The mid-credits scene in Deadpool 2 delighted viewers, as Ryan Reynolds’s titular hero stepped through time to right the wrongs of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That included a very personal vendetta, as he stepped back into the events of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and executed that film’s version of Deadpool. He then fired a few extra shots into the body for good measure, in what was clearly meant to be a cathartic experience for the Merc With A Mouth.

The Deadpool of Origins was never loved by fans. It’s true that the wisecracking, sword-slashing merc the movies started out with made a strong introduction, but Origins didn’t take long to jump the shark. In one of the strangest film decisions in the history of superhero movies, Origin actually ended with Wade Wilson turned into a mute, single-minded monster with a mash-up of different super-powers. Incredibly, the film even ditched Reynolds at that point; the mute version was played by martial artist Scott Adkins.

That makes this post-credits scene a wonderful experience for lovers of the X-Men comics and films. It’s not just cathartic for Deadpool, or even for Ryan Reynolds, who desperately believed that a comic-book-accurate version of Deadpool could be a tremendous success. It’s also cathartic for the viewers.

The Final Bullet in the Body

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was hardly a success. Criticized for its poor plotting and even worse CGI, the film barely recouped its costs in the domestic box office, grossing just under $180 million against a budget of $150 million. Fox had hoped to use the X-Men Origins banner to launch a whole series of X-Men spinoff films, but this box office flop forced the studio to reconsider. 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past was ultimately used to erase the movie from continuity.

For Deadpool, and indeed for Ryan Reynolds himself, Origins was a serious blow. Reynolds was one of several voices pushing for a Deadpool movie, and had actually tried to get one made before Origins. The actor initially believed Origins could serve as the launchpad for that idea. Fox had planned to use Origins as the beginning of a series of films that would create the comic-book-accurate version of Deadpool, explaining the US post-credits scene in which Deadpool’s body crawls over to the head and hushes the camera. The film’s poor reception, combined with its even worse portrayal of the Merc With A Mouth, essentially killed off that idea. In the wake of Origins, a solo Deadpool movie seemed to be phenomenally unlikely, with Deadpool’s reputation tarnished and Fox unsure whether or not to sign off on further spinoffs. It took leaked test footage to persuade the studio to give a non-Wolverine spinoff a chance years later.

That gives this scene added depth and humor. It’s essentially the revenge of Wade Wilson as he was always meant to be - the Wade Wilson of the first half of Origins. It’s also a final mea culpa on Fox’s part, an admission that they got it totally wrong with that earlier version of Deadpool. After all, he’s literally being executed by a far more comic-book-accurate iteration who’s in no danger of ever getting his mouth sewn shut.

For Reynolds, this is the culmination of his journey. It’s a moment of celebration as he rejoices in the success of the character he believed in for years, and literally kills off the mistakes of the past. For the viewers, it’s an emotionally satisfying scene filled with humor, a final parting shot at a film with few fans. It really is the perfect end to Deadpool 2.

More: Deadpool 2’s Incredible End-Credits Scene Explained

  • Deadpool 2 Release Date: 2018-05-18 X-Men: Dark Phoenix Release Date: 2019-06-07 New Mutants Release Date: 2020-08-28