‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ could have turned Wade into a hero without villainizing its nicest character

What I mean is Deadpool already proved his selfishness and flaunted his heroic tendency at the end of Deadpool 2, when he was ready to sacrifice himself to save Russell from Cable and the world from the carnage Russell could bring in the future. At the time, he was truly selfless as he was not saving Vanessa when he took the bullet — bluntly speaking, she was dead and he didn’t know he could bring her back. He was really saving the world.

But in Deadpool & Wolverine, the danger of the Time Ripper ending his timeline and him jumping to save it was diminished by the fact that he was clearly mostly doing it for Vanessa — remember when he lingered on her face while saying how he was with the people he loved the most during his birthday? — and by default for his friends.

Still, fine, Marvel doubled down on the message — Pool is a hero, he saved the world twice. But what did the MCU accomplish by stealing Vanessa’s essence and destroying her reputation in the process?

Why is MCU’s Vanessa so different from Fox’s Vanessa?

The Vanessa we met in the first two films was ready to accept Wade the way he was — a minor criminal, hired muscle, his biting sarcasm and humor, the cancer, then his disfigured face, and even his shenanigans that could (and did) get her killed. Despite knowing the kind of people he was making his enemy by targeting them, she was eager to start a family with him.

As for Wade, he was always about being reckless, being himself, and finally finding someone who accepted him. It was his unseriousness, his demand to be embraced the way he is that set him apart from the traditional superheroes.

But suddenly, he started fretting about if he mattered to the world and Vanessa got fixated on the fact that he has no ambitions, to the point that she left him when he didn’t get to join the Avengers? Yes, I understand the midlife crisis happens and character growth, but this is not real life and this fictional love story was adored because Vanessa loved Deadpool and didn’t change anything about him.

What’s worse is that the studio could have kept Vanessa and Wade’s relationship intact, allowed her to stay by his side like the old Vanessa would, and Pool would have still did everything he did. It was the danger hurtling towards the love of his life that catapulted him into motion, not some out-of-the-blue desire to seek universal acceptance.

But much like how Marvel butchered Wanda’s storyline in the MCU, Vanessa now comes across as a selfish lover who stays when things are good and dashes the second her partner fails to live up to her expectations. Come on, what happened to the Vanessa who ripped off Pool’s mask, got an obvious shock, and still said “After a brief adjustment period and a bunch of drinks, it’s a face… I’d be happy to sit on?”

For the “new” Vanessa, Wade has to be a hero. For the old one? He just had to never stop believing in their love.