Why Cable From Deadpool 2 Looks So Familiar

There's no particular shortage of superhero movies these days, and as more and more comic book characters make their big screen debuts, it's only going to get harder for each to set themselves apart from the pack. Of course, that's never been a particular problem for Deadpool — standing out is sort of his thing. And ever since Ryan Reynolds brought his faithful rendition of this wise-cracking character on the big screen with 2016's "Deadpool," the manic mutant has become a singularly outlandish presence in the realm of superhero cinema.

Even as far as Reynolds and his "Deadpool" team pushed the bounds of superhero movies with the original film, they pushed even further with 2018's "Deadpool 2," fronting more quippy one-liners and hyper-violent imagery than one could shake a severed limb at. The film also introduced a slew of new characters to the mutant-centric Merc-verse, too numerous to recount here. But as far as standing out goes, the film's time-traveling anti-hero Cable more than made an impression in his "Deadpool 2" debut, boasting a tragic backstory just horrific enough to almost justify his less-than-noble intentions in Wade Wilson's timeline.

It's safe to assume most movie lovers recognized the hardened face of the actor who brought the emotionally-tormented Nathan Summers to life. It belongs to Josh Brolin. And it's been more than prominent on the big screen over the past few decades.

If you are among the masses who recognized Josh Brolin in "Deadpool 2," you might be a fan of classic 1980s movies, as the actor made his screen debut circa cinema's most blockbuster-driven decade. He did so in a bona fide blockbuster of his own, too, joining the young ensemble cast of one of the decade's best-loved movies, 1985's "The Goonies." That film was, of course, produced by Mr. Blockbuster himself, Steven Spielberg (see "Jaws" and a dozen others). It was also written by a Hollywood heavy-hitter in Chris Columbus ("Home Alone," the first two "Harry Potter" movies), and directed by yet another in Richard Donner ("The Omen," "Superman," "Lethal Weapon").

With so much talent behind the camera, Spielberg and company fronted just as much in front, with their swashbuckling tale of preteens on a life-altering treasure hunt boasting the faces of Sean Astin ("The Lord of the Rings Trilogy," "Stranger Things"), Corey Feldman ("The Lost Boys"), Martha Plimpton ("Parenthood," "Raising Hope"), and Joe Pantoliano ("The Matrix," "Memento"), among others. As for Brolin, he joined "The Goonies" cast as Brandon, the health-obsessed, lovestruck big brother of Astin's soul-searching, lore-loving Mikey. The actor made the most of his screen debut as well, delivering an endearing performance that ensured he'd be forever remembered in the annals of blockbuster cinema, even if he hadn't gone on to appear in dozens more high profile movies throughout his career.

One of Brolin's most important directorial pairings came in 2007, when he scored the co-lead in Joel and Ethan Coen's masterful crime drama "No Country for Old Men." Adapted from Cormac McCarthy's pitch-black novel of the same name, "No Country for Old Men" found Brolin playing Llewyn Moss, an everyman Texan who happens upon a gruesome crime scene and a bag full of money while on a hunting excursion. After initially making a clean getaway, Llewyn's life turns upside down when a ruthless hitman named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is hired to track down the missing money. What ensues is as thrilling a game of cat and mouse as has ever been committed to film, with Brolin's quick-witted Llewyn facing-off against Bardem's relentless killer to an agonizingly anti-climactic, and unflinchingly nihilistic, finale.

Brolin's performance in the film is arguably the best of his career. And if nothing else, The Coens were clearly taken with his work, going on to cast him in their 2010 Western remake "True Grit," and 2015's star-studded comedy "Hail, Caesar!."

As it is, "Deadpool 2" was far from Josh Brolin's first comic book movie adventure. The actor actually made his superhero debut in 2010 via the flawed (but often fascinating) adaptation of DC's "Jonah Hex," doing so alongside the likes of Michael Fassbender, Michael Shannon, and Wes Bentley. 

Brolin made a far much bigger splash a few years later, though, when he arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the biggest, baddest, purplest villain Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and his super-powered Avenger pals have ever faced.

Brolin's debut as Thanos came in 2014, where he made a small — but menacing — appearance in James Gunn's first "Guardians of the Galaxy" flick. He again donned his mo-cap suite to portray the so-called Mad Titan for a post-credits scene in 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Brolin's Thanos didn't really take center stage in the MCU, though, until 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" — at which point, it's safe to say he made a major impact, between killing beloved characters and reshaping the universe at large via his infamous, population-halving snap. Even now, the MCU is still dealing with the ramifications of both Thanos' fateful snap, and Iron Man's heroic snap-back.

Though Brolin's ruthless dominance over the MCU is officially over (minus a spot on the upcoming Disney + animated series "What If...?"), the actor's soulfully menacing turn as Thanos remains the high-water mark for Marvel's big screen villains.