Marvel’s Deadpool aka Wade Wilson aka the Merc with a Mouth is currently in the process of tearing it up at the box office, as in just a few years, the anti-hero has become a true A-list superhero. This is all much to the annoyance of Deathstroke aka Slade Wilson – who Deadpool is completely ripped off from – and he’s been laying out his frustrations in various promo material for Teen Titans Go! To The Movies – the latest of which arrived the other week.
But first, some history. For those who don’t know, the two characters’ similarities date back to the moment of DP’s birth in 1990. Creators Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld had decided that they were going to introduce a superpowered sword and gun-wielding assassin in their New Mutants comic, but when Liefeld delivered the first drawings, Nicieza immediately responded, “This is Deathstroke. From the Teen Titans.”
Rather than try to change the Merc just enough though so that fans wouldn’t say he was a shameless copy, Nicieza and Liefeld decided to instead make their ripoff as blatant as possible. And that’s the story of why Wade Wilson is called Wade Wilson.
Getting back to the ballad of Slade and Wade, though, the two have been trading jabs for the past few weeks – it’s all in good fun, of course – and now, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies has posted the humorous video below, where Robin mixes the two characters up.
Pretty funny, eh? It’s yet another clever piece of marketing for Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, which is actually looking pretty good. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the TV series on which the flick is based, but I strangely find myself admiring the film for how truly ballsy it appears to be and can’t wait to see more.
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies is set to open in theaters on July 27 and will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida Michail, from a screenplay by Michael Jelenic and Horvath. Scott Menville (Robin), Greg Cipes (Beast Boy), Khary Payton (Cyborg), Tara Strong (Raven) and Hynden Walch (Starfire) star.
