’s Doomsday chapter and the Russo Brothers returning to helm the upcoming Avengers films, it’s like we’ve traveled back to 2015, only this time, bitterness covers the anticipation.