'Deadpool & Wolverine' movie faces allegations of blasphemy
The new superhero movie "Deadpool & Wolverine," which hit theaters in the United States last week, is facing blasphemy allegations from social media influencers because one of the main characters repeatedly refers to himself as "Marvel Jesus" while the other is crucified on screen.
A YouTube account titled "the simple life of mj," operated by a woman using the names Bobbie Bee and Mikayla Jade, who describes herself as a "musician, singer, artist, online creator, and proud follower of Christ," has warned that Christians should not go see the movie.
A video made by the influencer titled "the new deadpool is a mockery of Jesus" elaborates on her concerns with the movie. As of Tuesday afternoon, it has more than 2,500 views.
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"I went last night with a big group of my friends and my boyfriend," she said in the video, uploaded to YouTube last week. "I was very nervous because I knew Deadpool is very vulgar, [and] profane but I enjoy Deadpool a lot."
While she anticipated some "sex jokes" and identified herself as a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that the movie is a part of, the influencer maintained that "I didn't think it would be bad."
She lamented that her prediction was incorrect, asserting, "I have never seen Marvel go this far in mocking Jesus."
"This film made me heartbroken," she added. "I cried during the film, and after the film, I was just absolutely broken in my spirit."
According to a plot summary of "Deadpool & Wolverine" compiled by the Internet Movie Database, "Deadpool is offered a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the Time Variance Authority, but instead recruits a variant of Wolverine to save his universe from extinction." Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman play Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively. Bobbie Bee described how she saw scenes involving both main characters as direct swipes at her Christian faith.
"During the film, Ryan Reynolds calls himself the Messiah; he calls himself Marvel Jesus all throughout the film. There is a scene where Hugh Jackman is crucified on a cross, obviously mocking Jesus' sacrifice for us."
The internet personality expressed outrage about the "outright mockery" of Jesus' "torment and torture and suffering on the cross," describing how "he's on the cross crucified with nails in his hands, blood all over a sea of skulls." She insisted that "they're just mocking Jesus outright and it's right in front of your faces."
She predicted that many people who saw the film would simply view the scene as "part of the multiverse" rather than as a "straight-up mockery of Jesus."
"You cannot say that that is not mocking Jesus when throughout the entire film, they get Ryan Reynolds to call himself the Messiah and Marvel Jesus," he said. "That is how he identifies for the entire film. Also, near the end, he uses Scripture about Jesus being resurrected, and he says 'he is risen,' referring to himself, Ryan Reynolds."
"I have never been so deeply hurt in regard to my faith while watching a film," she said. "I am so hurt that they think that's OK and that so many people can watch this and then not be hurt and not be affected and even think it's funny to do that."
She concluded that Christians should not support "billion-dollar companies such as Marvel that are willing to mock Jesus to the extent that they did or even at all."
Another video shared on X, taken from a TikTok account with the handle @chibimallo, features an additional condemnation of the movie. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video has over 350,000 views.
"We went to see Deadpool and we left, probably about 25-30 minutes into it," a woman says.
"It is disgusting," she asserted. "It is so against the Lord. They are blaspheming our Creator and you should not see it. Do not spend money on it. It is not worth anything. The fact that it has beat all of the MCU movies out blows me away, and it blows me away that people are bringing their children into it, but we left that theater. We left 25 minutes in and I didn't even ask for my money back. I truly was so guilty that I even allowed us to stay in as long as we did because it started off bad."
She highlighted how "they used Jesus' name in it in a disgusting way in that 30 minutes, like 10 times at least." She delivered a message instructing her viewers, "If you're a Christian, do not see it."
Sabrina Smolders, an X user with over 15,000 followers, said she took her son to see the movie, which was "as awful as you could imagine."
"I don't get offended easily, but that humor was gross, (with a little blasphemy thrown in), and the fourth wall stuff was cringe," she wrote. "Woke garbage."
Supporters of the film have pushed back on the critics on social media.
"DEADPOOL has always been rated R," Ocie S. Banks, a choral director at Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland and the executive pastor of Gifted Church, Inc., wrote in a tweet. "The content of these movies is not shocking!"
Box Office Mojo reports that "Deadpool & Wolverine" earned more than $211 million domestically and more than $233 million internationally at the box office.
Concerns about blasphemy in the film come as the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, which kicked off in Paris, France, have also been criticized due to what some perceived to be a portrayal of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" as a gathering featuring drag queens rather than Jesus and his disciples.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
