If we ask the same question about Captain America, another Marvel favorite, an answer isn't too hard to find. In the past, Cap comics stood up against fascism, Communism, and drugs. Some of the examples are pretty extravagant and funny...
More recently, fans have seen him roll with the Avengers, and he contributes an old-fashioned sense of duty to the squad's mindset. I was gonna say he promotes unity, but... well, you've seen the Civil War trailers; unity is more than threatened.
Now let's talk about the character in the red suit who, to the surprise of many, just got his own eponymous film. The supersuit is actually red because Deadpool involves himself in A LOT of bloody endeavors and doesn't want "bad guys [to] see [him] bleed." Ryan Reynolds, who co-produced this movie, exudes his fanboy pride over the avant garde character: "He's profane, violent, and extremely funny. Those are the things I've loved about this character from the get-go."
True, Mr. Reynolds.
Profane: Deadpool unzips so many sex jokes during the film that the audience begins to laugh in anticipation of the dirty-mindedness.
Violent: His kill count is 90+ by the end of this origin story, and he certainly isn't using murder as a "last resort" the way many heroes do. Extremely funny: Despite all this "dark" material, the Deadpool movie experience stays brightly lit with constant sarcasm, general weirdness, and howl-inducing fourth-wall-wreckage.
Back to my question: What will Deadpool save us from? Wade Wilson says he isn't a hero, "just a bad guy who gets paid to f*ck up worse guys," but for the people paying to see this flick, paying to wear merchandise, and paying to buy comics, he's worth celebrating in hero-like fashion.
You can't really take your kids to see Deadpool. (oh my gosh the more I think about it...please don't) And when you watch Deadpool, you're contributing to our perpetually violent society. So why do we want this character so badly? He serves purposes that no other hero has been able to serve all at once. Sometimes a main character can get away with demonstrating some of the following feelgood outlets, but they always run the risk of losing their honor by doing so. Deadpool has nothing to loose, and honestly, it's refreshing. Why?
Because he's a tricked-out antihero.
(read: saves us from perfectionism, self-righteousness)
There is a sense of release that accompanies antiheroes like, for example, Jack Sparrow. "A dishonest man, you can always trust to be dishonest," he quips, and then the moral bar is set really low, which alleviates the pressure on the audience members to compare themselves with the main character. Anything goes— for a while— and then when the antihero eventually does something 0.5% selfless, your heart melts.
Deadpool takes this classic formula and hypes it up to the umpteenth degree, while adding a dash of sympathy-eliciting sensitivity. Deadpool doesn't attempt to maintain a state of cool like the classic antihero does. He's as random as an iCarly episode if it were aired on Adult Swim, and he has confidence issues regarding his looks. So he seems more open for all his faults, and the heart-melting starts early
He validates your pain.
(read: saves us from pent-up angst)
This is sick, but people like Deadpool's friendliness with revenge. Revenge unleashes, rather than holding back. And that's definitely an element that can succeed in an action film. When you see Wade Wilson shoot and stab his way toward his goals, you root for him, because his shameless bad blood seems to validate the feelings of pain that have affected everyone and are often repressed. Is his way the best way to deal with such problems? Certainly not. But it can be satisfying to see.
He surpasses "outside-the-box" thinking.
(read: saves us from stifling creativity)
Not only are all his fighting sequences original, but his simpler personality quirks are, too. He loves unicorns. (Like... I won't explain it. You'll see just how much he loves them.) This guy sits on the ledge of a highly-trafficked bridge, drawing with crayons. While Marvel heroes generally take the most efficient path toward victory, creativity matters more to Deadpool. This gives the film, the directorial debut of Tim Miller, a beautifully eccentric spirit.
Surely there's more to it than that, but it's fun to question why we adopt the heroes we do. What do YOU see in Deadpool that inspires you or allows you a kind of catharsis?
