Deadpool 3: Relentlessly Reviving a 24-Year Grudge...

Deadpool & Wolverine footage revealed during Marvel’s CinemaCon appearance has continued a joke about Wolverine’s costume that is now 24 years old.

Further developments on the movie have revealed that Deadpool & Wolverine is continuing a 24-year-old insult about Wolverine’s classic costume in the MCU. 2024 will see just one cinematic release by Marvel Studios in the form of Deadpool & Wolverine after a tumultuous 2023 delayed the release dates of several other MCU movies like Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. With that in mind, hype is at an all-time high for Deadpool’s monumental MCU debut, something which Marvel recently stoked with its appearance at this year’s CinemaCon.

Marvel’s CinemaCon appearance unveiled exclusive footage of Deadpool & Wolverine and Captain America: Brave New World, offering more clues as to their story details. The Deadpool & Wolverine footage was 9 minutes long and expanded on the scenes depicted in the first official trailer, while also showing a scene that saw Deadpool and Wolverine on a road trip. It is here that Deadpool says to his titular companion “Friends don’t let friends dress like they play for the Los Angeles Rams,” referencing Wolverine’s long-awaited yellow-and-blue costume.

Deadpool 3’s Wolverine Costume Insult Explained

Wolverine is one of Marvel Comics’ most recognizable characters thanks partly to his striking costume in the comics. This costume has taken on several forms, but the “classic” version comprises a yellow-and-blue color scheme with a particularly distinctive winged mask. The color scheme, incidentally, is incredibly similar to the team colors sported by the American Football team, the Los Angeles Rams – hence Deadpool’s jab. It is a reference that is par for the course with Deadpool, whose appearances have been littered with references to real-world pop culture, typically as part of a joke at another character’s expense.

While Deadpool’s tease is not surprising, it does poke fun at one of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s most marketable features. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has appeared in 9 movies across his iconic tenure, which began with 2000’s X-Men. During that time, he has steered well clear of the outfit to which his character is so closely tied in the comics. This is likely because the bright colors of this particular getup would distract from the otherwise grounded tone of Jackman’s depiction, which was punctuated by the distinctly somber Logan. Yet Deadpool is far from the first to deride Wolverine’s comic-accurate costume.

Deadpool Continues The Original X-Men Wolverine Insult

Fox’s X-Men franchise set the bar for toned-down comic book movie costumes as its titular team sported a muted all-black uniform instead of their more traditional, garish attire. These superhero costumes aren’t particularly inspirational, yet when Logan scoffs at wearing the outfit when embarking on a team mission, team leader Cyclops retorts “What would you prefer, yellow spandex?” The line successfully explains the design choice while poking fun at Wolverine’s outlandish original style – but it is a joke that has persisted for several years since.

Deadpool & Wolverine will not be the first time that Wolverine’s comic-accurate suit has appeared on-screen. The conclusion of The Wolverine saw Yukio hand Logan a case that contained a tailor-made iteration of the suit – but Logan’s unimpressed expression suggests that he, too, considers it to be too outlandish. What drives him to don the suit in Deadpool & Wolverine remains to be seen, but it is funny to see the movie continue to poke fun despite the fact that the only people who seem turned off by the suit are the characters themselves.