miamaymarry replied to your photo
“Marvel Comics (2019) #1001 This image of Deadpool and Spider-Man...”
Is it all cute or more like queer baiting in the comics? I didn’t read them but love the ship ��
Good question! Responding in a new post because I have thoughts on this and my life is nothing right now if not overly wordy Deadpool thoughts. Skip to the end for the tl;dr. No one asked for this word vomit.
Note: When I say “canon” here I mean specifically what is “canon” going by authorial/editorial intent and an interpretation of the text that cannot reasonably be denied. Stories take on lives of their own. They belong to their readers as much as their writers. There are times that a text would be interpreted differently without bias based on the characters’ genders, where there are a number of different ways to interpret the same thing while also staying strictly within the boundaries of plausible readings of the text. But I’m not talking about that here- I’m talking about clear representation- and so I will ignore subtle plausibility and what could be the case (e.g., spoilers, that Peter is bi) even if it can be considered as “real” as anything else. Y’all go ahead and claim the whole damn universe.
To start- Deadpool is unquestionably, textually pansexual, has been called such by the writers, expresses this outside of jokes, has implied relations with men, and- in my opinion- is fairly likely to have a male love interest that explicitly and unquestionably reciprocates at some point. His “Cable & Deadpool” era crush (complete with lingering feelings later) on at least Cable is also written very much like his crushes on some of his female love interests. In addition to the infatuated way Wade acts around him for years, a psychic looks at his “deepest desire” at one point and it’s a sensual fantasy with Cable (which escalates off-panel and leaves Wade worried he said things from the fantasy out loud, then results in him accidentally crawling on top of Cable), Cable appears in a dream tower with his other love interests years later, et cetera et cetera. (Whether or not Cable reciprocated is a conversation for another time.) Wade’s sexuality is not bait. Everyone can go back and forth on whether Deadpool is “good” representation or not and when he is or isn’t, but he’s definitely representation and many of us find him affirming. (For the record, when recommending comics purely based on their representation quality, Deadpool is NOT one of my top recommendations even though Wade is the most affirming LGBTQ+ character to me personally right now.)
That being said, “straight as a slinky” though Wade may be, I think it’s fair to say that we’re not likely to ever see a Spidey/Deadpool relationship in canon, or really any romantic reciprocation from Spidey.
1. I don’t see 616 Peter Parker being explicitly portrayed as bisexual in the foreseeable future.
2. Spider-Man is a bigger part of Deadpool comics than Deadpool has ever been in Spider-Man comics. Outside of their one team-up series that actively undermined their respective continuities, they have yet to have that much of an influence on each other’s lives. Spider-Man is Marvel’s golden boy. Forget sexuality: I don’t see Deadpool suddenly commandeering space in Spidey comics after all this time and usurping people like Mary Jane or even Johnny Storm. (Listen, not to ruffle feathers or anything but I’m fairly positive Peter would date Johnny long before Wade.) No editor is taking that “risk” with their golden boy. As things stand, it would be bending Spidey’s company-carrying narrative to pander to minor parts of Deadpool’s, and that’s never going to happen. (+rating/demographic differences that corporate types care about)
So does Wade have a sincere crush on Peter (Wade being the one picturing the date in the linked post)? Sure, seems to be the case, at least casually speaking. I think in a lot of ways he really is more jokey about any feelings for Peter than he is about people he has fallen in love with, but the Spider-Man/Deadpool series holds (even if very lightly and in occasional defiance of other continuity) that Wade’s wife told him that he could bang Peter if the opportunity ever arose because he asked, that a spell to summon Wade’s “heart mate” summoned Peter rather than Wade’s wife one time, etc. Overall, I personally read it like Wade deeply respects Peter, enjoys teasing him, considers him a best friend, and would totally be interested in a date if there was a chance Peter would also be interested, but has never expected anything or gotten hung up on it, so he idly fantasizes and flirts here and there but that takes a backseat to the rest of the friendship.
TL;DR:
-Wade is 100% canonically pansexual.
-Any plain reading of Spider-Man/Deadpool (2016) confirms at least Wade’s crush on Peter, whatever the size of that crush may be. It’s full of cute moments if you like their interactions.
-It’s easy and valid to read into it if you want to.
-That does not mean any writer will ever go anywhere with it, and even S-M/DP is, as they say, relatively jokey about the subject if you compare it with other crushes in other series. It also often comes off as an AU and soft-retconned some of itself out of continuity.
-Other interpretations are valid, I could be wrong about anything, feel free to add to this post.
