Deadpool & Wolverine Finally Gives Us The Fight That Deadpool 2 Ruined

Contains spoilers for "Deadpool & Wolverine"

"Deadpool & Wolverine" pretty much exists as a comic book movie nerd's dream come true. Yes, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman technically played these characters together in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but that movie's fans are few and far between. "Deadpool & Wolverine" offers far more comic-accurate versions of those beloved characters, complete with more comic-accurate costumes to boot. But "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" isn't the only previous film this one is trying to rectify; it also makes up for a missed opportunity in "Deadpool 2." 

One of the worst things about "Deadpool 2" is how X-Force doesn't get a proper action sequence. To be fair, it's hilarious how the film subverts expectations by setting up X-Force only to kill them off in various parachute-related mishaps, but a big superhero throwdown with the likes of Shatterstar (Lewis Tan) and Bedlam (Terry Crews) would've been neat to see. "Deadpool & Wolverine" makes it up to fans by putting the Merc with a Mouth in charge of a new superhero squad that gets a proper action scene, with him leading Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Blade (Wesley Snipes), Gambit (Channing Tatum), and Laura (Dafne Keen) into battle against Cassandra Nova's (Emma Corrin) forgotten-villain army. 

Naturally, "Deadpool" movies need to be funny, and that Brad Pitt cameo in "Deadpool 2," which he only agreed to under one condition, will forever remain iconic. But at the end of the day, audiences want to see epic superhero action, and seeing some familiar faces (and Channing Tatum as Gambit) kick butt one more time (or for the first time for Channing Tatum's Gambit) is pretty epic to witness. 

At one point in time, Looper did write about why "Deadpool 2" is the best superhero movie of 2018, even with the truncated usage of X-Force. Clearly, a movie can still be good even after defying fans' expectations. And while "Deadpool & Wolverine" offers one epic superhero team-up fight, it fakes out the audience in a different way earlier on. 

Shortly after Deadpool and Wolverine arrive in the Void, they're greeted by a caravan of ne'er-do-wells, including Sabretooth (Tyler Mane). Wolverine and Sabretooth, as half-brothers, go way back, so Deadpool really hypes up a match-up between the two, even saying how "people have waited decades for this fight." The pair run at each other, only for Wolverine to slice Sabretooth's head off immediately, bringing this much-anticipated battle to a swift end. And in true Deadpool fashion, the Merc parades around with Sabretooth's decapitated head, which we all should've known was coming based off some leaked "Deadpool 3" set photos back in December 2023. 

Basically, "Deadpool & Wolverine" pulls off the same joke from "Deadpool 2" in getting folks really excited about an action set piece only to cut it hilariously short. Fortunately, the Wolverine and Sabretooth fight happens fairly early in the movie, leaving room for an actual main course later. 

It would've been completely in Deadpool's wheelhouse to bring in Jennifer Garner and Channing Tatum for these epic cameos only to kill them off in abrupt fashion. Given the hostile history between Wesley Snipes and Ryan Reynolds, one could even imagine a scenario where Deadpool has some snarky remark if Blade met his demise in a disappointing fashion. Fortunately, that doesn't happen, and instead, we get to see these heroes kick butt potentially for the last time as they take on hordes of Cassandra Nova's forces.

Everyone gets some good shots in. Gambit shows off some neat parlor tricks, while Blade takes out Toad (Ray Park). It's one last shot at redemption for these iterations of heroes seemingly left behind in the advent of cinematic universes. Between the earlier banter and this fight scene, it's enough to make one wonder at what could've been. Could Jennifer Garner's Elektra have led her own franchise? We'll never know, but at least she had a couple more scenes in the spotlight, even poking fun at Ben Affleck's Daredevil in the process. 

At the end of the day, the "Deadpool" movies excel at having it both ways. They make fun of superhero tropes while leaning into said tropes. In this instance, "Deadpool & Wolverine" has jokes at all of these characters' expenses while still giving them dignity to go out and kick butt. Honestly, seeing Channing Tatum in a Gambit outfit reminiscent of "X-Men: The Animated Series" makes the movie worth the price of admission alone.