Why Deadpool 2 Is The Best X-Men Movie Yet
1. It Realises The X-Men's Metaphor (While Acknowledging Its Own Shortcomings)
Despite its unwavering dedication to the essence of nineties X-Men, Deadpool 2 doesn't pull its punches when it comes to the franchise's earlier incarnations. Wade bemoans the team as an "outdated metaphor for the Civil Rights Movement" and, in some respects, he's correct. Although the X-Men have seemingly epitomised Marvel's unwavering dedication to depict "the world outside your window", the metaphor has fallen way short on countless occasions.
Despite being an allegory for the African American Freedom Struggle, the original X-Men didn't feature a single person of colour. When you consider too that the anti-villain and the ostensible antagonist of the comic - the Master of Magnet himself, Magneto - actually has a valid point regarding liberation struggle, as well as the effectiveness of Charles Xavier's strategies, the problem is only exacerbated further.
That doesn't mean that the comic lacks heart however. Yes, certain aspects of the allegory fall way short of expectation, but the X-Men today are a vastly different group to the one of yesteryear, comprised of mutants of various ethnicity, sexuality, gender and upbringing. Deadpool 2 acknowledges this, doing in two years what Marvel are still yet to by including the superhero genre's first big-screen LGBT* couple in Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio, and also by alluding to Wade's canonical pansexuality by having the merc' openly flirt with the X-Men's Colossus (even if it is played mostly for laughs).
Yes, it could be better, but Deadpool 2 is a product visibly conscious of its source material. Dennison's character bemoans the hypocrisy of the X-Men by mentioning that there are no plus-sized heroes, and the aforementioned Xavier metaphor of passive resistance is blown to pieces in a fantastic sequence whereby the Headmaster is pulverised by Dopinder's car in the finale.
In that sense, yes, Deadpool 2's irreverence allows it to address the shortcomings of one of the medium's most famous metaphors. It goes further, however, by improving upon it - enshrining the feature as one of the most compelling X-works of the modern era and, in more than one way, as the franchise's best entry to date.
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