Deadpool & Wolverine Takes A Playful Jab At The DC Universe With A Dwayne Johnson Joke

Hope you wore your brown pants, because this article contains major spoilers for "Deadpool & Wolverine."

After months (okay, more like a decade) of hype, "Deadpool & Wolverine" is finally here to shake up the Marvel Cinematic Universe like we've never seen before ... and, make no mistake, Wade Wilson himself is well aware of it. Audiences will be pleased to find out that the Merc with a Mouth has lost none of his fourth wall-breaking irreverence since crossing over from the Fox universe of "X-Men" films and their various spin-offs into the MCU proper, just as Marvel president Kevin Feige, director Shawn Levy, star Ryan Reynolds, and many more have previously promised. Despite the family-friendly Disney's involvement, the R-rating is made apparent right from the blood-soaked opening credits sequence alone, and the rate of F-bombs dropped into the action is enough to blow Feige's famous baseball cap clean off his head.

But out of all the visual gags and witty one-liners and endless pop-culture references that Reynolds' Deadpool throws at audiences throughout the threequel, one in particular stands out for its sheer boldness: An extremely thinly-veiled reference towards Marvel's "Distinguished Competition" (as DC is parodied in Marvel Comics) and, in an extra dose of meta-comedy, a direct shot fired at Reynolds' co-star from another recent blockbuster, Netflix's "Red Notice." It's abundantly clear why Reynolds likely couldn't resist this perfect storm, as "Deadpool & Wolverine" goes out of its way to reference Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's infamous declaration that "Black Adam" would "change the hierarchy of power in the DC universe."

Even beyond the obvious laugh factor of it all, it's also a timely reminder of the property's one abiding rule: In the "Deadpool" franchise, absolutely nothing is sacred.

Why can't Marvel and DC just be friends? Well, probably because wildcards like Deadpool are around to break right through the limits of the big screen and poke lighthearted fun at the company's biggest rival. Early in "Deadpool & Wolverine," Wade Wilson provides a hefty amount of voiceover narration to set the mood and ease viewers into this bizarre (but welcome) new reality: Deadpool appearing within the confines of the MCU is officially canon and nothing will ever be the same again. That much is clear when he quickly gets whisked away by the Time Variance Authority (as introduced in the first season of the Disney+ series "Loki") and finds himself in need of a new Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to replace the one who died at the end of "Logan." But when he sets his sights on the perfect one for the job, he can't resist making one hilarious quip about Wolverine changing the hierarchy of power in the MCU.

Fans undoubtedly remember the circumstances surrounding "Black Adam" and Dwayne Johnson's strategy to make the film seem integral to the DC franchise — even as new CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran were about to hit the reset button on the entire universe. Alas, all those promises of changing the DC Universe went by the wayside when "Black Adam" became a box-office flop upon release and was unceremoniously ushered out of future plans for the rebooted DC. That's precisely why this joke lands as hard as it does, though there's also another layer going back to production of "Red Notice." If previous reports are to be believed, Reynolds and Johnson butted heads during filming of the Netflix film. Although supposedly on good terms now, it's fair to wonder if that factored into this gag.

But, as to be expected, "Deadpool & Wolverine" makes sure to establish itself as an equal-opportunity offender. Anything and everything is up for grabs in the film, from literally desecrating the poignant graveside ending of "Logan" to easy punchlines about 20th Century Fox going under to off-color jokes about "Gossip Girl" (which, of course, starred Reynolds' wife, Blake Lively) to one particularly extended exchange about Feige's awareness of cocaine and all of its many, many nicknames. The best of them all, however, comes when Deadpool drags a heavily-intoxicated Wolverine back to the TVA and takes it upon himself to formally welcome him into the MCU. This comes with a caveat, of course, as he snidely mentions that his sharp-clawed pal is entering the franchise "at a bit of a low point," alluding to the widespread criticism in recent years that the series has fallen off in quality since the MCU's heyday.

See, nobody is safe in "Deadpool & Wolverine." Cancel the fanboy wars, folks! Wade Wilson eagerly takes shots at both sides of the comic book aisle, making the assumption that we're all mature enough to take it in stride and laugh along with it. That said, this hardly even scratches the surface of what the blockbuster explores throughout its universe-hopping adventure. As more and more fans flock to theaters to catch the biggest event film of the year (and break box-office records along the way), rest assured that /Film will have every possible angle covered. 

In the meantime, you can catch "Deadpool & Wolverine" in theaters right now.